Bill No. 16115 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, proposing that the appointment and dismissal of the head of the SBU be determined by parliament upon the President’s recommendation. The bill also provides for the relevant committee to approve candidates for other senior posts within the Service. The author of the initiative, Lyudmyla Buimister, links the changes to strengthening parliamentary oversight of the security service.
Briefly about the main points
- It is proposed that the Head of the SBU be appointed and dismissed by a resolution of the Verkhovna Rada.
- They want to consult the relevant committee on the appointments of other members of the SBU leadership.
- The bill is intended to resolve the discrepancy between the law on the SBU and the Constitution.
- The initiative relates to democratic civilian oversight in the security sector.
- The document is at the initial stage of committee consideration.
It is proposed that the Law on the SBU be brought into line with the Constitution
The current Law «On the Security Service of Ukraine» stipulates that the President appoints and dismisses the Head of the Service. At the same time, the Constitution assigns these personnel decisions to the powers of Verkhovna Rada, which acts on the recommendation of the Head of State.
The initiative aims to remove this inconsistency from the relevant legislation. If it is passed, the President will, as before, put forward a candidate, whilst the appointment or dismissal of the head SBU will be formalised by a parliamentary decision.
The relevant provision of the Constitution has been in force in its amended form since February 2014. The draft bill does not create a new constitutional power for the Rada, but proposes to bring a specific law into line with it.
There are plans to give a parliamentary committee a role in personnel decisions
For other senior posts within the SBU, the document proposes that candidates be subject to approval by the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada. In the explanatory note to the draft, this mechanism is linked to democratic and parliamentary oversight of the Service’s activities.
At present, the President appoints the deputy heads of the SBU on the recommendation of the head of the Service. The President also appoints a number of heads of the SBU’s central departments and regional offices.
The practical impact of the new model will depend on the approval procedure, in particular on whether it is mandatory, the timeframes involved, and the consequences of any decision taken by the committee. These factors are to be assessed by parliamentary committees during their consideration of the document.
The draft has been referred to the committees; the current rules remain in force
The authors link the initiative to the reform of the security sector, the strengthening of civilian democratic control and Ukraine’s path towards European integration. To implement the proposed model, they plan to amend the law on the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as well as legislation on national security and counter-terrorism.
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence was designated as the lead committee for consideration of the bill. The document was also forwarded to the committees on Rules of Procedure, the Organisation of State Power, Law Enforcement, Legal Policy, the Budget, Anti-Corruption Policy and European Integration.
The draft bill was registered on 29 September. On 2 October, it was circulated to MPs for their consideration; no committee reports or voting results are available as yet. Until the legislative process is complete, the current procedure for personnel appointments at the SBU remains unchanged.
