Updated 5:04 p.m. Moscow Time
KIEV, September 30 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine's bill on vetting of officials contradicts domestic and international laws and will entail numerous lawsuits, the country's prosecutor general said Tuesday.
"In many cases, the bill on vetting contradicts the constitution of Ukraine and principles of the international law. More than one million citizens are affected by this bill. This violates the principle of personal responsibility. If this bill comes into force, it will bring about a great number of lawsuits, including those filed to the European Court of Human Rights," Vitaliy Yarema said.
On September 16, the Verkhovna Rada, which is Ukraine's parliament, passed a bill that would allow Kiev to screen officials in both state and local self-government jobs.
The draft legislation appears to target officials who served under ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, and it is widely considered as a response to demands of Maidan activists to curb corruption in the echelons of power.
Screening is one of the key demands made by Maidan protesters, the driving force behind the February coup in Ukraine. Their other demands stipulate that a candidate should not be among the nation's 100 richest people, occupy a senior post in the executive body, or be a former Viktor Yanukovych administration member.
