Top priorities in the operation of the Justice Ministry of Ukraine in 2017 would be informing Ukrainians about their rights, proper law protection, business support and minimization of corruption risks, Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has said.

The minister presented the top priorities of the ministry at a meeting in the ministry in Kyiv on February 17.

"The rule of law. These words should become a real sense," he said. Petrenko said that the good work of the free-of-payment law assistance system.

"Each Ukrainian should realize his or her right to be protected, irrespective of the status," the minister said.

He said that the parliament enlarged the list of persons who can receive free-of-payment law assistance. Now internally displaced persons (IDPs), ATO participants and members of their families, people who do not have funds to receive law advises and pay for a lawyer are on the list.

The second important direction of the ministry's work is minimization of corruption risks and business support.

"We continue deregulation… We will do everything not to allow registration of acts making obstacles to business," the minister said.

"The third priority is that each Ukrainian receives a real weapon – knowledge of own rights," he said.

He said that the project "I have right" should become nation-wide. It will be implemented in blocks concerning rights of Ukrainians. The minister hopes that each person would receive knowledge required to avoid manipulations by officials and use their rights in the judicial sphere.

"The fourth priority is the further institutional building of justice agencies… A strategic vision for the introduction of reforms for at least one, two or three years should be," the minister said.

He also pointed out the penal system reform. It aims at militarization of its structure and improvement of the conditions for servicing sentences.