Internet Association issues warning over new Cabinet of Ministers Resolution

The Ukrainian Internet Association has called on the Cabinet of Ministers to revoke Resolution No. 1169 from 26 September “On approving Procedure for receiving a court order for measures temporarily restricting human rights, and the use of information obtained”. At a press conference on Friday, the Head of the Association’s Board stated that the Resolution is in contravention of the Constitution and an infringement of fundamental human rights.

The Resolution stipulates procedure for court orders to secretly gain entry to a person’s home or other property, use technical means to gain information, intercept communications or carry out wiretapping.

Ms Popova’s believes that the Resolution contravenes norms of the Constitution, tries to change or “supplement” the laws on investigative operations and on the judicial system. She says that of particular concern is the use of a principle new to Ukrainian jurisprudence: “The Procedures are to be applied in cases when nothing else is legally envisaged.”

She pointed to the principle of the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, for example, Article 6: “Bodies of legislative, executive and judicial power exercise their authority within the limits established by this Constitution and in accordance with the laws of Ukraine”, and Article 19: “Bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government and their officials are obliged to act only on the grounds, within the limits of authority, and in the manner envisaged by the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine.”

The Internet Association is convinced that the Resolution undermines the foundations of legal proceedings by changing a motivated decision by the court to “permission” issued by the Chair of an appellate court without appropriate procedure. Such permits are effectively not subject to control leading to “total secrecy”.

“Most regrettably, the adoption of this Resolution has not received any legal assessment from the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General, from the Supreme Court, or from the Verkhovna Rada which is symptomatic of the ruinous state of legal relations in Ukraine”.

Ms Popova said that the Internet Association had sent a letter to all those bodies, as well as an open letter to the President, calling for the Resolution to be revoked.

From information published by http://human-rights.unian.net/ukr/detail/186034