Draft bills #11410 and #11411 of July 16, 2024 

Sponsor: the President 

Status: sent for review to the Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy and the Committee on Law Enforcement 

Who is affected: citizens of Ukraine and individuals who have received state awards 

Summary: 

  • an additional type of penalty will be introduced into criminal law: deprivation of a state award of Ukraine for individuals found guilty of grave or special grave crimes, as well as crimes against the foundations of national security, peace, and international order 
  • whether there are grounds to deprive the accused individual of state awards will be decided by the court delivering the verdict 
  • it will be allowed to deprive an individual of a state award by: 
    • a guilty verdict by the court 
    • a decision of the National Security and Defense Council to sanction the individual. Permanent sanctions on the holder of a state award can be imposed for promoting or popularizing the aggressor state or its representatives 
  • individuals deprived of awards will also lose corresponding rights and benefits. 

What is right: the bill will allow to deprive individuals who have consistently supported Russia of state awards and will help restore the high status of state awards. 

What is wrong: aside from the mechanism for depriving traitors of state awards, there is a need to reconsider the Soviet approach to granting awards. The procedure for selecting and nominating individuals for state awards needs reforming to be in line with the current realities. 

Alternative solution: a comprehensive reform of the state award system is overdue, taking into account wartime challenges and the context of large-scale decolonization following the full-scale invasion. It’s also essential to standardize options for military commanders to encourage service members with non-material awards (badges and departmental commendations). 

How to help the legislator: proposals concerning the draft bill can be sent to the Office of the President of Ukraine. 

Additional information: article by Oksana Zabolotna and Daria Bevziuk: Who are our heroes? What is wrong with the state award system in Ukraine and how to fix it.