Presidential Decrees are to be published

President Yuschchenko has issued a Decree removing the unlawful stamp restricting access “Not to be published” from numerous Presidential decrees and instructions, an absolute majority of which were issued by his predecessors. Decree No. 963/2009, which has been published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada declassifies the Regulations on the State Department of Affairs [the title is as obscure as its role in the Ukrainian – translator], approved by Decree No. 1180 from 17.02.02. The Maidan Alliance and Kharkiv Human Rights Group [KHPG] had been seeking this document’s official publication for several years including via the courts [the case is under examination by the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal.) As reported here, the Maidan Alliance and KHPG have repeatedly sent formal requests to the President asking for the texts of acts under the unlawful stamps “Not to be published” and “Not to be printed”, and have also initiated a number of civil law suits. In April this year, they were informed by the Deputy Head of the President’s Secretariat Marina Stavniychuk that a review was underway of stamps restricting access to Presidential legal acts. The removal of unlawful stamps can be considered a victory for the persistent consolidated efforts of civic society.