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Judges not only recognized the wording of the crime in the certain version unconstitutional but removed the guilt for such action. This means that any new wording based on the principles of the UN Convention Against Corruption of "illicit enrichment" will now be unconstitutional and could easily be appealed in the court.
So far, according to current legislation, the decision of the Constitutional Court is unchangeable and unappealable. The decision of the Court will have a reverse effect, meaning that all 65 criminal cases into illicit enrichment will be closed, and their subjects will be left unpunished.
Moreover, there were a few versions of the article on illicit enrichment, implemented by different laws in 2014 and 2015, and in the Court decision, it is not entirely clear what version of this article was cancelled. This fact proves the lack of professionalism and the particular bias of the Court. Among the grounds to abolish the article on illicit enrichment, the Court stated "violation of the requirement of legal certainty". However, it is this Court decision what indeed lacks legal certainty. For more details, please, see our brief.
President Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko submitted to the Parliament draft laws, allegedly aimed at resolving the problem caused by the Constitutional Court decision. However, their draft laws would not work. More details.
Additional information:
- The decision will have irreversible implications for the e-declarations reform. Criminal liability for illicit enrichment was one of its key pillars. E-declaration system delivers on identification and prosecution of corrupt officials only if officials are bound to declare all assets under the threat of liability for false statements and are limited in the acquisition of unjustified wealth by liability for illicit enrichment. From now on, the officials will simply declare any wealth, no matter how disproportional it is to their official incomes, and remain unpunished.
- Only four out of 18 judges of the Constitutional Court voted against this ruling: Ihor Slidenko, Viktor Kolisnyk, Vasyl Lemak and Serhiy Holovatyi. Among the judges who voted to rule illicit enrichment unconstitutional are judges who legitimized in 2010 Yanukovych’s constitutional reform that led to the usurpation of power by him; judges, appointed by Yanukovych; subjects to journalistic investigations etc. More information about the Constitutional Court judges.
- Back in June 2018, the EUACI did a thorough analysis of why criminalization of illicit enrichment does not contradict the Constitution of Ukraine.
- Earlier, 11 anticorruption CSOs called on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine not to put the future of Ukraine under the threat for the sake of the political elite’s desire to plunder the country with impunity.
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