Law on National Police violates rights of Ukrainians

The Law of Ukraine “On the National Police”, passed by the Parliament of Ukraine, contains a number of provisions which restricts the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians.

Expert of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms Oleksandr Banchuk said this to the Human Rights Information Center correspondent.

According to the Article 25 of the Law “On the National Police”, the Interior Ministry of Ukraine will maintain 18 databases on its own and will have access to anther 20 state registries.

“Any police officer during performance of his duties has the right to prompt and unfettered access. In fact, this violates the European standards and the constitutional framework for the protection of the personal data, since such access should be given only in cases of criminal investigation. I don’t understand why a patrol officer should have access to the register of notary acts or to the register of taxpayers,” Oleksandr Banchuk.

In accordance with the Article 26 of the Law “On the National Police”, the police are allowed to fingerprint any detainee, even for the administrative offense.

The wording of the Article 31 of the Law legitimizes the current illegitimate practice of the police when a police officer may stop any passer-by and demand that he show his documents. Such document inspection infringes on personal freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution. The Fundamental Law guarantees that every person shall be free and personal freedom may be restricted by the court decision, the expert says. This norm also legitimizes the so-called racial profiling.

Article 32 stipulates the practice of interrogation of a person. “The effective legislation provides for fact finding in the administrative offence cases. It may be a road accident, smoking, drinking alcohol in restricted areas. The interrogation may take place while writing an incident report. There is a separate case of interrogation in the criminal case. The new law stipulates that interrogation may take place at the police station. This means that it may be used for manipulation,” Oleksandr Banchuk explains.

Article 37 of the Law “On the National Police” imposes the restrictions on property rights. It allows seizing belongings and even confiscating a vehicle if there is a reason to suspect a person.