Ukraine will expand the register of persons prohibited from working with children: fines for employers will reach 68 thousand UAH

A draft Law No. 15266-1 "On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Strengthening the Protection of Children from Criminal Offenses Against Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity, as well as Criminal Offenses Related to Child Pornography and Sexual Exploitation of a Child" has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The document is an alternative to draft law No. 15266.

The draft proposes a comprehensive change to the norms of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUAO), the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU), the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine (CECU), as well as a number of laws in the fields of education, child protection, labor, and administrative supervision.

Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses

The draft law provides for the addition of a new Article 188-58 to the CUAO, which establishes liability for:

• hiring to educational, cultural, healthcare, social protection, physical culture and sports, health improvement and recreation institutions, youth centers regardless of ownership form, children’s and youth public associations and other public associations that are subjects of youth work, without conducting a check for the prohibition to work in contact with children;
• failure to conduct such a check after hiring.

For these violations, a fine from 500 to 1000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (from 8,500 UAH to 17,000 UAH) is proposed.

Changes to Article 221 of the CUAO are also provided, assigning cases under the new Article 188-58 to the jurisdiction of district and city courts.

Article 255 of the CUAO is proposed to be expanded to include the list of authorities and officials authorized to draw up protocols, including the National Police, executive committees of local councils, regional and local state administrations, as well as the educational ombudsman and his service.

Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine

Changes are proposed to the following articles of the CCU:

• Article 152 "Rape" (part four) — it is specified that acts against a minor are punishable by imprisonment for 12 to 15 years (instead of the current wording regarding a person under 14 years old);
• Article 153 "Sexual Violence" (part four) — the wording "a person under fourteen years old" is replaced by "a minor";
• a new Article 367-1 "Failure to conduct a check for prohibition to work in contact with children" is proposed.

The new Article 367-1 establishes liability for failure to fulfill the duty to conduct a check regarding the prohibition to work with children in areas where such contact is provided.

The sanction provides for a fine from 2,000 to 4,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (from 34,000 UAH to 68,000 UAH) or restriction of liberty for up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine

It is proposed to add a norm to Article 374 of the CPC of Ukraine about the mandatory indication in the verdict of the decision to enter information about persons convicted for:

• criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a child;
• criminal offenses related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.

Such data must be entered into the accounting module of the Unified Register of Convicted Persons and Persons Taken into Custody.

Amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine

Article 24 of the Labor Code of Ukraine is proposed to be supplemented with a norm prohibiting the conclusion of an employment contract with persons prohibited from working in contact with children if the job involves such contact.

Amendments to the Family Code of Ukraine

Paragraph 10-1 is added to Article 212 of the Family Code of Ukraine, according to which persons whose information is entered into the accounting module of persons convicted of crimes against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a child cannot be adoptive parents.

Amendments to the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine (Article 6-1)

Instead of a separate "Unified Register of Persons Convicted of Crimes Against Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity of a Minor," an accounting module is introduced, which will operate as part of the Unified Register of Convicted Persons and Persons Taken into Custody.

The new module covers a broader list of criminal offenses, including those provided for in Articles 152-156-1, 301, 301-1, 301-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Detailed regulation is also provided for:

• the procedure for entering information into the module;
• the procedure for excluding information;
• the circle of persons who have access to the information.

Changes in the field of child protection and education

The draft law provides for amendments to a number of laws of Ukraine, including:

The Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Supervision over Persons Released from Places of Imprisonment" expands the grounds for supervision over persons convicted of crimes related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, and also provides for the technical replacement of the term "militia" with "National Police" in Articles 7, 9, and 10. The Law of Ukraine "On Bodies and Services for Children’s Affairs and Special Institutions for Children" clarifies the prohibition of hiring persons prohibited from working with children. The Law of Ukraine "On Extracurricular Education" establishes a similar prohibition for employees of extracurricular education institutions. The Law of Ukraine "On Child Protection" enshrines the prohibition of working with children for persons with relevant restrictions and mandatory checks before employment and subsequently at least once every three years. The Law of Ukraine "On Education" and laws in the field of preschool, vocational, professional pre-higher, and higher education provide restrictions on access to work with children for such persons and the obligation of institution heads to ensure compliance with this prohibition.

Key differences of the alternative draft

As stated in the explanatory note, among the main differences are:

• the accounting module is proposed to include not only persons convicted of crimes against the sexual integrity of children but also crimes related to child pornography and sexual exploitation;
• the CPC clarifies the mechanism of mandatory data entry into the accounting module in court verdicts depending on the age of the victims;
• norms regarding the prohibition of working with children are also enshrined in the Labor Code as the basic labor law;
• the list of persons who cannot be adoptive parents is expanded;
• the procedure for forming, maintaining, and accessing data in the accounting module is detailed.

The draft law also clarifies the deadlines for entering information and the list of institutions where checks for prohibition to work with children are mandatory.

The explanatory note states that currently the Unified Register of Persons Convicted of Crimes Against Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity of a Minor (URCSM) does not provide adequate protection of children due to a number of problems. In particular, courts do not always indicate in verdicts the necessity to enter data of convicted persons into the register, there is no obligation for employers to check the presence of information about candidates in the register, and there is no liability for employing persons without such a check. In addition, the authors of the draft law propose to expand the circle of persons whose information is entered into the register, including not only those convicted of crimes against minors but also those convicted of crimes against children aged 14 to 18, as well as persons convicted of criminal offenses related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child (Articles 301, 301-1, and 301-2 of the CCU). According to the authors, this should strengthen the protection of children from sexual violence and contribute to the implementation of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children's Rights in the Field of Justice until 2028.

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