No confidence in the Head of the Accounting Chamber announced

Draft resolution #8297 of December 21, 2022 

Status: adopted. There is no need for the President to sign it 

Who is affected: members of the Accounting Chamber, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet, ministries, central executive authorities, and budgetary institutions. 

Summary of the resolution: the Verkhovna Rada announced no confidence in Valerii Patskan, the Head of the Accounting Chamber. The resolution means his immediate dismissal from the position. 

Why this is important: 

• the Accounting Chamber is a government body that, on behalf of the Parliament, controls the inflow of funds to the government budget and their use by conducting state external financial audits 
• in May 2022, the Parliament amended the Law on Martial Law and granted itself the power to dismiss any official appointed by the Verkhovna Rada if such a motion is submitted by the Speaker or at least 113 deputies while martial law is declared. 

What is wrong: 

• the Accounting Chamber is one of the government bodies that have guarantees of its independence. According to the law, one of the principles of its independence is the special procedure for appointing and dismissing members of the Accounting Chamber. In particular, its head can be dismissed only in exceptional cases: resignation, voluntary transfer to other position, health reasons, a guilty verdict, etc. Dismissal of the Head of the Accounting Chamber for other reasons violates this principle, so MPs are abusing their power in this case 
• the explanatory note sheds no light on why MPs express no confidence in the Head of the Accounting Chamber. In an interview, MPs justify their decision by stating that Valerii Patskan violated the commitments of Ukraine before the EU and that there are open criminal cases against him. These arguments should have been included in the explanatory note. 

Alternative solution: to remove the amendment to the Law on Martial Law which allows the Parliament to dismiss officials bypassing the procedures specified in the laws. 

Additional information: in May 2022, the Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova was dismissed under a similar procedure.