The Verkhovna Rada Committee supported draft law No. 12439, which introduces amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which provide for additional guarantees for business.
The other day, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement Activities supported a draft law that provides for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in terms of improving the guarantees for the protection of business entities during criminal proceedings (No. 12439). The Federation of Employers of Ukraine believes that thanks to these amendments, business will receive additional guarantees – clear terms of arrests, an appeal for the legalization of “urgent” searches, writes UNN.
The legislative amendments provide for amendments to Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which determines the procedure for initiating a pre-trial investigation. This concerns, in particular, the procedure for entering information into the ERDR, regarding crimes under Article 191 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and crimes in the field of economic activity; data on a criminal offense are now entered into the register only when there are sufficient grounds by the head of the prosecutor’s office or his deputies. This limits the practice of opening cases for quantitative indicators, or on far-fetched grounds, believes the head of the FRU council, Dmytro Oliynyk, who was present during the discussion of legislative amendments at the meeting of the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada.
The Federation of Employers named the advantages of the amendments to Article 214 of the CPC of Ukraine regarding Article 191 of the CCU:
Reducing the number of groundless proceedings.
Previously, any statement or even an anonymous signal could become a basis for automatic entry into the ERDR.
Now – only after verification and with sufficient grounds, which makes it impossible to chaotically “load” business with criminal cases.
Personal control of the head of the prosecutor’s office.
Entering data into the ERDR is allowed exclusively by the head of the prosecutor’s office, which adds weight to the decision and increases responsibility.
This eliminates the “manual mode” on the part of ordinary prosecutors or investigators.
A blow to statistical manipulations.
The practice of “catching up” on disclosure rates through mass opening of cases under Article 191 of the Criminal Code loses its meaning.
The reference point is the quality of investigations, not their quantity.
Less pressure on business.
Company owners and top managers often became targets for “preventive” cases that were opened only to create problems.
Now business receives greater immunity from far-fetched prosecutions.
Rational use of investigative resources.
Investigative bodies will be forced to weed out meaningless materials and focus on cases where there is really a crime.
This increases the efficiency of the entire law enforcement system.
Prevention of raider schemes.
Article 191 of the Criminal Code was often used as a tool for the forcible seizure of enterprises through “artificial” criminal proceedings.
The new norm reduces the scope for abuse in corporate conflicts.
Strengthening legal certainty.
The business environment receives a clear signal: the initiation of proceedings will no longer be a tool for pressure.
This creates predictability and improves the investment climate.
Compliance with the principles of the ECHR.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly emphasized that the initiation of criminal proceedings without sufficient grounds is a violation of human rights.
This change brings Ukraine closer to European standards of criminal procedure.
