Opinion on the Draft Law of Ukraine on Police and Police Activities

Opinion on the Draft Law of Ukraine on Police and Police Activities (1 December 2014) notes that this Draft Law contains many positive aspects which correspond to international standards and good practices. Certain areas, however, would benefit from improvement: • the provisions of the Draft Law on the roles and responsibilities of individual police authorities/units, and on inter-agency cooperation mechanisms should be improved and clarified. • the Draft Law should enhance accountability of the police by including clear and independent complaints mechanisms, and should introduce specific provisions to ensure that key human rights standards are followed. • further discussions on the Draft Law should be conducted with all relevant stakeholders from different parts of society, and the Draft Law itself should undergo a proper and realistic impact assessment, including a full financial impact assessment.