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Eastern Europe
January 19, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
Ukraine president puts off compromise with IMF over anti- corruption court bill
bne IntelliNews
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is not ready to discuss any amendments to a bill on the nation’s anti-corruption court submitted by him to the country’s parliament in December, despite bitter criticism from the nation’s main donor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“I know that your focus is on the anti-corruption court. This year we will launch the establishment of the court, and my bill is under consideration in the [Verkhovna] Rada,” Poroshenko said in
an address on January 16 to heads of diplomatic representations of foreign states and international organisations accredited in Ukraine.
According to the president, ”for the sake of its successful adoption”, he invited ”all to work constructively within democratic parliamentary procedures”.
“Right after the first reading, there will be
time to improve the draft in order to make this institution work as effectively as possible and
in compliance with the Ukrainian constitution, Ukrainian sovereignty and Ukrainian legislation,” Poroshenko said, according to a transcript of
his speech published by his media office the same day.
The statement followed the IMF’s letter in which the lender expressed “serious concerns” about the bill, as several provisions are not consistent
Petro Poroshenko: Anti-corruption court “will become the last and decisive element of a new anti-corruption architecture in Ukraine”.
with the authorities’ commitments under a $17.5bn support programme agreed with Kyiv in 2015, and the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
The IMF said that the bill opens up opportunities for additional delays in establishing the court. According to the multinational lender, the establishment and operation of the court is a key pillar of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agenda; however in its current form the IMF ”would not be able to support the bill.
Specifically, the bill lacks the transparent appointment of competent and trustworthy anti-corruption judges. International organisations and donors should be able to recommend members for a public council of international experts, whose roles should be “crucial”, not “just advisory” in judges’ selection, the letter read.
The requirement for court candidates to have considerable anti-corruption experience in
foreign jurisdiction bodies or international court institutions severely limits the pool of candidates, while a ban on officials who served in law enforcement or as prosecutors in the last 10 years should be removed, the IMF argued.
Poroshenko added in his speech on January 16 that the anti-corruption court “will become the