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The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussed with the ambassadors of the G7 countries and the countries of the European Union the decisions of the Constitutional Court on the functioning of the National Anti-Corruption Office of Ukraine and the inaccurate statement of the officials.
The director of the National Anti-Corruption Office, Artem Sytnyk, will remain in office after December 16, and the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to recognize as unconstitutional some provisions of the law on NABU does not yet create threats that could affect the legitimacy of the office and your boss. This was announced today by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an online meeting with the ambassadors of the G7 countries and the countries of the European Union accredited in Ukraine.
The presidential press service reported that the meeting was dedicated to the issues of overcoming the crisis caused by the latest decisions of the Constitutional Court, the operation of the NABU and the implementation of the judicial reform.
“The CCU’s decision does not cancel the creation and operation of NABU, does not limit the work of NABU detectives, and does not call into question the status of NABU as a law enforcement agency. We guarantee that after December 16, the director of NABU will remain in office, “Zelensky emphasized.
Sytnik, who was present at the meeting, noted that NABU, together with the Ukrainian authorities, will identify a number of potential threats that could create legal collisions due to the CCU’s decision in the future.
He said that The KSU’s decision does not currently affect the NABU’s ability to carry out its functions independently and effectively.
Also, at the meeting, Zelensky presented concrete steps to overcome the constitutional crisis. Among them, the reinstatement before the end of the year of criminal responsibility for lying in the statements, the return of all control functions to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the resolution of the matter by the Constitutional Court.
He also added that now is “the best time to implement judicial reform.”
“The parties agreed that it is necessary to ensure a fair and transparent selection procedure for the new judges of the Constitutional Court,” said the presidential press service.
The National Anti-Corruption Office of Ukraine was established in 2015. Since its inception, it has been headed by lawyer Artem Sytnik. Under the law, the NABU’s task is to counter corruption crimes committed by senior officials.
In May 2020, the KSU received a presentation from 51 popular deputies. He said Ukraine’s fifth president Petro Poroshenko, who appointed the head of NABU, went beyond his powers.
On August 28, the KSU announced a decision on this submission… The court concluded that the decree naming Sytnik was unconstitutional, since in The main law clearly defines the list of positions the president appoints (there is no NABU director among them). By issuing a decree on Sytnik’s appointment, Poroshenko exceeded his constitutional powers, according to the KSU.
At the same time, the KSU stressed that the decision does not apply to legal relationships arising from the implementation of Sytnik job responsibilities. The representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court, People’s Deputy of the “Servant of the People” Fedor Venislavsky explained that The decision of the Constitutional Court does not pose a threat to the cases investigated by the anti-corruption office: all actions committed by the director of the NABU before August 28 will be considered legitimate and constitutional.
NABU described the Constitutional Court’s decision as one more step towards destroying the institutional independence of the department.
September 16 KSU declared unconstitutional certain provisions the law on NABU, in particular provisions on the power of the President of Ukraine to create NABU, appoint and remove its director, appoint a member of the external control commission to conduct an independent evaluation (audit) of the effectiveness of the office, its operational and institutional independence and approve the regulations on the Public Control Council and the procedure for its formation.
The NABU said that due to the decisions of the KSU, the audit and the appointment of the head of the bureau will be prohibited.
