Presidential decree #21/2024 of January 23, 2024 

Decision-maker: the President of Ukraine 

Status: in effect since January 23, 2024 

Who is affected: businesses, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Bureau of Economic Security, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the State Bureau of Investigation, the National Police, and the Security Service 

Summary: the decree enacts the decision by the National Security and Defense Council of January 23, 2024, On Urgent Measures to Ensure Economic Security During Martial Law. The decision proposes the following measures: 

  • a recommendation to the President of Ukraine to establish a council for the support of entrepreneurship during martial law 
  • orders to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to urgently: 
    • submit to the Parliament draft bills on strengthening the mechanisms for the functioning of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, additional guarantees for the protection of the legitimate interests of entrepreneurship in the course of criminal proceedings, and regulations on the maximum profit level for state procurement contracts that were or are being carried out during martial law 
    • audit the risk monitoring system and criteria for blocking tax invoices and procedures and criteria for their unblocking 
  • recommendations to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the State Bureau of Investigation, the National Police, the Bureau of Economic Security, and the Security Service: 
    • to audit the restrictive measures applied to economic agents as a part of criminal proceedings within three months and determine the appropriateness of their further application, as well as the appropriateness of reflecting information about them in online public registers 
    • not to conduct procedural actions in criminal proceedings within three months if such actions could block the work of entrepreneurs. 

What is right: the decree proposes tools to alleviate pressure on businesses. 

What is wrong: 

  • the President has only powers defined in the Constitution, and the Constitution does not grant him the authority to give instructions to the executive bodies 
  • the decree violates the balance of the power. 

Additional information: the President established the Council for the Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law with his decree of January 26, 2024.