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Why did Ukraine's court scrap illicit enrichment liability?
Summary
A retrospective on the Constitutional Court ruling of 26 February 2019 and the other news recorded that day.
What did it mean when Ukraine's Constitutional Court struck down the criminal penalty for illicit enrichment? On 26 February 2019, the court declared Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional. The article provided for punishment of officials for unlawful enrichment.
The provision had a specific origin. It was introduced in 2015 at the demand of the European Union, as part of visa liberalisation, and of the International Monetary Fund. The ruling therefore removed a measure adopted to meet requirements set by those external partners.
Other news that day
The same date brought a court verdict in a separate case. Olena Zaitseva and Hennadiy Dronov, held responsible for the road accident in Kharkiv on 18 October 2017, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In the broader region, Russian rhetoric on nuclear weapons continued. After Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would deploy nuclear missiles in Europe if the United States deployed intermediate-range nuclear missiles there, his ally Dmitry Kiselyov listed what he claimed were US targets. They included the Pentagon, Camp David, Fort Ritchie, McClellan Air Force Base and the Jim Creek Naval Radio Station. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that any such target list existed.
Assessment
Of the three developments, the court decision was the one tied directly to commitments Ukraine had made to the EU and the IMF. It removed the criminal liability that had been created for that purpose in 2015.
