News (#01-02 January-February 2016)

Draft

Extra Protection of Intellectual Property

The Draft Act On Introduction of Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding Protection of Intellectual Property Rights during Movement of Goods Across the Customs Border of Ukraine of 21 December 2015, No. 3681 has been submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Draft is aimed at ensuring compliance of the Customs Code with EU Regulations. It proposes:

— to extend the list of intellectual property to be protected during movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine;

— to update definitions of the terms “the goods infringing intellectual property rights”, “counterfeited” or “pirated” goods, etc.;

— to extend the scope of persons who can ask for protection of intellectual property rights during the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine;

— to extend the list of customs treatments under which measures of the protection of intellectual property rights are applied to goods;

— not to apply measures of the protection of intellectual property rights to so called “parallel imports” and to goods which move across the customs border of Ukraine under transit customs treatment;

— to provide for setting the way for application of safeguards in order to prevent unfair use of intellectual property rights in international business activities;

— to strengthen preventive and countermeasures regarding movement of counterfeited goods through international mail or international express mail, particularly, by introducing a special procedure for destroying small batches of goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights;

— to provide for an opportunity of pre-term (early) release of goods whose customs clearance has been suspended on suspicion of infringement of intellectual property rights.    

Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine

The Draft Act On Introduction of Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (regarding Justice) of 25 November 2015, No. 3524 has been submitted by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

The proposed amendments to the Constitution regarding justice and related legal institutions are as follows:

— depoliticization and provision of independence of judicial power; establishment and activity of authorities in charge of the judiciary in compliance with European standards;

— stepping up the requirements and professional standards for the judiciary;

— abridgement of immunity of judges up to the functional one;

— ensuring guarantees regarding financing as well as protection of the professional interests of judges;

— improving regulations regarding the jurisdiction of courts and alternative dispute resolution;

— entrenchment of opportunity to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court;

— improving the principles of judicial proceedings;

— enhancement of the system of judicial organization in order to provide a person with the right to a fair trial; ensuring the institutional ability of the Prosecutor’s Office;

— ensuring the institutional ability of the system of execution of court rulings; ensuring the institutional ability of advocacy;

— improving the activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and implementation of the concept of a constitutional claim by a person; ensuring the continuous and efficient work of bodies of judicial power during the transition period.   

 

Emissions

The Draft Act of Ukraine On Ratification of the Protocolon Emission Registers and Pollutant Transfer of 12 January 2016, No.0078,has been submitted by Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko. The purpose of the Draft is ratification of the Protocol to create a single unified electronic system of access to information on permits, reports and materials of environmental inspections for government authorities and general public in order to provide access to such information for each citizen and to increase the efficiency of e-governance in the field of environmental protection.

The system will include permits, reports and materials of inspections in the field of environmental protection and has to provide an opportunity to submit documents for permits electronically, and will also enable handling the complex of system information to make significant environmental decisions.

 

Export and credit agency

The On Providing Large-Scale Export Expansion of Ukrainian Manufacturers by Insuring, Guaranteeing and Reducing Costs of Export Crediting Act of Ukraine was passed in the first reading on 24 November 2015 (Draft Act No.2142à of 22 June 2015).

The Act, in particular, determines:

— the terminology regarding implementation of the government support of exports (export credit, commercial risk, non-commercial risk, insurance of foreign economic contracts, etc.);

— the main principles of creating a state institution for export support;

— sources for financing the institution;

— the principles on which such state support will be based — voluntary involvement, openness, competitiveness, integration into the global space;

— the procedure for formation and operation by the Institution’s governing bodies and controlling bodies;

— focus areas of state support for export;

— the mechanism of ensuring the transparency of the Institution’s activities and the possibility of public control;

— peculiarities of the Institution’s activities (insurance, reinsurance, guaranteeing) and restrictions of its activities;

— the possibility of the Institution’s participation in the implementation of government programs of export credit cost reduction, provided that the relevant funds are provided for in the state budget;

— the procedure for regulation of the Institution’s activities (based on the Charter to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and other laws of Ukraine including regulations of the National Commission for State Regulation of Financial Services Markets), etc.

 

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