THE FUTURE OF CORRUPT OFFICIALS REGISTER AFTER THE ECHR JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF SYTNYK V. UKRAINE

Author
, ,

In heading

 Law;

Signed print

 27.05.2025

Issues number

 2025 - № 2 (61)

Page

 102-118

Type of articles

 Scientific article

Code UDK

 342.95:[343.35:35.08]

ISSN print

 2411-5584

Abstract

 Problem setting. Since 2014, Ukraine has been maintaining a public Unified State Register of persons who have committed corruption or corruption-related offences (the «Corrupt Officials Register»). In recent years, there have been discussions in professional circles on the potential shortcomings in the legal regulation of the Register. Recently, the functioning of the Register was addressed by the European Court of Human Rights (the «ECHR»). In its landmark decision of 24 April 2025 in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE (application no. 16497/20), the ECHR examined the principles of the Register’s operation within the confines of the European Convention on Human Rights (the «Convention»).
Recent research and publication analysis. Certain aspects of the regulatory framework governing the Corrupt Officials Register have been studied by Ukrainian scholars Ya. I. Maslova, O. R. Ivasyn, T. M. Davydenko, R. Shevchenko, A. P. Pashynskyi and others. However, the matter of legal consequences of the ECHR decision in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE for the further functioning of the Register has not yet been addressed in any domestic or foreign scientific paper.
Paper objective. The purpose of the article is to provide a systematic analysis of the ECHR judgment in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE and its possible impact on the future functioning of the Corrupt Officials Register, as well as to offer specific amendments to Ukrainian legislation with regard to the above.
Paper main body. In the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE, the ECHR inter alia found that Article 8 of the Convention was violated. The Court ruled that the inclusion of the applicant into the Ukrainian Corrupt Officials Register for an indefinite period constituted interference with the applicant’s right to respect for his private life that was not based on relevant & sufficient reasons and not proportionate to the pursuit of the declared legitimate aim.
Pursuant to Ukrainian law and well-established international practice, the Government of Ukraine is expected to take general measures in connection with this ECHR judgment, including amendments to legislation. Based on the wording of the judgment, founding principles of Ukrainian labour, administrative & criminal law and his legal practice, the author proposes concrete wording of amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Prevention of Corruption and the NACP Regulations on the Corrupt Officials Register. The essence of such legislative amendments is to establish clear terms for a person’s inclusion in the Register, depending on the nature of the offence committed.
Conclusion of the research. The ECHR judgment in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE confirmed the need for systematic changes in the functioning of the Ukrainian Corrupt Officials Register. In the light of the established violation of Article 8 of the Convention, Ukraine should amend the legal framework governing the Register as proposed by the author of the paper.
Short Abstract for an article
Abstract. The article provides a systematic analysis of the European Court of Human Rights decision in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE dated 24 April 2025 (application no. 16497/20) and its subsequent impact on the Ukrainian legal system. The author examines the reasons and preconditions that led to the Court’s conclusion regarding the violation of Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to the indefinite inclusion of an individual in the Unified State Register of Persons Who Have Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offences (the «Corrupt Officials Register»). The paper also discusses the current regulatory framework of the Corrupt Officials Register and points out the legal consequences that the decision in the case of SYTNYK v. UKRAINE may have for Ukraine in this context. Based on the results of the study, the author proposes specific wording for amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Prevention of Corruption and the NACP Regulations on the Corrupt Officials Register, which are related to establishing clear terms for a person’s inclusion in the Register depending on the nature of the offence committed.

Keywords

 European Court of Human Rights (ECHR); European Convention on Human Rights; case of Sytnyk v. Ukraine; Unified State Register of persons who have committed corruption or corruption-related offences (Corrupt Officials Register); National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP); corruption prevention; corruption.

Reviewer

External reviewer

Article in PDF

 Economic Theory and Law, 2025-2-102-118

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Code DOI

 https://doi.org/10.31359/2411-5584-2025-61-2-102

This post is also available in: Ukrainian

27.05.2025