Legislative procedure improvements

Draft bill #9153 of March 28, 2023 

Status: adopted in the first reading. MPs will continue working on the draft bill 

Who is affected: MPs 

Summary of the bill: it will be prohibited to combine in one draft bill amendments to laws that can be changed only by passing draft bills amending these specific laws. 

Why this is important: there is a cohort of laws “protected” from chaotic changes. Among them are the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Civil Code. Changes to them can be made only by passing draft bills amending these specific laws. However, these restrictions are not included in the current rules of procedure of the Verkhovna Rada. 

What is right: laws of special importance will be protected from chaotic and disguised changes. Such protection should ensure more effective public control over the Parliament’s work. 

What is wrong: the bill does not introduce and cannot introduce the sanctions for violating the proposed restrictions. Therefore, MPs will still be able to violate the proposed procedures if they want to. 

What’s next: there are other laws of special importance that should be protected. In particular, the laws regulating the work of core state institutions like the Constitutional Court, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the SBI, prosecution, judiciary, etc.