Registration with the military for women, the age limit for judicial candidates, and founding fathers of Ukrainian independence: new draft bills in the Parliament

Ten days of a non-stop New Year’s vacation have not prevented Ukrainian MPs from productive work. The most important bills submitted during this time are the following: to require registering with the military only from women with medical specialties, to lower the age limit for judicial candidates, and to officially commemorate the founding fathers of the Ukrainian independence.

Fewer women are required to register with the military 

Draft bill #6482 of December 28, 2021

Cosponsors: 53 current and former members of Servant of the People faction, 2 MPs from For the Future group, 1 MP from Trust group, and 2 independents. 58 MPs total, Maksym Buzhanskyi as the first signatory.

Who is affected: women with Ukrainian citizenship liable for military service, government bodies, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Summary of the bill:

• there will be no mandatory requirement for women to register with the military, but those having specialty or profession related to a corresponding military specialty will be allowed to volunteer

• women whose specialty or profession is related to a corresponding medical specialty will still be required to register with the military.

Why this is important:

• Ministry of Defense issued a decree with a list of professions where women are required to register with the military — 35 professions each covering dozens of specialties. The decree came into force on December 17, 2021

• within a week, almost 38 thousand people signed a petition against this decision via the presidential official website.

What is wrong:

• the lack of strategic planning. MPs once more have reacted to the events that had already happened instead of addressing the issue in advance. Moreover, many cosponsors of the bill voted for the bill that allowed the Ministry of Defense to issue the decree in the first place

• the bill conflicts with the approved state policy. The law granting the Ministry of Defense the authority to issue the decree in question was submitted by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ministry and the Government have already started to implement it, and now MPs from the pro-presidential and pro-government faction want to step up against the current policy.

Alternative solution: instead of rolling back the policy that has not even been fully implemented yet, MPs should amend it: to analyze its shortcomings, find possible improvements, and press the Government for answers if it fails to implement the updated policy.

Lower age limit for judicial candidates

Draft bill #6498 of January 4, 2022

Sponsor: Serhii Hryvko, Servant of the People faction.

Who is affected: judicial candidates, judges, trial participants, and Ukrainian citizens.

Summary of the bill: the age limit for judicial candidates will be decreased from 30 to 25 years.

What is right: more professionals will apply for judicial positions.

What is wrong:

• the bill conflicts with the constitutional requirement for judicial candidates to be citizens no younger than 30 years

• a judge has to be a responsible and accomplished lawyer, law expert with substantial life and work experience. Otherwise, he or she cannot be independent or able to make just and fair decisions. Since court decisions are often life-changing for many persons, the requirements for judicial candidates should be strict

• lawyers at 25, as a rule, have got their diplomas only several years ago. It is doubtful that the new age limit proposed by the bill will help to improve the quality of the judiciary in Ukraine.

Alternative solution: currently, the most pressing problem with the judiciary is that competitions for judicial positions are blocked. The High Qualification Commission of Judges that is supposed to conduct these competitions, is not working since November of 2019. To solve the problem with the shortage of judges, the work of the HQCJ has to be resumed.

Recognition of MPs of the first convocation as founding fathers of Ukrainian independence

Draft bill #6493 of December 31, 2021

Sponsor: Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

Who is affected: MPs who voted for the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine, adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, or supported the resolution On Proclaiming the Independence of Ukraine.

Summary of the bill:

• the bill introduces a new status: an MP — the founder of the independence of Ukraine. The status will be awarded by the President upon submission from the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada acting on the proposals from a special commission

• the status is awarded for life or can be awarded posthumously. A person can be stripped of the status by the President only if he or she is found guilty of a serious misdemeanor or felony

• the status grants the following rights:

  • to attend open sessions of the Parliament and its bodies

  • to visit the premises of government bodies and local governments

  • to submit appeals to government bodies about potential threats to national security or state sovereignty

  • to have a diplomatic passport

  • to receive a lifelong allowance

• the status requires “to adhere to moral and ethical norms of conduct, to care for the welfare of Ukraine and prosperity of its people”

• in case of death of the founder of the independence, the Verkhovna Rada and local governments help to pay funeral costs. State symbols are allowed to be used to decorate the grave and monument

What is right: MPs of the first convocation that have adopted the founding documents necessary for the independence of Ukraine will be commemorated.

What is wrong:

• the issue should not be regulated by a separate law

• the bill does not solve any important social problems and does not address principal social relations, so it looks more like an exemplar of legislative spam that Ruslan Stefanchuk himself complained about earlier

• the procedure for obtaining the status is too complicated and discretional. Instead of just listing MPs of the first convocation that have supported the independence of Ukraine, the bill proposes to create a special commission and give the power to decide on the matter to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and the President

• the bill does not define the amount of the lifelong allowance for the founders. Although the sponsor of the bill in the explanatory note claims that no additional expenditures are needed, this allowance will be provided from the government budget.

Alternative solution: find alternative ways to commemorate MPs of the first convocation: invite them to parliamentary sessions, engage them in working groups, publicly appreciate their deeds, adopt resolutions on the issue, etc.