Participants of the meeting discussed the issue of implementing the new Criminal and Procedure Code and the possibility of joint preparation of events aimed at supporting the reform of criminal justice in Ukraine.
Opening the meeting, the Committee Chairman Andriy Kozhemyakin noted that adoption of the new Criminal and Procedure Code in 2012 was welcomed in Ukraine. However, he said that “already today there are a number of cases of its distortion while implementing”.
The Committee members M.Palamarchuk, S.Sas and A.Mishchenko have also operated with facts testifying to “worsening the situation in fighting criminal offences while implementing the provisions of the Criminal and Procedure Code”.
People’s deputies expressed their ideas as to reforming the prosecutor’s office. They noted that first of all, functions of the prosecutor’s office should be clearly defined and brought in line with the European norms.
Representatives of the European Council said that the new Criminal and Procedure Code adopted in 2012, is better than the one in force since 1961. “Living under the old Criminal Procedure Code was no longer possible,” noted the Council of Europe Project Long Term Consultant Eric Svanidze. He added that the European Council Mission in Ukraine aimed not only at adopting the Code but also at providing assistance in its implementation.
Another representative of the Mission, Lauren Bachmaier Winter (Professor at the Faculty of Law at Complutense University of Madrid, Spain), stressed that reforming of the prosecutor's office
would be the best move after adopting the Criminal Procedure Code. She said that the task of the International Expert Mission within the Council of Europe Project “Support to the reform of criminal justice in Ukraine” is to provide best possible legislative basis for elaboration of a new bill.
The Project Manager Leonid Antohi noted that reforming of the prosecutor’s office is both in the interest of Ukrainian society and the Council of Europe. He expressed hope that members of the parliamentary committee will actively participate in preparation of the new law on prosecutor's office.
Representatives of the European Council International Expert Mission supported the idea of coordinating joint actions with the Committee members within the Council of Europe Project “Support to the reform of criminal justice in Ukraine”. Committee members supported this suggestion.