Analysis of the draft law:
This draft law proposes a fundamental reform of the system of supervision and control over institutions of the penitentiary system and other places of deprivation of liberty in Ukraine. The main essence of the document lies in the complete elimination of the function of general prosecutorial supervision over compliance with laws in the execution of court decisions in criminal cases and the application of coercive measures. Instead, a so-called dual system of regular inspections is introduced, which combines internal departmental control of executive authorities and enhanced independent external monitoring carried out by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights within the framework of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).
Structure of the draft law and main changes compared to the current legislation
The draft law has the character of “cross-cutting amendments” and provides for making adjustments to a number of codes and laws of Ukraine. Structurally, the changes are divided into the following areas:
- Reform of the functions of the prosecutor’s office: Provisions regarding prosecutorial supervision over compliance with laws in places of deprivation of liberty, pre-trial detention facilities, psychiatric institutions, special institutions for children, and bodies of the National Guard are fully excluded. Instead, the prosecutor retains exclusively procedural powers within the framework of criminal proceedings (new Article 25¹ of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office”), such as the right to participate in the court’s consideration of matters related to the execution of sentences, to visit places of detention of detainees in connection with specific cases, and to immediately release unlawfully detained persons.
- Transformation of the control system in the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine: In the Criminal Executive Code (Article 23), departmental control of the Ministry of Justice and the mandatory nature of regular penitentiary inspections in accordance with the new basic law are established. From the procedure for appealing disciplinary sanctions against convicts (Article 135), the possibility of appealing to a prosecutor is removed — from now on, complaints are submitted only to a higher-level
… level or to the court.
Main provisions of the draft, important for key stakeholders
For a more detailed understanding of the changes recorded in the comparative table, they should be grouped by the interests of different audiences:
1. For lawmakers and legal experts
- Deputinization of the prosecution service: The so-called “general supervision” of the prosecution service over places of deprivation of liberty is finally abolished, which brings Ukrainian legislation closer to European standards, where the prosecution service is solely a prosecution body, rather than an authority controlling the execution of sentences.
- Clear separation of control: The architecture of the “dual system” is legally formalized: internal control is exercised by the relevant ministries (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defense), while external control is carried out by the Ombudsman and the public.
- Regulatory definition of confidentiality: The conditions for conducting confidential NPM interviews with detainees are legislatively detailed—under conditions that completely rule out eavesdropping.
