Dpty PM Reznikov assesses Venice Commission's opinion on bill on transition period as positive
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov considers the Venice Commission's opinion on the bill on the foundations of state policy for a transitional period and notes the strengths of the bill, in particular its inclusive preparatory process, "which is largely based on well-formed principles of international law, including the rule of law and respect for human rights and the principle of non-discrimination, and takes into account the needs of vulnerable groups in society."
In a commentary by the deputy prime minister, which was transferred to Interfax-Ukraine, Reznikov also said that, briefly recalling the Minsk agreements several times, not as a source of law, but as conditions in which Ukraine is forced to act, the Commission said "the conduct of local elections is the last element of 'Minsk,' that is, they are possible after the government of Ukraine regains full control over the state border."
Reznikov also said that, citing the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and PACE, the commission noted the effective control of Russia over the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular the fact that the occupation administrations in ORDLO were "created, supported and effectively controlled by Russia."
According to him, the comments of the Venice Commission are divided into those that the law dictates exclusively the Ukrainian vision of events and the vision of their further development in the future, as well as the terminology that exists in public international law.
The Venice Commission also said the bill reduces the essence of the conflict only to the interstate dimension (that is, to Russian intervention).
"We agree that the bill is Ukrainian-centric, it is not for nothing that documents of this type are called 'The Law of Ukraine.' It would be strange to direct national legislation to protect anyone, except for the protection of the interests of the Ukrainian state and people, citizens of Ukraine of all nationalities. As far as terminology is concerned, indeed, at the beginning of the draft law it was noted that some terms are defined precisely for the purposes of this law and in no way deny Ukraine's international obligations. This is not a separate understanding of international law, but only the establishment of certain aspects for more effective law enforcement in the conditions in which we are now," the deputy prime minister said.
According to him, almost all the recommendations of the Venice Commission can be taken into account when developing a bill in the Verkhovna Rada profile committee, and a number of aspects will be regulated by separate legislative acts, for example, on the issue of responsibility, establishing restrictions on holding positions, qualifications and the like.
"Actually, for this, the document was sent for the appropriate examination, in order to have a law that would meet European standards. Once again, I express my gratitude to the respected experts and the Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine for the fact that the draft law was assessed and the way for its further improvement was determined, which will make the legislation more stable and the position of Ukraine even stronger," Reznikov said.