The bill of the head of the VR Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Danylo Hetmantsev regarding the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals (DGF) may significantly harm Ukraine's European integration aspirations. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by political scientist Viktor Bobyrenko.
We are now moving at seven-mile steps, as they say, into the European Union, because since we are not accepted into NATO, Europeans see Ukraine in the European Union as an alternative. In order to show the occupier in this way, among other things, that Ukraine is part of Europe, at least within the territories we control. And any actions that undermine our ability to join Europe or become an obstacle to our cooperation with the IMF are shameful phenomena, at a minimum.
In his opinion, legislative initiatives, such as Hetmantsev's draft law, which contradict Ukrainian legislation and the Constitution, as well as the obligations that Ukraine has assumed before the International Monetary Fund, create artificial obstacles to our path to the European Union.
Bobyrenko emphasized that the adoption of draft laws that contradict European principles is not an isolated case in Ukraine. "It has often happened in Ukraine that the authorities do one thing with one hand and another with the other. There are loud statements about our path to the EU, but we are creating a regulatory framework that makes this impossible. And since we have such a regulatory framework, it can be, it can become a real obstacle for us, or at least delay the time of our entry into the European Union," the political scientist warned.
Bobyrenko hopes that Hetmantsev's project will be finalized as a result. "I hope that this draft law will be cleaned up through amendments. And when it is voted on, there will be no technical traps there," the expert noted.
Let's add
The Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada criticized Hetmantsev's draft law on the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund. According to experts, the document contains systemic violations of current legislation, legal uncertainty, contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine and cannot be assessed for compliance with the Government's obligations to the IMF.
Let us remind
Earlier, UNN wrote that after a detailed study of the document, it became clear that the changes to the legislation in the part of the DGF activities proposed by Hetmantsev contradict the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of the right of citizens to freely own property, as well as the right to judicial appeal and a fair trial. In addition, Hetmantsev's legislative initiative violates a number of current laws and creates great corruption risks. In addition, Hetmantsev's draft law contradicts the obligations assumed by Ukraine before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the current financing program.
The founder of the law firm "Kasyanenko and Partners" Dmytro Kasyanenko criticized Hetmantsev's draft law regarding the limitation of terms for appealing DGF decisions in courts to 1 month. According to him, this contradicts the general principles of civil law and creates preconditions for abuse by responsible officials. The lawyer emphasized that this does not comply with Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which guarantees everyone the right to judicial protection, and also contradicts the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which requires ensuring reasonable terms for applying to the court.
The head of the NGO "Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine" Arsen Marinushkin believes that Hetmantsev's draft law is lobbying and is an attempt to create a convenient legal reality for the DGF.
"I have already observed a disturbing tendency in law-making more than once, when in special laws the authors try to establish a "statute of limitations" where it cannot be by definition. In my opinion, on the one hand, this is a legal manipulation to justify the Guarantee Fund for possible mistakes, and on the other hand, an elementary misunderstanding of legal foundations," - noted Arsen Marinushkin.