Correspondence of convicts with bodies and persons authorised to protect human rights will not be subject to review

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted as a whole the Law of Ukraine ‘On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Ensuring the Right of Persons Held in Custody and Convicted Persons to Unimpeded Correspondence with a Lawyer’.

The purpose of the Law, which was developed by the Ministry of Justice, is to strengthen legislative guarantees for the protection of human rights, in particular in the area of ensuring the right of convicts and persons held in custody to confidential correspondence with a defence lawyer, and to bring legislation into line with the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which was ratified by Ukraine in July 1997.

The necessity of adopting the draft Law was connected with the fact that the provisions of current legislation, namely the Law of Ukraine ‘On Preliminary Detention’ and the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine, did not comply with Article 8 of the aforementioned Convention.

According to the law, correspondence addressed by convicts to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as to other relevant bodies of international organisations of which Ukraine is a member or participant, to authorised persons of such international organisations, and to the prosecutor, shall not be subject to review and shall be sent to the address within twenty-four hours from the time of its submission. Correspondence received by convicts from the aforementioned bodies and persons shall also not be subject to review.

Correspondence addressed by convicts to a defence lawyer in a case, who exercises their powers in accordance with Article 44 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, shall not be subject to review and shall be sent to the address within twenty-four hours from the time of its submission. Correspondence received by convicts from such a defence lawyer shall also not be subject to review.

The adopted amendments regarding the prohibition of reviewing correspondence do not in any way exclude the possibility of inspecting and seizing such correspondence in the manner provided for by Articles 187 and 187-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, if there are sufficient grounds to believe that this correspondence contains data about a committed crime or documents and items that have evidentiary value, and if it is impossible to obtain this data by other means.

Press Service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
Tel. 271-17-33
E-mail: [email protected]