On 24 August, staff of Human Rights Ombudsman Office in the DPR attended a plenary meeting of the autumn session of the DPR People’s Council of I convocation. A number of socially significant bills were on the agenda.
The deputies voted for the improvement of the existing law “On the Prosecutor’s Office in the Donetsk People’s Republic” and brought its norms into conformity with the procedural legislation.
Also, three bills under the same name “On the judicial system of the Donetsk People’s Republic” were proposed for consideration. The key aspect is the establishment of a new system of courts in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic: the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Arbitration Court, the Military Court, the district, city, inter-district courts.
Equally important, a voting was conducted on one of three alternative bills regulating the status of judges of the Donetsk People’s Republic and their powers.
Also, according to the agenda of the plenary session, two bills with the same name “Criminal Procedure Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic” proposed by the deputies of the Sectoral Committee on Criminal and Administrative Law were a matter of discussion. The adoption of the Criminal Procedure Law of the DPR is one of the key issues. Currently, the bill of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic is now awaiting the signature to the Head of the Republic and comes into force 10 days after publication on the official website of the People’s Council.
Another issue on the agenda was voting for one of the two bills submitted by the deputies of the Committee on Criminal and Administrative Law and the Committee on Security and Defense.
The proposed bills define the tasks, principles and organization of the conduct of investigative activities, establish an exhaustive list of state bodies authorized to carry out the specified activities in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Also, special attention is paid to ensuring the rights and freedoms of person and citizen in the course of investigative activities.
Another important issue was the consideration of the bill regulating the basis of the anti-corruption expertise of normative legal acts aimed at identifying and eliminating corruption-related factors.
As regards the innovations of the social legislation, the bill “On Amendments to the Law of the Donetsk People’s Republic” On State Regulation in the Sphere of Extraction and (Processing) and Use of Coal (Shale Coal), on the Specifics of Social Protection of Workers of Mining Enterprises” was adopted. This bill introduces the possibility of choosing a measure of social support for eligible persons, in kind or by compensation payment.
As a result of the plenary session, the Ombudsman positively assessed the activities of parliamentarians aimed at improving the existing legislation of the Donetsk People’s Republic and ensuring state protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens.
We recall that in accordance with the Law “On the Human Rights Ombudsman in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Ombudsman has the right to appeal to the subjects of legislative initiative with proposals to amend and supplement the legislation of the Donetsk People’s Republic or to address the gaps in legislation.
