It needs to be regulated not only to eliminate the arbitrariness of officials, but also to support the international image of the state.
The absence of the decree of the President of Ukraine on the introduction of martial law in Ukraine from February 24, 2022, the rules on limiting the departure of men and conscripts abroad, which was recently officially announced by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, led to the actions of officials in matters of border crossing at their own discretion, which in turn gave rise to corruption in this area, writes in his material for ZN.UA “Corruption on the border during the war: how to cure the obscene disease of a strong state» deputy head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption Andriy Vyshnevskyi.
He emphasizes that the Constitution of Ukraine gives only the head of state together with the parliament the right to limit the constitutional rights of citizens, and not all of them.
“Such a mechanism is a safeguard against dictatorship and arbitrariness of officials. Already today, the absence of a legal decision to limit the right to freely leave the territory of Ukraine leads to the arbitrariness of officials in matters of border crossing and to the explosion of corruption in this area,” writes Vyshensky.
From February 24 to April 1, border guards were guided by this issue exclusively by letters of the administration of the State Border Service and its official notifications, and from April 1, amended to take into account the introduction of martial law, the Rules for crossing the state border of Ukraine by conscripts.
Instead, the Supreme Court of Ukraine has already satisfied a number of requests to deny citizens the opportunity to cross the state border. The Ukrainian Armed Forces justifies its decisions by the imperfect legal regulation of the ban on the departure of Ukrainian citizens outside its territory, the establishment of categories of persons to whom this ban does not apply, and, as a result, the unequal interpretation of the legislation by citizens, bodies of the State Border Service and the court.
“The manner in which the limitation of the constitutional right should be established is not a matter of constitutional theory or legal purity of legal regulation. This is a fundamental question of the practical protection of the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as the extent to which Ukraine can be considered a developed and stable democracy,” the expert notes.
He emphasizes that any legal uncertainty always creates arbitrariness of officials and corruption. At the same time, even in the conditions of war, any processes in the state must take place in the legal field, according to transparent and understandable rules based on the rule of law.
“Any real steps aimed at fighting corruption inside the country are a signal to our external partners that we are aware of these problems and our responsibility for the further development of Ukraine as a democratic legal state with stable institutions,” – points to the global need to correct the legal conflict in the issue of Vyshenskyi citizens crossing the border.
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As stated during the presentation of the study “Corruption schemes and risks during departure from Ukraine under martial law” Artem Sytnyk, deputy head of the NAKC, the decree of the President of Ukraine on the introduction of martial law in Ukraine on February 24 did not introduce a ban on the departure of men abroad. Thus, in accordance with the norms of the Constitution, the current restrictions on traveling abroad do not correspond to the norms of the current legislation. The main reason for such a gap in the decree is the insufficiently professionally performed work of the employees of the President's Office in the hasty preparation of the decree of the head of state.
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