Column: Ukraine's Prosecution Reform Bill No. 16144 Will Not Clean Up the System

Ukraine's parliament plans to hold a first-reading vote on 10 November on Bill No. 16144, submitted by the government to change how the prosecution service is organised and how prosecutors' self-governance works. The bill comes as the anti-corruption operation "Carthage" by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) has drawn attention to corruption in law enforcement. In a column for Ukrainska Pravda, its author argues the bill does not solve the problem.

Background: Operation "Carthage"

The column says the first part of the operation exposed prosecutors who profited from protecting call centres. The second part, in the author's words, showed that criminal networks had also taken root in the police, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the prosecution service. It mentions the dismissed SBU general Anton Kravchuk, who headed the service's internal security, and Major General Serhiy Duka, first deputy head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood.

Criticism of the bill

The author says the document contains neither a purge of the prosecution service nor independent competitions. He adds that it has no re-attestation, such as that provided for the Bureau of Economic Security and Customs. Selection would remain in the hands of prosecutors themselves:

• Heads of departments at the Prosecutor General's Office would be chosen by commissions of six office leaders and one Council of Prosecutors representative.
• Heads of regional and district prosecutor's offices would be chosen by the 15-member Council of Prosecutors.

A new Council of Ethical Standards would check the integrity of members of the Council of Prosecutors and the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors. For the first two years it would have six members: three prosecutors and one each from the Council of Judges, the Presidium of the National Academy of Legal Sciences and the parliament's human rights commissioner. Decisions would need four votes.

The author argues that what is needed first is an independent competition for Prosecutor General and guarantees against political dismissal. He contrasts this with NABU and SAP, whose staff are selected through independent competitions with experts delegated by international partners.