22 September 2011, 18:38
Adam Martyniuk: Ukraine treats its Membership in the European Community in a Responsible Manner
Adam Martyniuk, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met the delegation of the Council of Europe Secretariate headed by Philippe Boillat, Director General of Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs.
Ukrainian obligations and their fulfillment within membership in the Council of Europe, i.e. observance of European norms on corruption fighting, election legislation, constitutional process, reform of judicial system, execution of judgments, and observance of human rights, became the topic for the discussion.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament informed the delegates about the actions taken by the Ukrainian Parliament to fulfill the obligations to the Council of Europe.
According to A. Martyniuk, Ukrainian politicians, representatives of society and law experts are working to strengthen the constitutional law. He stressed that constitutional process will take place exclusively in legal environment.
"We are almost ready to amend the effective Constitution, although the amendments will be introduced in line with recommendations from the Venice Commission", A. Martyniuk assured. According to the First Deputy Chairman, "Venice Commission is considering and evaluating our proposals regarding the Constitution Assembly."
Discussing the issues of election legislation, Adam Martyniuk reminded, "According to the Constitution of Ukraine, next parliamentary elections shall be held on the last Sunday of October 2012. Pursuant to the effective Laws, election laws shall be amended not later than a year before the elections. Thus, the Parliament should amend the election laws by the end of October."
Discussing anti-bribery laws, A. Martyniuk reminded, "These laws came into effect in July 2011."
In his turn, Mr Boillat expressed his gratitude for the meeting "with representatives of deputy factions and parliamentary board." According to him, the meeting shows that the Verkhovna Rada is interested in cooperation with the Council of Europe.
"We should emphasize that the Verkhovna Rada and PACE have close working contacts and fruitful working relations with different state bodies of Ukraine", P. Boillat stated.
He assured that the Venice Commission will shortly scrutinize the law on elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Ukraine will receive the conclusions and recommendations regarding the Draft Code of Criminal Proceedings.
A. Martyniuk thanked for the meaningful conversation, emphasizing that efficiency of reforms in Ukraine depends on the dynamic cooperation with the European community.