During the meeting, the members of the Committee considered the draft laws on amendments to Article 42-4 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses concerning the Sale of Medicines to Children No. 5123 and the draft law on Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to Establish Responsibility for the Sale (Release) of Medicines to Minors No. 5123-1.
The draft law №5123 proposes to restate Article 424 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine, thus establishing administrative liability for the sale (release) in pharmacies of drugs to citizens under 14 years of age. Such a violation entails a penalty for the perpetrators in the form of a fine of six to twenty-five non-taxable minimum incomes.
The draft law No. 5123-1, as noted by one of the authors, MP Tetyana Plachkova, is aimed at establishing administrative liability for the sale and delivery of medicines to minors.
The draft law proposes to amend the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, supplementing the Code with the new Article 42-5, which establishes liability for the sale (including the use of information and communication systems remotely) and delivery of medicines to minors.
The members of the Committee also considered the draft Law on Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to strengthen the responsibility for violating the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine on medicines No. 5131.
This draft law proposes to supplement the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses with the new Article No. 425 "Sale (release) of medicines to citizens in cases prohibited by law", which stipulates that the sale of medicines to a person under 14 years of age entails the fine of four hundred to eight hundred tax-free minimum incomes.
During the discussion, members of the Committee commented on the bills.
In general, the Committee concluded that the draft Law on Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to Establish Responsibility for the Sale (Release) of Medicines to Minors No. 5123-1 is more comprehensively regulates the legal and organizational principles of regulation in the field of combating uncontrolled drug abuse by minors and is more balanced both in content and terminology.
Following the voting, the Committee decided to recommend to the Verkhovna Rada to adopt the draft law No. 5123-1 as a basis, and to reject the draft laws No. 5123 and No. 5131.