Changes to legislation, court practice news and much more
On 18 September 2023, the Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Improving the Processing and Use of Data in State Registers for Military Registration and Obtaining War Veteran Status during Martial Law was adopted
The draft law proposes amending the Laws of Ukraine «On the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Persons Liable for Military Service and Reservists» and «On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection» to provide for:
- information exchange between state registers in connection with obtaining combatant status;
- the possibility for citizens of Ukraine to submit an application (request) on paper or electronically under the Law of Ukraine «On the Specifics of Providing Public (Electronic Public) Services», in particular through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services and/or the Unified State Register of War Veterans, to the relevant state authorities to obtain the status of a combatant, a person with a war-related disability or a family member of fallen (deceased) Defenders of Ukraine;
- specific rules for obtaining combatant status during martial law on the basis of an electronic certificate of the person’s direct participation in the measures necessary to ensure the defence of Ukraine and protect the safety of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
If adopted, the law will enter into force on the day following its publication.
On 18 September 2023, the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Compensation for Damage to and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts and Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and the State Register of Property Damaged and Destroyed as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts and Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine» was adopted
The draft law aims to extend the forms of compensation for damage to real estate as a result of hostilities, terrorist acts and sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, namely:
- payment of funds to the recipient’s current account with a special use regime for construction works on the damaged property to restore it and/or for the purchase of construction products for such works;
- payment of funds to the recipient’s current account for construction products purchased and/or repair works carried out by the recipient on the damaged property at their own expense.
On 20 September 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted, taking into account the proposals of the President of Ukraine, the Law «On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Procedure for Submitting Declarations by Persons Authorised to Perform the Functions of the State or Local Self-Government under Martial Law» (Reg. No. 9534)
Declarants who perform tasks in the interests of national security or are located in territories affected by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine shall submit their declarations within the following periods:
- within 90 days from the date set for the end of hostilities or the end of the temporary occupation of the territory where the person is located;
- within 90 days from the day of return to the place of permanent deployment or permanent work (except rotation);
- within 90 days from the termination of powers or the transfer of the person to positions that do not involve direct participation in hostilities, combat missions, reinforced state border protection, reconnaissance, counter-intelligence operations or operational and investigative activities;
- within 90 days from the termination or lifting of martial law.
The Law also provides that those who did not submit declarations in 2022-2023 must do so within 90 days from the date the Law enters into force.
Particular attention should be paid to the conditions for including in the declaration information on an asset held by the declarant or their family members. There are two such conditions, and both must be met:
- the asset has been held or used for a total of at least 183 calendar days during the period that includes the reporting period and/or the two months before its end;
- the market value of the declarant’s use of the asset during the period of use within the reporting period exceeds 50 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons set as of 1 January of the reporting year.
The parliament also regulated the procedure for the National Agency to access information on declarants and their family members contained in public electronic registers.
On 19 October 2023, Law No. 3200-IX «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Mandatory Registration and Use of Electronic Accounts in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System or its Separate Subsystem (Module) for Document Exchange» comes into effect as regards the amendments to the Commercial Procedure Code. It provides that an electronic account in the UJITS will be mandatory for:
- attorneys;
- notaries;
- state and private enforcement officers;
- insolvency officers;
- forensic experts;
- state authorities and other state bodies;
- local self-government bodies;
- other legal entities (in commercial proceedings).
Procedural consequences of failing to register an electronic account:
- applications (including applications for securing a claim or evidence) are left without consideration or returned, and statements of claim and appeal/cassation complaints are left without progress if filed by a person who is legally obliged to register an electronic account and has not done so;
- a statement of defence is disregarded: the court may decide the case on the available materials if the statement of defence was filed by a person who was obliged to register an electronic account, failed to do so and gave no valid reasons.
On 20 September, Law No. 3354-IX «On Law-Making» entered into force
The Law sets out the legal and organisational framework of law-making, its principles and procedure, the participants in law-making, the rules of legislative drafting, the procedure for registering legal acts, as well as the rules on the effect of legal acts, filling gaps, resolving conflicts between legal acts and monitoring their implementation.
The Law:
- introduces a single set of categories and concepts, i.e. defines such terms as «norm», «law», «code» and «legal act»;
- establishes a hierarchy of legal acts according to their legal force;
- lays the foundations of the legislative process «from start to finish», including enshrining in law the stages of drafting bills.
On 6 September 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Enforcement Code of Ukraine to Improve the Provisions on Criminal Liability for Military Criminal Offences Related to Violations of the Rules for Operating Combat or Special Vehicles, Performing Flights or Preparing for Them, and Navigation»
The Law aims to ensure legal certainty regarding the liability of certain categories of military personnel involved in operating combat or special vehicles, performing flights or preparing for them, and navigation, in wartime.
In particular, it is proposed to amend Articles 415-417 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine by adding other types of punishment to their sanctions, in particular restriction in service for military personnel, detention in a disciplinary battalion and restriction of liberty.
It is also proposed to differentiate liability under Article 416 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine depending on the consequences of the criminal offence.
In addition, it is proposed to supplement Article 416 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with a note defining the amount of material damage (losses) caused by the criminal offences under Articles 416 and 417 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and defining grave consequences where they consist of material damage.
The draft also proposes to specify Article 58 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine by obliging the court to determine the amount deducted to the state from the convicted person’s pay when imposing the punishment of restriction in service for military personnel.
It is also proposed to improve the provisions of the Criminal Enforcement Code of Ukraine on calculating the terms of serving the punishment of restriction in service for military personnel.
On 15 September 2023, the Draft Law «On Amendments to the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine on Changing the Subject Matter or Grounds of a Claim» was published
The draft law proposes to clarify the provisions of the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine on how the claimant exercises the procedural right to change the subject matter or grounds of a claim.
Specifically, it proposes to replace the current rules on filing a written application to change the subject matter or grounds of a claim with a more specific rule: filing a new version of the statement of claim (an amended statement of claim) to change the subject matter or grounds of the claim.
On 20 September 2023, the Draft Law «On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Legal Regime of Property under Martial Law or a State of Emergency» was published
The draft law extends the grounds for applying sanctions, introduces an asset freezing mechanism, broadens the grounds for freezing and confiscating assets, and improves the procedures and powers of the state institutions involved in these processes, such as the NACP, the SBU, the Ministry of Justice and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
The draft law proposes a new version of the Law of Ukraine «On the Basic Principles of Forced Seizure in Ukraine of Property Rights of the Russian Federation and Its Residents», renaming it «On the Basic Principles of Forced Seizure in Ukraine of Property of Aggressor States, Persons Related to Aggressor States and Their Affiliates». In particular, the amendments provide for:
- definitions of an aggressor state and a state sponsor of terrorism;
- an asset freezing mechanism (which may be applied to residents of an aggressor state and a state sponsor of terrorism);
- broader grounds for seizing the property of an aggressor state.
Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Sanctions» are also envisaged, extending the grounds for applying sanctions to residents of an aggressor state.
In addition, the draft law proposes amendments to other legislative acts to clarify the powers of the state institutions involved in these processes, such as the NACP, the SBU, the Ministry of Justice and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
