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HOT ANTICORRUPTION NEWS / Issue #129
December 20, 2019
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Dear friends,
Starting from December 2019, we change the visual identity of the Anti-corruption Action Centre and begin working under the umbrella brand Zero Corruption_ We have made a lot of great projects under previous visual identity, but we feel that it constrains us a bit. Thus, we develop the idea of Zero Corruption which unites different teams and projects aiming at spreading and strengthening various practices in counteracting top-level political corruption.
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Today's issue:
- the new head of NAPC is selected;
- 100 days of work of the High Anti-corruption Court;
- the High Council of Justice refused to dismiss the Maidan judge Bohdan Sanin;
- Members of Parliament voted for fake stripping of immunity;
- the recent conclusion of the Constitutional Court imposes no danger to NABU;
- NGOs call to hold an open competition to the High Council of Justice;
- EU Association Implementation Report on Ukraine stresses on the importance of real SBU reform;
- Swiss prosecution has filed an indictment against former MP Mykola Martynenko;
- Zero Corruption Conference_;
- recommended reading
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The new head of NAPC is selected
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On December 16, the Selection Commission composed of international experts and representatives of civil society selected the new head of NAPC, Oleksandr Novikov. The latter is the prosecutor of Compliance department of the Prosecutor's General Office. His declaration is available here. Now Novikov awaits the final confirmation by the Cabinet of Ministers. We wish Olekdandr Novikov good luck and hope that he can get NAPC back on track without further delays.
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100 days of work of the High Anti-corruption Court
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The High Anti-Corruption Court, which has been established against political will and thanks to two years of efforts of civil society, international partners and politicians, started its work only on September 5 this year. The first months of work of the court look quite encouraging. But there are extraordinary challenges ahead. Next year will be decisive in work of the court. It should deliver results in top cases. The society, journalists and international partners will closely monitor the consideration of these cases. More about the results of 100 days of work of HACC is available in our article for Ukrainska Pravda (in English).
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The High Council of Justice refused to dismiss the Maidan judge Bohdan Sanin
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Back in April 2018, the High Qualification Commission of Judges found Sanin dishonest and recommended HCJ to dismiss him. The HCJ has not considered this issue for over a year. And yesterday, on December 19, it decided to retain him in office.
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We should remind that on the night of November 30 / December 1, 2013 the first power dispersal of Maidan took place. Then, the Berkut attacked students who gathered under the Independence Stele. The legal ground for their actions was the decision of Sanin, who forbade holding peaceful meetings on Khreschatyk street and Independence Square in Kyiv.
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In addition, be informed that the HCJ also wants the SBU and other authorities to investigate actions of Vitaliy Shabunin, AntAC Head of Board. Read more about HCJ's statement here.
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Members of Parliament voted for fake stripping of immunity
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On December 18, Members of Parliament cast 291 votes for the draft law No. 2237, which should have actually abolished the MPs’ immunity. Instead, Members of Parliament preserved and even strengthened it by making amendments.
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According to this draft law, the Prosecutor General receives a monopoly to initiate criminal proceedings against Members of Parliament. Another dangerous innovation that MPs have made in amendments is the requirement of mandatory presence of the Member of Parliament during consideration of requests in the court. See more information about the adopted law here.
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The recent conclusion of the Constitutional Court imposes no danger to NABU
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The recent conclusion of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on draft law #1014 regards only the amendments to the Constitution, which were submitted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
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It states that the President’s powers to establish NABU and appoint directors of NABU and SBI are unconstitutional. The conclusion does not rule any specific provision of the existing law on NABU as unconstitutional, though points out key issues in question of the NABU law that need to be fixed.
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The NGOs call to hold an open competition to the High Council of Justice
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On December 10, the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada announced the start of accepting applications regarding two vacant positions to the High Council of Justice upon their quota. NGOs call on each parliamentary faction and group to hold an open competition in order to submit the most worthy candidates to the HCJ for consideration to the Parliament.
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NGOs believe that this process is possible and does not require any changes to the Regulation or other laws. If parliamentary factions and groups make the process of selecting members to the HCJ more open and don’t wait for legislative changes, it will not only contribute to positive changes in the judicial reform and the process of cleansing the judiciary, but will also increase confidence in the judiciary, as well as to Parliament and political parties represented therein.
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EU Association Implementation Report on Ukraine stresses on the importance of real SBU reform
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On December 13, the European Commission published the annual Association Implementation Report on Ukraine. The EU criticizes the draft law submitted by the SBU to the President's Office.
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The report calls on the Ukrainian government to adopt the reform of the SBU guaranteeing parliamentary oversight over the security sector, transforming the SBU into a modern agency with clearly defined functions limited to counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism and protection of state secrets.
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Swiss prosecution has filed an indictment against former MP Mykola Martynenko
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On December 20, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland announced that it has filed an indictment with the Federal Criminal Court against former Ukrainian MP Mykola Martynenko. He is accused as part of a criminal group of having laundered around € 2.8 million through the Swiss financial system.
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Swiss prosecutors thanked Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators for excellent cooperation and valuable assistance in the investigation of the case. In particular, since 2016 when the NABU began operations and launched its own investigations, the OAG has obtained the information required to bring the present indictment through mutual assistance procedures.
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Zero Corruption Conference_
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The aim of the Zero Corruption Conference_ is to create a space where anti-corruption activists can communicate freely and exchange their innovative solutions. We prepared a short video to tell you more about our ideas behind the Conference. Come and join the community of change-makers committed to the Zero Corruption Future_! The registration is available here.
On behalf of the Organizational Committee of the Zero Corruption Conference_, we wish you happy holidays! Remember that courage is contagious!
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