Deputy immunity bill: Yushchenko accuses lawmakers of hypocrisy

October20200922:02

She reminded of another bill to lift deputy immunity which had already been positively assessed by the Constitutional Court. “All the lawmakers had to do today was to approve it by the constitutional majority. This would allow to praise VR most taking a decisive step toward creating a democratic Ukraine,” she said.

Vannykova stressed the issues of lifting the immunity of the president and judges have been purposefully hitched to the immunity of deputies in the Yanukovych bill approved today. Now the bill will have to be assessed by the Constitutional Court, and this will take time. In other words, the lawmakers will retain their immunity for an indefinite time.

Yushchenko’s press secretary cited social opinion polls indicating that over 80% of Ukrainians favor banning deputy immunity. “Hence, the lawmakers have flouted the opportunity to meet their obligations toward Ukrainians,” she said, referring to the president.

• 02:3227.10.09 RADA PORTAL
• • In accordance with the new law, a Ukrainian MP cannot without the approval of the Ukrainian Parliament “be detained or arrested prior to a guilty verdict adopted by a court regarding him coming into effect”. While prior to adoption of this law the president of Ukraine could be brought to account via the procedure of impeachment, the newly-adopted law states that the powers of the president will be cancelled ahead of time in case of a court convicting the president.
• 02:2427.10.09 Oleksandr Lavrynovych
• • Oleksandr Lavrynovych: In Ukrainian Country there must be no Citizen to have Exception in the Laws of Ukraine Implementation
    (Press Service of the First Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine)
    
    It was declared by the Oleksandr Lavrynovych, the First Vice-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine form the tribune of the Parliament during the morning sitting, representing the Bill №3251 "The Bill on Amendments to the constitution of Ukraine (re the Immunity Granting for certain officials)." The Bill envisages the withdrawal of the immunity not only from the People´s Deputies but from the President as well.
    
    "The Bill (№3251) is aimed first of all at the equal law for everyone. In Ukrainian Country there must be no citizen to have exception in the Laws of Ukraine implementation", - O. Lavrynovych stressed.
    
    According to him, irrespective of what position the citizen occupies, President of Ukraine or People´s Deputy of Ukraine or working in the Ukrainian court, - requirements and obligations of the Ukrainian laws are compulsory for everyone."
    
    Representing the Bill №3251 O. Lavrynovych explained is norms: "All the high-ranking officials having obligations before the People of Ukraine in the name of the state should be excused only from the being arrested". He specified that: "These people might be arrested under the condition when their guilt is proved and there is accusative judgment, otherwise in case of the necessity that is observed from the course of the investigation. Due to these facts the People´s Deputy, the Judge of Ukraine or the President of Ukraine might be arrested until the sentence is passed after the Verkhovna Rada agreement."
    
    390 People´s Deputies upheld the adjusting of the Bill №3251 "Bill on Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (re the Guarantee of Immunity for certain Officials)" to the agenda and its further direction to the Constitutional Court.
    
• 20:5325.10.09 Thomas Martinez (Florida, USA)
• • Who cares if the lifting of immunity includes the president and judge's. It should include everyone in a government position. Yush, you should be happy that they finally voted for it. As far as I've read, it includes deputies, which I think is the most important, so they just can't go around and murder people, attack journalists, and rape children.
    
    Why in the hell is he complaining about 80% of Ukrainians in favor of it? He's making it sound as if they're going to continue for the remainder of humankind without immunity. Is he pissed because it includes the president and judge's? Or is he pissed because they included the president and judge's, that it would cause a delay in the law going into place? What I think he wanted is for it to go into place before the election, so the majority of the MP's currently in the VR would book out of town. But hey, it happened. The people will be proud of all of them, for now. Then what will be next on the agenda, as the next populist move before the election?
• 06:2521.10.09 UkrToday
• • The main hypocrite is Yushchenko.
    The new proposed amendments removes limmunity for criminal liability and also subjects the President and judges to the same standard.
    The current proposal is in line with the previous proposal made back in 2007.
    More importantly it removes liability for defamation charges for statements made within the course of the parliamentary debate. bringing Ukraine in line with other western democracies.
    The President will no longer hold absolute immunity and can also be prosecuted for any breaches of Ukrainian law and if found guilty by a court will automatically lose office. The president will now only be detained with the consent of the parliament.
    This proposal could have been in place years ago except Yushchenko refused to limit the president's immunity.
    Yushchenko's proposed Constitutional reform retains immunity for the president and Judges.
    The proposed amendments will now be forwarded to the Constitutional Court for review and represented for approval in February 2010.
• 05:3021.10.09 elmer
• • Yushchenko is, of course, correct about the delay.
    This should have been done a long, long time ago, and passing it the way they did causes further delay.
    But the way the brutally corrupt game is played in Ukraine, from top to bottom, it takes time to see who will "play fair" when there is no more immunity to protect members of Parliament from killing and raping the people of Ukraine.
    To the crooks who comprise the "political elite," appearances are more important than actually doing something.
    They think they have the people fooled - but at least 80% of the people are NOT fooled.
    And if the boys and girls who comprise the "political elite" thugs don't finally do the right thing - there will be hell to pay.