Following the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine "On Lobbying" on March 14, 2024, the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses Regarding Violation of Legislation in the Sphere Lobbying" was adopted in the second reading and as a whole (signed by the President of Ukraine on April 16, 2024). The law establishes liability for violation of the norms of the law on lobbying. A brief overview of the main provisions of the adopted act — in a review by Pragma Consulting Group, Partner of the Ukrainian Bar Association’s GR Committee.

Prohibition of lobbying

The adopted Law introduces a new type of administrative penalty — "prohibition of lobbying" by amending Clause 5 of Part One of Article 24 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (hereinafter referred to as CAO)/

The amendments to the seventh part of Article 30 of the CAO provide that such an administrative penalty can be applied for a period of one year by a court decision if it is provided for by the sanction of an article (part of an article) of a special part of the Code.

To date, such a penalty is applicable only in one case — in case of repeated non-submission or untimely submission of the report by the subject of lobbying during a year, together with a penalty in the amount of 300 to 400 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.

By the changes made to Article 285 of the Code, the Court's Resolution on administrative enforcement of the prohibitions of lobbying is sent to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption within three days from the day it enters into force, for the entry into the Transparency Register of the suspension of the lobbying subject's status.

Penalties for violations of the Law of Ukraine "On Lobbying"

In addition to the imposition of an administrative penalty in the form of a ban on lobbying, the adopted Law also introduces fines for a number of violations of legislation in the field of lobbying:

• for carrying out lobbying without acquiring the status of the subject of lobbying or if such status is terminated/suspended, a fine of 50-100 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens is provided, repeated within a year — 200-500 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (parts one and two of the new article 188^46-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses);
• for not reporting the existence of circumstances that exclude the possibility of a person being a subject of lobbying when registering as a subject of lobbying — a penalty of 500-1,000 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens (part three of the new article 188^46-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine);
• for non-submission or untimely submission of the report — a penalty in the amount of 50-100 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, repeatedly during the year — 300-400 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens with a ban on lobbying for one year (parts one and two of the new article 188^46-2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine);
• failure to submit or untimely submission of an application for suspension or termination of the status of a lobbying subject or an application for exclusion from the Register of transparency of information regarding an individual who carries out lobbying on behalf of a legal entity — a fine of 100-300 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens (part three of the new article 188^46-2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine);
• violation of restrictions regarding the object of lobbying or the beneficiary of lobbying — a penalty of 1,000-2,000 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens (part four of the new article 188^46-2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine).

Cases under the relevant articles are considered by judges of district, district in the city, city or city-district courts. At the same time, the right to draw up protocols on administrative offenses is entrusted to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

Persons to who liability is applicable

According to the Note to Article 188^46-2, the subject of offenses for which sanctions are provided for in this article (failure to submit or late submission of a report; failure to submit or late submission of an application to terminate the status of a lobbying subject; violation of restrictions on the object of lobbying or the beneficiary of lobbying) are physical individuals and managers of legal entities, which are registered as lobbying subjects in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Lobbying". Regarding article 188^46-1, no special clarifications of the subject composition have been made.

It is assumed that the Law will enter into force from the date of entry into force of the Law of Ukraine "On Lobbying" (two months after the launch of the Transparency Register, or January 1, 2025).