Morning session
Today’s agenda
The list of issues to be considered at the plenary meetings on June 6:
1. Second reading of the bill No.1098 “On temporary committees of inquiry and temporary special (ad hoc) committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine".
2. Draft bill No.0227 “On the decision of the Association Council between Ukraine and the EU on amendments and additions to energy Annex XXVII to the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU”.
3. Second reading of the draft law No.10183 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding implementation of EU law in the sphere of technical regulation”; the draft law No.8370 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding military standards”; the draft law No.8321-d “On pre-university vocational education”.
4. An array of bills to be put on the agenda, including 13 rival draft laws amending Ukrainian law on illicit enrichment and confiscation of illegal assets of persons authorized to execute State or Local self-government functions, and punishment for acquiring such assets.
5. Resignation of P. Klimkin (foreign minister), as well as dismissals of
S. Poltorak (defence minister) and V. Hrytsak (SBU’s head).
6. Second reading of the draft Electoral Code of Ukraine – bill No.3112-1.
7. A cluster of bills in the agrarian, defence, social and electoral spheres (in their first and/or second reading).
A two-faction statement was delivered by the head of the Radical faction Oleh Liashko. MPs proceeded with reviewing amendments to the draft law No.1098 “On temporary committees of inquiry and temporary special (ad hoc) committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine".
Staffing issues
After the break, MPs set about the staffing issues. The bills Nos. 10346, 10367 regarding the resignation of P. Klimkin (foreign minister), as well as the bills Nos.10344, 10345 regarding dismissals of S. Poltorak (defence minister) and V. Hrytsak (SBU’s head) correspondingly were all voted down by MPs. The aforementioned officials have thus retained their offices to date.
Electoral Code
Afterwards, MPs switched over to considering the second reading of the draft Electoral Code – the bill No.3112-1. There were 4,568 amendments in dispute at that time.
Withdrawals
The Chairman announced the withdrawal of Yevhen Rybchynskyi , MP, from the parliamentary group "People’s Will" and his entry into the parliamentary faction "Batkivshchyna".
The presiding officer closed the morning session.
Evening session
The presiding officer opened the evening session.
After nooning, MPs again dived deep into the electoral code amendments. They did 134 ones by the end of the evening meeting.
The presiding officer closed the evening session.
On June 18, the work on the code amendments shall start another round.
Laws, bills and resolutions passed: June 6
On VRU’s temporary inquiry and ad hoc committees
--Draft law No. 1098
By 279 ayes, the parliament passed the draft law “On temporary committees of inquiry and temporary special (ad hoc) committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”. The law defines the legal status of such committees (commissions) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, their powers and the organizational principles of their activities.
The law runs that the organization and operating procedures of these committees are determined by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, this very law and other laws of Ukraine, as well as resolutions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in accordance with the above laws.
These committees function on the principles of the rule of law, legitimacy, respect and observance of human and citizens’ rights and freedoms, collegiality, equality of committeemen, free discussion, objectivity, neutrality, impartiality and soundness of decisions, conclusions and proposals.
All these committees are accountable to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The term of appointment of a committee of inquiry or a special (ad hoc) committee can not exceed one year from the date of its formation.
Among reasons for convening such a committee may be reports of violations of the Constitution of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine by state bodies, local self-government bodies, their officials, heads of enterprises, institutions, and organizations irrespective of ownership patterns, public, civil society organizations/associations (NGOs).
The law defines the powers of these committees, their rights and responsibilities, and establishes liability for non-compliance with this law.
On decision of EU-Ukraine association council amending AA’s energy annex
--Draft law No.0227
By 231 votes in favour, MPs adopted the law of Ukraine “On the EU-Ukraine Association Council’s decision on amendments and additions to energy Annex XXVII to the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, on the other hand”. Through adopting this law the parliament ratified the council’s decision to properly amend the AA’s annex XXVII.
On adaptation of EU tech regulation
--Draft law No.10183
With 230 votes, Rada has sanctioned the law of Ukraine “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding implementation of EU law in the sphere of technical regulation”. The bill aims at adapting the domestic technical regulation laws to the relevant EU law and avoiding overregulation of entities.
The bill also alters an array of legislative acts and laws of Ukraine, including the Administrative Offences Code of Ukraine, the laws on the SBU, on pesticides and agrochemicals, on accreditation of conformity assessment agencies, on insurance and others.
On harmonization of criminal law with law of nations
--Draft bill No.9438
By 228 ayes, the parliament green-lighted the first reading of the draft bill “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine as to ensuring harmonization of criminal law with law of nations”. The bill aims at ensuring further criminalization for so called ‘primary crimes’ under international criminal law, compliance with international obligations related to preventing impunity of these crimes, improvement of the legal regime of criminal liability for torture in maximum compliance with the requirements of modern international law.
On legal status of foreigners and apatrides defending Ukraine’s sovereignty
--Draft law No.3433
230 MPs gave the go-ahead for the law of Ukraine “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine (regarding the legal status of foreigner and apatrides who participated in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty)”.
The bill is to change the laws of Ukraine on the legal status of foreigner and apatrides, and on citizenship of Ukraine. It also introduces some new important definitions, thus recognizing such defenders as those legitimately residing in the territory of Ukraine and then enabling them to get temporary residence permits for the action period. The bill also places limitations on voluntary and/or forced return of such persons to an aggressor state or countries not recognizing Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty or supporting aggression against Ukraine. Under the new law, the said defenders may be entitled to a simplified procedure of getting Ukraine’s citizenship.
On chaplains in the military
--Draft bill No.10244
227 voices agreed to accept the first reading of the draft law of Ukraine “On military chaplainship”.
The military chaplains service shall be supported by the all-Ukrainian interdenominational chaplainship advisory body, military clergy sub-units, command of military units of Ukraine’s armed forces, other army units and special-task law enforcement authorities, chaplain associations, military chaplains and military chaplaincy volunteers.
To facilitate the work of military chaplains, religious organizations are expected to create chaplain associations, which are supposed to be then contracted to minister to the Ukrainian army. The State of Ukraine and the said associations are thought to interact as partners.
Pastoral care in the body of army shall immediately be rendered by military chaplains. The law defines their rights and duties, and regulates their subordination to the chaplain associations. The bill provides for state guarantees of the right to freedom of faith and pastoral care. This instrument also regulates legal and social protection of military chaplains.
On pre-university vocational education
--Draft law No.8321-d
The law determines the order, conditions, forms and peculiarities of receiving such an education and regulates social relations that arise in the process of implementing the constitutional right to education, as well as the rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities involved therein. The law also defines the competence of state and local self-government bodies in the field of pre-university vocational education (PUVE).
The draft law establishes the basic legal, organizational, and financial principles of functioning the PUVE system, creates cleared conditions for combining education with production operations for proper training of competitive experts to be demanded by society, labour market and state.
On perpetuation of L. Lukianenko’s memory
--Draft resolution No.9281
The parliament passed the resolution drafted to eternize the memory of the great champion of Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty Levko Lukianenko. The paper directs local self-government bodies, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine to undertake appropriate actions, falling within their remits, aimed at immortalizing this leader’s memory in the history books.
On district remapping in Lviv oblast
--Draft resolution No. 8292
The paper adopted remaps the Sokalskyi district’s limits through enlarging its area by 198 ha. The new district area totals 157,498.00 ha.
On deferral of fine for unlicensed storage of fuel
--Draft law No.10359
The parliament passed the draft law “On the amendment to the Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On state regulation of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, cognac and fruit spirits, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products”. The said change puts off a semi-million fine for unlicensed storage of fuel, imposable upon all entities, by December 31, 2019.
The article 2 of the Law of Ukraine “On some issues related to importing motor vehicles to the customs territory of Ukraine and their first state registration” is as well to be changed by the bill in question via relevant swapping of the wordings “from January 1, 2020” and “until December 31, 2019” for “from January 1, 2025” and “until December 31, 2024” correspondingly.