Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has passed at second reading bill on private detective activities (investigations, No. 3726).

A total of 261 lawmakers supported the document on Thursday, April 13.

The bill describes general legal grounds for organizing private investigations.

According to the document, private investigations are intended to search, collect and record information, search for things, property, people and animals, establish facts and reveal circumstances under. It can be ordered by clients under private investigation contracts.

Ukrainian citizens aged 21 and above knowing the state language with higher law education or experience of work in investigation or pretrial investigation agencies for at least three years can be private detectives. They are to be trained and receive the certificates.

According to the bill, a private detective cannot be an official or an official of local self-government, law enforcement or judicial authorities.

Laws that regulate the legal status of law enforcement officers do not apply to subjects of private detective activity (private detectives, associations of private detectives).

Private detectives do not have the right to carry out investigation activities attributed by the law to the exclusive competence of operations units.

Private detectives have the right to engage in private investigative activities as an individual businessman or together with other private detectives by establishing a union.

The Justice Ministry of Ukraine will issue certificates to private investigators.

The parliament passed at first reading the bill almost a year ago, on April 19, 2016.