The head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Oleksandr Klymenko, said that the working group for the development of draft law No. 8402, which proposes to strengthen the independence of the SAP, was created “only on paper.”
That’s what he’s about said in response to Hromadske’s question at a briefing at “Ukraine Media Center”.
“The working group has really been created, but only on paper. We received several invitations to submit a candidacy for participation in this group, but it never came.”– said Klymenko.
He noted that he does not know why this draft law was not implemented.
“…but if we want to see a more effective result in the fight against corruption, we still need to provide greater independence both administratively and procedurally to the SAPS. And we are already showing that we can do better. We say: give us more tools, and we will be able to achieve greater results in the fight against corruption”Klymenko noted.
Semyon Krivonos, director of NABU, also noted that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has developed a draft law on increasing the agency’s staff. However, it is currently under consideration by the anti-corruption committee of the Verkhovna Rada, there is no information about its registration.
What is known about the draft law on SAP?
In February, people’s deputies reported on the creation of a working group on training the new project of the law on strengthening the independence of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
Authors of the draft law pointed out, that the SAP “enjoys a certain level of independence and autonomy”, but in practice it “is not sufficient”. And in matters of organizing the activities of the SAP, it largely depends on the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Therefore, the deputies propose to withdraw the SAP from the structure of the General Prosecutor’s Office and reorganize it into a separate body of the prosecutor’s office with the status of a separate legal entity (similar to regional prosecutor’s offices). And also — to provide that the head of the SAP is exclusively administratively subordinated directly to the Prosecutor General within the limits established by law.
Serhii Ionushas, head of the Council’s law enforcement committee, said that criticism of this draft law came from almost all state institutions. In particular, due to the fact that the issues of this bill may conflict with current laws and the Constitution.
