On October 28, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis, with the further elaboration of certain provisions pursuant to Parts 1 and 2 of Article 116 of the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Institutes of Conducting Searches by Security Forces and Registering Applications and Notifications of Committed Criminal Offenses" (Reg. No. 15488-3).

The draft law was developed to strengthen constitutional guarantees of the inviolability of housing or other property of a person, ensure compliance with the rule of law during entry into a person’s housing, prevent illegal searches, and enhance the quality of subsequent judicial control over searches conducted without a prior order of an investigating judge.

Furthermore, the need to clarify the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code aligns with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which holds that searching a home and seizing documents, electronic devices, and other property constitute a serious interference with the right to respect for private life, home, and correspondence guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Draft Law Reg. No. 15488-3 proposes amendments to Articles 169, 214, 233, 234, 303, and 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which:

1) clarify the grounds for the return of temporarily seized property by providing for its return under a prosecutor’s ruling, should the prosecutor deem the seizure groundless or refuse to endorse a motion for a search in the case provided for in Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code, or under an investigating judge’s order — in the event of a refusal to grant a motion by a prosecutor, investigator, or inquirer for a search pursuant to Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Points 1 and 2¹ of Part 1 of Article 169 of the Criminal Procedure Code as amended by the draft);

2) establish a maximum permissible time limit (72 hours) for filing an application with the court following the searches by security forces (amendments to Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code);

Currently, Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine provides that an investigator, inquirer, or prosecutor has the right to enter a person’s housing or other property prior to an investigating judge’s order only in urgent cases related to saving human life and property or the direct pursuit of persons suspected of committing a criminal offense.

The draft law proposes that in such cases, the prosecutor, or the investigator or inquirer with the prosecutor’s endorsement, shall be obliged to submit a motion for a search to the investigating judge without delay, but no later than 72 hours after carrying out such actions. In other words, a 72-hour time limit is established for applying to a judge for the post-facto authorization of a search.

The investigating judge considers such a motion in accordance with the requirements of Article 234 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, verifying, inter alia, whether there were indeed valid grounds for entry into the person’s housing or other property without an investigating judge’s order.

At the same time, if the prosecutor refuses to endorse the motion for a search submitted by the investigator or inquirer, or if the investigating judge denies the motion for a search, any evidence obtained as a result of such a search shall be deemed inadmissible, temporarily seized property must be returned upon the expiry of the time limits established by Part 5 of Article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, and any obtained information must be destroyed in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 255 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

Thus, it is proposed to clarify that temporarily seized property shall be subject to return.

In light of the proposed amendments, Article 169 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine expands the list of grounds upon which temporarily seized property is returned to the person from whom it was seized. Namely, under a prosecutor’s ruling if the prosecutor refuses to endorse a motion for a search in the case provided for in Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, as well as under an investigating judge’s order in the event of a refusal to grant a motion by a prosecutor, investigator, or inquirer for a search in the case provided for in Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine;

3) grant interested parties the right to participate in the court hearing of a motion for a search by security forces (amendments to Article 234 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine).

In particular, it is established that a motion by a prosecutor, investigator, or inquirer for a search conducted pursuant to Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine shall be considered by an investigating judge no later than three days from the date of its receipt by the court, with the participation of the owner of the property temporarily seized during such a search, the owner of the housing or other property of the person in which such a search was conducted, or their representatives.

At the same time, an obligation is established for the investigating judge to notify the owner of the property temporarily seized during such a search, the owner of the housing or other property of the person in which such a search was conducted, or their representatives in advance of the date, time, and place of the consideration of the motion for a search submitted by the prosecutor, investigator, or inquirer. The failure of these persons to appear at the court session shall not obstruct the consideration of such a motion;

4) limit the instances of appealing a refusal to enter information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations concerning the commencement of a pre-trial investigation (amendments to Article 303 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine). It is envisaged that during pre-trial proceedings, the inaction of an investigator, inquirer, or prosecutor consisting of the failure to enter information about a committed criminal offense into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations after receiving an application or notification containing sufficient data on circumstances that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense may be appealed, among other matters;

5) introduce the possibility of appealing court orders regarding the conduct of a search by security forces or a refusal to conduct one (amendments to Article 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine). It is envisaged that during a pre-trial investigation, investigating judges' orders on conducting a search by security forces pursuant to Part 3 of Article 233 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, or on refusing to conduct one, may be appealed in appellate proceedings;

6) modify the procedure for entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations; in particular, the obligation to enter information arises upon receiving an application or notification containing sufficient data on circumstances that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense (Part 1 of Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine as amended by the draft).