The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that changes the procedure for holding local council deputies accountable.
296 deputies voted for the corresponding law. The fewest votes were given by the Party of Regions (1), the "Revival" faction (2), and the SDPU(o) (2).
The "regionalists" explained their refusal by saying that they had promised voters to remove immunity from deputies of all levels.
To this, Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn noted that the words of the "regionalists" are deceitful, since the immunity of local council deputies is regulated by law, while that of Verkhovna Rada deputies is regulated by the Constitution.
"Your faction will still have time in the new Verkhovna Rada to fulfill this promise," said Lytvyn.
According to the new version of the law on the status of local council deputies, a criminal case against them can be initiated only by the prosecutor general, the deputy prosecutor general, the prosecutor of Crimea, and the prosecutor of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
The relevant council must be notified of the initiation of the case within one day.
The preventive measure for local council deputies, in particular a written undertaking not to leave, is determined by a court, and the council is also informed of this.
According to the author of the law, Yuriy Klyuchkovskyi, in this way the law will not allow "a case against a deputy to be quietly initiated," but will also "remove the dissatisfaction in society" caused by the provision on the immunity of local council deputies.