Declarations under threat again: what kind of complaint is being considered by the CCU and why it matters
Kyiv • UNN
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has begun consideration of a case concerning the constitutionality of certain provisions of the law requiring officials to submit electronic asset and income declarations.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is considering a case on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the law "On Prevention of Corruption", which oblige officials to submit e-declarations. The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption said that in this regard, the declaration is again under threat, UNN reports.
"On February 14, 2024, the CCU began consideration of the constitutional complaint of Oksana Bukhtoyarova, a member of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of the Bar of the Zakarpattia Region. The lawyer has doubts about the constitutionality of certain provisions of the law, which define the concept of the term "subjects of declaration", the list of such subjects, the obligation to file declarations of persons authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government and persons equated to them, as well as the types of financial control," the NACP reports.
It is noted that during the consideration of the case, the permanent representative of the Verkhovna Rada in the CCU, Maksym Dyrdin, announced the recusal of the court's chairman, Serhiy Holovaty, due to doubts about his impartiality and objectivity.
The NACP emphasizes that it sees no grounds to satisfy the lawyer's constitutional complaint, in particular, for the following reasons:
Representatives of public associations, scientific institutions, educational institutions, experts with relevant qualifications, and other persons who are members of competition and disciplinary commissions are equated with persons authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government, and therefore are subject to declaration;
The CDC as a bar self-government body performs public functions that are actually delegated by the state, in particular, the acquisition of the status of an advocate, bringing an advocate to disciplinary responsibility, and termination of the right to practice law;
the use of financial controls in relation to the relevant category of entities is conditioned by the existing corruption risks associated with the activities of the CCP;
declaration as an instrument of financial control in no way affects the independence of either the bar as a whole or individual attorneys in particular, since it does not concern the functioning of the bar or the direct activities of attorneys - defense, representation and other types of legal assistance to clients.
"The NACP is ready to consider the complaint in the CCU and will consistently defend the existing financial control tools and the obligation to file declarations by persons authorized to perform state or local government functions," the agency added.
Recall
Almost 1.5 million declarations were filed by public officials during the 2021 and 2022 declaration campaigns.
