The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has adopted bill No. 7441 in general to amend the Law on the Judicial System and the Status of Judges in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine on the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) and to define the jurisdiction of appeals in existing corruption-related cases.
Some 254 Members of Parliament out of the 336 registered in the session hall on Thursday, July 12, voted for the bill tabled by Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, an UNIAN correspondent has reported.
Under the bill, appeals in corruption cases filed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau cannot be considered by other courts except the HACC Appeals Chamber, the news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda said.
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This means that all cases regarding top officials like suspended head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine of Roman Nasirov, fugitive Ukrainian Members of Parliament Oleksandr Onyshchenko and Mykola Martynenko, and others shall be handled by the HACC.
As was reported, the United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) insisted on the cancellation of already adopted provisions of the HACC law, which allowed courts of general jurisdiction to consider old cases opened against corrupt officials, including appeals against rulings by courts of first instance.
This measure is expected to contribute to unlocking a new IMF disbursement.
The HACC law was originally passed by Ukraine's parliament on June 7.
On June 11, the president signed the bill into law, which became effective from June 14.
