Why did Ukraine's Constitutional Court strike down illicit enrichment liability?
A retrospective on the 26 February 2019 ruling that removed a criminal offence introduced in 2015 at the demand of the EU and the IMF.
What did it mean when Ukraine's Constitutional Court struck down the criminal offence of illicit enrichment? The ruling, issued on 26 February 2019 and covered here as a retrospective on 28 February 2019, declared Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional. That article set out punishment for officials who unlawfully enriched themselves.
The provision had a specific origin. Criminal liability for illicit enrichment was introduced in 2015 at the demand of the European Union, as part of the conditions for visa liberalisation, and of the International Monetary Fund. The court's decision therefore removed an offence that had been adopted in response to requirements set by two of Ukraine's main external partners.
That link is the core of the story. The article was not an isolated domestic measure but a commitment tied to Ukraine's relations with the EU and the IMF. A ruling that declared it unconstitutional placed the court's decision alongside those external commitments.
Other news from the same days
Elsewhere, the national Paralympic winter sports team finished first overall at the 2019 World Championships in Prince George, Canada, with 42 medals: nine gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze, as reported on 27 February 2019. On the international stage, Russian commentator Dmitry Kiselyov listed what he claimed were targets in the United States after a warning from Vladimir Putin about deploying nuclear missiles in Europe; Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that any target list existed.
