Corruption Perceptions Index

Partially implemented

The competition for the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) did take place, but it is quite difficult to say that a professional and independent head was selected. Olena Duma has no specialized experience in the field of criminal justice or related areas, and her political connections are also of concern. Six months after the appointment, these doubts about the professionalism and integrity of the new ARMA head begin to come true: some actions of Olena Duma raise questions about their expediency and effectiveness.

The competition for the head of the NABU took place despite the outbreak of the full-scale war and the suspension of the commission's work for more than six months. The competition lasted about a year. According to its results, Semyon Kryvonos was elected head of the Bureau in March 2023. Although there were some controversial moments in the process of the competitive selection, one way or another, the competition procedure itself can be considered a success.

As a result of the appointment of new leaders, the NABU and the SAPO enhanced cooperation between the institutions and significantly intensified the investigation of high-profile corruption cases. Although, when assessing the existing results of the work of the new NABU Director, it is necessary to consider that investigations into certain cases, with suspicion notices having been served in 2023, were initiated even before his appointment to this position.

On November 10, 2023, the first meeting of the commission to select the new NACP Head was held. The powers of the previous head of the body ceased on January 15, 2024, and the commission believes that the winner can be determined approximately by mid-February. It is important that the competition be conducted fair and transparent and consider the shortcomings of previous competitions. We hope that in the end, the NACP will get a decent leader, who will base their work on professionalism and integrity.

Partially implemented

In January 2023, the High Council of Justice (HCJ) finally became authorized. Almost all HCJ members received positive recommendations from members of the public. The launch of the HCJ is crucial because this body is one of the mechanisms that provides guarantees of judicial independence. The HCJ considers disciplinary complaints against judges, complaints about interference with judicial independence, dismisses judges from office, etc.

The HCJ has already shown initial results. Several judges were dismissed for committing significant disciplinary offenses, in particular those who adopted illegal decisions to ban peaceful assemblies during the Revolution of Dignity. HCJ meetings are broadcast, so transparency and openness of work are ensured.

On December 7, 2023, the HCJ announced the composition of the selection commission, which will select candidates for the positions of disciplinary inspectors. It is they who will consider disciplinary complaints against judges. The HCJ has regained the authority to consider disciplinary complaints against judges while the service of disciplinary inspectors is being created, so as not to slow down this process in the future. These complaints have not been considered for almost 2 years.

In June 2023, the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) became authorized and began operating. It consists of 16 members selected in an open competition with the participation of international representatives. The public had no doubts about the integrity and professionalism of the new members of the HQCJ either. The Commission resumed the qualification assessment of judges to, first of all, establish the compliance of current judges with their positions. The HQCJ will also select judges for vacant positions so that the courts can fully carry out their work.

In August 2023, the Public Integrity Council was established under the HQCJ. It is an advisory body that consists of representatives of civil society (journalists, lawyers, etc.); it assesses the integrity of judges and provides an opinion to the HQCJ.

Thus, the requirement to streamline the bodies of judicial self-government has been fulfilled. The HCJ and the HQCJ are mainly composed of competent and honest specialists who are actively working to eventually update the judiciary.

As for the reform of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, there are also positive developments. In August 2023, the President signed draft law No.3277 adopted by the Parliament, which, for the most part, considers the recommendations provided by the Venice Commission. Although the draft law did not take into account the recommendation to introduce the seventh international member to the Advisory Group of Experts, the Venice Commission assessed it positively.

According to the new law, the Advisory Group of Experts will operate for a transitional period of 6 years from the date of entry into force of this law. The Advisory Group of Experts will consist of six experts: one will be appointed by the President, the Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Judges each, one will be appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers on the proposal of the Venice Commission, and two more will be delegated by international organizations that have been providing Ukraine with technical assistance in the field of constitutional reform and the rule of law for a long time. The duration of the expert's mandate will be two years; that is, in six years, there will be several rotations of experts. This law also determines that candidates whose integrity assessment by the AGE is “does not comply with the requirement” will not be admitted to the next stages of the competition.

The Advisory Group of Experts was formed in September 2023, which announced the start of a competition for five vacant positions of CCU judges. Although it is not completed, from October 2023 to March 2024 inclusive, the AGE will have time to approve the methodology for assessing integrity and conduct this procedure. Thus, the recommendation to hold a transparent competition for the positions of CCU judges has not yet been implemented, but everything is aimed to fulfill it.

Partially implemented

The register of seized assets, put into commercial operation in early 2023, was opened to the public in August of the same year. However, the quality of this portal is poor.

For certain assets (which have no military use), there are no records of transactions in this register. Moreover, this register is inconvenient and incomplete for effective public monitoring of the work of the ARMA.

On October 10, 2023, the NACP opened access to the Unified State Register of Political Party Reporting. The submission of reports by political parties was also resumed under Law 3337-IX, which entered into force on December 26, 2023. This law provides for the submission of previously non-submitted reports on property, income, expenses, and liabilities of a financial nature, and the law prescribes specific deadlines for this. Party reports will be checked no more than 90 days from the date of receipt, which will be a big challenge for the NACP.

On December 10, 2023, the NACP opened access to the Unified State Register of Declarations of Officials. This happened due to the adoption of law 3384-IX in September, with the President's proposals after the veto. Unfortunately, draft law 9587-d was not vetoed; it allows officials to avoid getting into the Register of Corrupt Officials for lying in the declaration in the amount of up to UAH 1.342 mln.

Having opened the declarations, parliamentarians adopted a number of extremely dubious amendments that complicate, unbalance, and weaken the rules of declaring. The priority correction of two of them was urged by the European Commission: 1) to allow the NACP to check the previously verified assets and property of declarants again; 2) to allow the NACP to check the real estate and cars of declarants or their family members that they acquired before becoming declarants. Corresponding changes were approved by MPs on December8.

In August 2023, the NACP presented an information portal on monitoring the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Program (SAP) adopted in March 2023. The information on this portal is updated on a quarterly basis and allows for public oversight and analysis of the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures.

On February 24, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the introduction of public reporting on defense procurement in the Prozorro electronic system. The relevant changes were also introduced by the government to the resolution of November 11, 2022, No.1275 on the publication of information on defense procurement transactions and determining their item. However, the question of whether certain information on defense procurement is “sensitive” remains open.

In 2023, the Ministry for Restoration, together with the public, presented the first elements of the DREAM digital restoration ecosystem for accountable management. Open data on reconstruction and public API will allow citizens to monitor the implementation of recovery projects. The development of the ecosystem is still ongoing, and it currently contains a limited amount of open information. The Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property remains non-public.

On May 9, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted amendments to Resolution No. 263, which impacted the unblocking of public access to geoinformation systems in the rear regions of Ukraine.

However, despite the requirements of the CMU Resolution No. 835 on the publication of open data sets, municipalities resort to full or partial restriction of access to them and base such decisions on informal recommendations of the authorities. This worsens the situation with access to information significantly, as well as complicates the processes of managing it.

Partially implemented

Despite the martial law, the majority of above-threshold public procurement transactions for budgetary funds are carried out under tender procedures in the Prozorro electronic system. This also applies to repair and construction works; 70% of the expected cost of such procurement transactions falls on open tenders with features. However, the level of competition for them is low (an average of 1.22 participants), and there are several exceptions in the legislation when contracts on works can be concluded directly.

There is some progress in the issue of procurement for reconstruction with donor funds. In order for the Prozorro system to be used by donor organizations, Prozorro SE has developed a special functionality based on the construction kit principle. It allows for a flexible adjustment of a procurement transaction in accordance with rules of international organizations and donors.

The World Bank approved the use of the Prozorro electronic system for all projects financed in Ukraine. However, according to the Ministry of Economy, shortly after it, the World Bank agreed with the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank to use Prozorro only for small tenders that do not exceed the thresholds of EUR 130,000 for goods and services and EUR 5 mln for works.

Procurement control and monitoring measures have not changed. Last year, the government expanded the list of types of procurement transactions that can be monitored by the State Audit Service of Ukraine. In particular, it has the opportunity to control simplified procurement transactions, which are currently conducted by procuring entities in the field of defense. In addition, to strengthen the influence of control, the Verkhovna Rada established criminal liability for obstructing the activities of the State Audit Service and providing it with knowingly false information.

But despite these changes, the control of public procurement is still extremely far from ideal. The State Audit Service wants more rights and influence, in particular the ability to stop payments under the already concluded contracts; we consider such an initiative dangerous. Instead, for real control effectiveness, it is necessary to monitor procurement before concluding contracts to prevent the negative consequences of violations, identify more of significant violations, correct gaps that allow those responsible to avoid liability, etc.