The Law on the Anti-Corruption Strategy of Ukraine until 2025 came into force on Sunday, after its publication on Saturday in the Voice of Ukraine newspaper.
According to the Telegrams of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), the NAPC with the government, the public and business have already begun joint work to develop a state program to implement the Anti-Corruption Strategy. It will define specific tasks to overcome corruption and the authorities responsible for their implementation. The NAPC will ensure that the process is as inclusive as possible.
In addition, the NAPC will develop a special IT tool so that the public can monitor the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy.
The law was adopted by Parliament on June 20 and signed by the President of Ukraine on July 7.
The Anti-Corruption Strategy consists of four sections. The first one is devoted to the concept of formation of anti-corruption policy in Ukraine in the next five years. The remaining sections of the document contain a description of certain problems and expectations of strategic results to be achieved in order to solve them.
As noted in the law, the Anti-Corruption Strategy will help ensure the coherence and consistency of anti-corruption activities of all state authorities and local governments.
According to the document, the optimization of the functions of the state and local self-government provides for the elimination of duplication of powers by different bodies, the temporary cessation of the implementation of ineffective powers, which are characterized by a high level of corruption risks. The strategy also provides for the digital transformation of the exercise of powers by state authorities and local governments, transparency of activities and openness of data.
It also provides for the need to ensure the inevitability of legal liability for corruption and corruption-related offences.
According to the adopted law, a working group on anti-corruption policy issues (a coordinating working consultative and advisory group) will be created under the NAPC as a body co-chaired by the head of the NAPC and the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The personal composition of the working group is approved by the government, in particular, by agreement, people’s deputies can also enter it. Its main tasks are to promote the coordination of actions of state authorities on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and the implementation of measures of the state anti-corruption program.
The Verkhovna Rada annually no later than June 1 will have to hold parliamentary hearings on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy. At the same time, the NAPC undertakes to develop a new draft Anti-Corruption Strategy no later than August 1 of the year in which the previous one ends. In addition, the National Agency must annually inform the Cabinet of Ministers by April 1 about the results of the implementation of the measures of the state anti-corruption program to implement the Anti-Corruption Strategy.
