Constitutional Court declares e-declaration for anti-corruption activists unconstitutional

A majority of judges made such a decision at a meeting of the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court on Thursday, a well-informed source in the court told Ukrinform.

On March 23, 2017, the Verkhovna Rada amended Article 3 of the law on preventing corruption and ordered representatives of the Public Integrity Council, formed in accordance with the law on the judicial system and the status of judges, as well as public councils, councils of public control, which were formed under state bodies and take part in the preparation of decisions on personnel issues, preparation, monitoring, evaluation of implementation of anti-corruption programs, to submit income declarations.

The European Union then criticized the Ukrainian amendments to the law on electronic declaration, which provided for the submission of asset declarations by civic activists.

The law came into force on March 30, 2017. According to the document, members of anti-corruption non-governmental organizations were obliged to submit electronic income declarations from January 1, 2018.

On June 13, 2018, Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova sent a motion to the Constitutional Court regarding the recognition of electronic declaration for public activists as unconstitutional.

In July 2018, 65 people's deputies also appealed to the Constitutional Court and demanded the abolition of the law on the obligation for anti-corruption activists to submit e-declarations.

On September 12, 2018, the Constitutional Court merged both proceedings in one case.

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