The Rada wants to change the article of the Criminal Code on bribery: what does draft law No. 15221 provide?

Deputies propose to clarify the rules on liability for providing an unlawful benefit

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has registered draft law No. 15221 “On Amendments to Parts Three and Four of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine”. The document concerns the clarification of the provisions on criminal liability for providing an unlawful benefit to officials.

The initiative aims to eliminate the possibility of ambiguous interpretation of the norms of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and ensure the principle of legal certainty.

Why the need for changes arose

The authors of the draft law draw attention to the technical and legal shortcomings of the current version of the article, which in practice allow for an overly broad interpretation of criminal law norms.

In particular, they are talking about the risk that qualifying features may mistakenly apply not only to the actual provision of an unlawful benefit, but also to the offer or promise to provide it.

According to the initiators of the document, such an approach contradicts the principle of legal certainty and may lead to an unjustified expansion of the boundaries of criminal liability.

What exactly is proposed to be changed

The draft law proposes to clarify parts three and four of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine without changing the current sanctions.

In particular, it is planned to more clearly define responsibility for:

providing an unlawful benefit to an official occupying a responsible position;
committing such actions in advance by a group of persons;
providing an unlawful benefit to an official occupying a particularly responsible position;
committing the corresponding actions by an organized group.
What is the punishment provided for

If the draft law is adopted, the sanctions will remain unchanged:

from 4 to 8 years of imprisonment – for actions provided for in part three of the article;
from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment – for actions provided for in part four of the article.

In both cases, additional punishment in the form of confiscation of property is possible.

The draft law does not increase liability

The authors of the document emphasize that the changes are exclusively technical and legal in nature and are not aimed at expanding criminalization or increasing punishment.

The main goal is to make the norms of the Criminal Code clearer and prevent different interpretations during law enforcement.