Replacing incarceration: Ukraine to introduce new method of punishment
Ukraine will introduce a new method of punishment (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In Ukraine, a new method of punishment, probation supervision, will be introduced in six months. It will serve as an alternative to imprisonment or deprivation of liberty, according to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
According to law №9185 passed by the Parliament, certain criminal offenses will be subject to probation supervision. It will become one of the primary forms of punishment, alongside imprisonment or deprivation of liberty, while also offering an alternative.
As explained by the authorities, this punishment can be applied in cases of:
- Evading alimony payments
- Disclosure of banking secrecy
- Domestic violence
- Coercion into sexual intercourse
There are over 140 such points in total.
"The punishment will be carried out without isolation from society, but with a set of responsibilities, failure to comply with which may result in more severe penalties," the statement says.
Probation supervision can be imposed for a period of one to five years. In case the convicted person fails to fulfill the court-mandated obligations during probation, their freedom can be restricted for up to 3 years.
The law will come into effect six months from the day following its publication.
Probation supervision is a punishment in the form of restricting the rights and freedoms of the convicted person, as defined by law and established by the court's verdict, with the application of supervisory and socio-educational measures without isolation from society.
Government's new initiative
The Cabinet of Ministers introduced a bill to the Ukrainian Parliament regarding the digitization of enforcement proceedings, proposing to close loopholes for debtors.
The bill proposes to impose arrests on deposits. Banking institutions, at the request of a court bailiff, should not continue deposit agreements, informing the bailiff of the deposit amount, and then imposing an arrest and transferring them to an account for debt repayment.
In case information about the owner of a vehicle is present in the Unified Register of Debtors, the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will refuse to perform registration actions. This provision existed before, but now it has been improved
