Lustration Law (Ukraine)

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Logo of the "Ukrainian Lustration Committee"

The law on cleaning the cadres ( Ukrainian Про очищення влади ), referred to in the German-language media as the Lustration Act , came into force on October 16, 2014. In this context, the term lustration (Ukrainian Люстрація ) describes the removal of politically charged employees from the civil service of Ukraine .

prehistory

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the political turnaround in Eastern Europe, lustration laws (e.g. the Stasi Records Act in reunified Germany ) were passed in most of the states of the former Eastern Bloc , with the aim of dealing with the communist past in terms of personnel and content . In the now independent Ukraine, too, there were discussions at that time about removing members of the KGB secret service or leading cadres of the CPSU or the Komsomol from the state service. This did not happen, however, and large parts of the old nomenclature continued to hold important positions in the executive and judiciary , as well as in many scientific institutions.

After the Orange Revolution and the election of Viktor Yushchenko as President of Ukraine , a bill on lustration was first introduced in the Ukrainian parliament in February 2005 . Ultimately, however, there was no adoption. One of the reasons for this was fears that consistent lustration could exacerbate internal political tensions, especially in eastern Ukraine . During the election campaign for the parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2012 , Vitali Klitschko , the chairman of the UDAR party , once again called for a comprehensive lustration.

Adoption of the law after the Euromaidan

After lustration was also one of the main demands of the Euromaidan protests, a lustration committee was set up in the Cabinet of Ministers when the transitional government was formed on February 26, 2014 , with Jehor Sobolev becoming chairman . After no concrete measures were initially taken, there were renewed protests and sometimes violent actions. Civil servants and MPs from the Party of Regions were thrown into dumpsters or beaten up by protesters on several occasions . Borys Filatov , the deputy governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast , Ihor Kolomoyskyi , warned of impending political murders if there was no real lustration. On September 16, parliament finally passed a corresponding law with a narrow majority. Before the vote, the President of the Parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov , threatened to publicly denounce the MPs who were supposed to refuse his approval. On October 16, 2014, the law came into force after being signed by the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko .

Content and effects of the law

According to the law, state employees who worked for more than a year in management positions during the term of office of President Viktor Yanukovych (i.e. from January 2010 to February 2014) and who held these positions during the Euromaidan period from November 21, 2013 to November 22, are subject to February 2014, did not cancel the lustration. The law also affects civil servants who cannot clearly document their income situation, as well as former members of the KGB or officials of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It is estimated that if the law were fully implemented, up to a million civil servants could lose their jobs and be banned from public service for a period of ten years. All items that have been determined by election are excluded from the lustration. This also applies to the members of the Rada. The law provides that state employees who can demonstrate involvement on the government side in the fighting during the 2014 crisis in Ukraine are not affected by the ban. The process of lustration is expected to be completed in December 2016. Immediately after the Lustration Act came into force, 39 administrative officials were dismissed from civil service on its basis. According to media reports, around 350 state employees had already been dismissed under the law in December 2014.

criticism

Human rights activists opposed collective condemnation of all officials. According to the Ukrainian Public Prosecutor Vitaly Yarema, the law violates the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Ukrainian constitution . In December 2014, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe called for a revision of the law. The lustration should only affect government employees who, in performing their functions, could pose a significant threat to human rights and democracy. A culpable act must also be proven in each individual case. An independent commission, and not the Ministry of Justice, should be responsible for the lustration.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dagmar Unverhau (Ed.): Lustration, opening of files, democratic upheaval in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary . 2nd Edition. LIT Verlag, Münster 2005, ISBN 3-8258-4515-X . ; (Link to details)
  2. ^ Gabriele Baumann, Nina Müller: Coming to terms with the past and culture of remembrance in the countries of Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe. (PDF 547 kB) In: kas.de. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, October 2005, accessed on June 16, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Aleksandr Savitskij: Is Lustration Coming in Ukraine? In: Deutsche Welle. February 10, 2005, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Steven Woehrel: Ukraine's Orange Revolution and US Policy. (PDF 66 kB) In: fas.org. Federation of American Scientists, April 1, 2005, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Benjamin Bidder, Maik Grossekathöfer: Careers: fight without rules. In: Spiegel Online. June 25, 2012, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Nina Jeglinski: How Ukraine tries to fight corruption. In: Der Tagesspiegel. April 7, 2014, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Jutta Sommerbauer: Ukraine: The arduous fight against corruption. In: DiePresse.com. October 8, 2014, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Andreas Stein: Ukrainian "Lustration". In: boell.de. Heinrich Böll Foundation, October 21, 2014, accessed on June 16, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Editor: Thirty-nine Ukrainian top officials to lose jobs under lustration law. In: en.interfax.com.ua. interfax-Ukraine, October 16, 2014, accessed on June 16, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Cathrin Kahlweit: Government in the Ukraine - State restructuring - Yazenjuk should fix it. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. December 19, 2014, accessed June 16, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Editor: Lustration law takes effect in Ukraine. In: en.interfax.com.ua. interfax-Ukraine, October 15, 2014, accessed on June 16, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Editor: Council of Europe Venice Commission: some provisions of Ukrainian lustration law should be revised. In: en.interfax.com.ua. interfax-Ukraine, December 12, 2014, accessed June 16, 2015 .