Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Fedir Vernyslavskyi shared his view on strengthening responsibility for illegal border crossing, noting that this may not help reduce violations. He argues that new laws could complicate the process of holding citizens accountable and raise questions about convictions for such violations.
“Strengthening responsibility rarely leads to a decrease in the number of offenses,” emphasized Vernyslavskyi.
For his part, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement Activities Oleksandr Bakumov rejects the new initiative, calling it too radical. He believes that criminalizing illegal border crossing might be too swift a step, as it is necessary to consider the individual social danger of each such case.
“I don’t think this will be effective. Criminalizing illegal border crossing is too much,” summarized Bakumov.
The government submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law aimed at strengthening accountability for border crossing violations, which arrived at the beginning of September. This entails criminal liability for illegal departure and violations of the duration of stay of citizens outside the country. In addition, the draft law establishes special conditions for border crossing for women deputies and men of draft age.