The Verkhovna Rada plans to regulate the issue of countering intelligence and subversive activities of foreign special services
Kyiv • UNN
The Verkhovna Rada plans to consider a draft law on countering the intelligence and subversive activities of foreign intelligence services. The document envisages changes to criminal law and expansion of the SBU's powers.
The Verkhovna Rada plans to consider in the second reading a draft law on the settlement of issues related to countering the intelligence and subversive activities of foreign intelligence services at one of its next meetings. UNN reports this with reference to the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada meeting.
Thus, draft law 11228-1 proposes to amend the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, as well as the laws of Ukraine "On State Protection of Judicial and Law Enforcement Officers," "On Counterintelligence Activities," and "On Access to Court Decisions.
- establishes that it is not a criminal offense for a person who, in accordance with the law, in the interests of national security and defense of Ukraine, performed an intelligence (special) task approved in advance by the head of an intelligence agency or a person acting as such, or a counterintelligence (special) task approved in advance by the head of a specially authorized state body in the field of counterintelligence or a person acting as such, to cause damage to law enforcement interest tasks (paragraph 2, part 1, article 43 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the draft version);
- provides that the term of validity of the investigating judge's decision to authorize covert investigative (detective) actions in criminal proceedings concerning particularly serious crimes, liability for which is provided for in Articles 111, 111-1, 111-2, 113, 114 - 114-2, 258, 258-3 - 258-5, 438-442 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, may not exceed three months (paragraph 2 of part 1 of Article 249 of the CPC of Ukraine as amended);
- clarifies the grounds for conducting counterintelligence activities (Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Counterintelligence Activities” in the wording of the draft);
- additional powers are granted to the bodies, units and employees of the Security Service of Ukraine engaged in counterintelligence activities (clauses 3-1 - 3-3, 5-1, part 2, article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Counterintelligence Activities” in the wording of the draft), etc.
Addendum
On June 5, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading as a basis the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Ukraine, Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Settlement of Issues of Countering Intelligence and Subversive Activities of Special Services of Foreign States" (Reg. No. 11228-1).