The Agency for Legislative Initiatives is a member of the Coordination Council for the Implementation of the Overarching Strategic Plan for Law Enforcement Reform as Part of Ukraine’s Security and Defence Sector for 2023–2027 (OAS). On 18 June, Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of ALI’s ‘Law and Order’ Area, presented ALI’s concept for the future Law ‘On Law Enforcement Agencies at the second meeting of the Expert Group. The meeting brought together representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, state bodies, law enforcement agencies, the academic community, civil society and international partners, including the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) and the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine.
Representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Interagency Research Centre on Problems of Combating Organised Crime under the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy also shared their work and proposals.
The law is due to be adopted in the second quarter of 2026 but currently exists only as a concept. Its purpose is to unify the principles governing the work of law enforcement agencies, delimit their powers and establish guarantees of institutional independence and social protection for their personnel. Most importantly, it should formalise the transition from a coercive model to a service-oriented model consistent with European standards.
Debate over the meaning of, and relationship between, the concepts of ‘law enforcement bodies’ and ‘law enforcement agencies’ has continued for years and intensified following the 2016 constitutional amendments on justice. The Constitution of Ukraine distinguished between these concepts, giving preference to the term ‘law enforcement agencies’ in the context of criminal justice. However, there is still no unified position or approach at state level. Legal uncertainty as to which institutions qualify as law enforcement agencies or law enforcement bodies leads to inconsistency and imbalance in the work of the relevant state institutions.
ALI’s Concept for the Draft Law ‘On Law Enforcement Agencies’ explains why a dedicated law is needed and what it should regulate.
Further work on the draft law will continue within a separate working group under the Coordination Council, which will focus directly on developing the provisions of the draft law ‘On Law Enforcement Agencies’.
