The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on the introduction of criminal liability in Ukraine for illegally crossing the state border during martial law. According to the latest data, this includes a fine of 119 thousand and imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years.
Points of attention
- The government asserts that the proposed bill does not violate rights and freedoms guaranteed by international conventions, such as the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
- This proposed bill aims to strengthen border security and deter illegal crossings during sensitive times of martial law, war, or emergency in Ukraine.
What is known about the Cabinet proposal?
Journalists drew attention to the fact that in the draft law No. 13673: "...to supplement Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal smuggling of persons across the state border) with a qualifying feature in the form of committing a criminal offense under martial law."
In addition, it is proposed to establish criminal liability for illegally crossing the state border during a state of war or emergency outside checkpoints or at checkpoints without appropriate documents or using a forged document.
According to the latest data, the draft law proposes to punish the relevant offense with a fine of 7 to 10 thousand non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (from 119,000 to 170,000 hryvnias) or imprisonment for a term of up to three years.
Moreover, it is indicated that the Ukrainian government proposes to exempt from criminal liability those who illegally left Ukraine, but returned within three months and voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement officers.
This must be done before reporting the suspicion.
Interestingly, the team of Prime Minister Yulia Svirydenko claims that the draft law contains no provisions that violate the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
