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The Legal Department of the UOC explained what threatens society with another anti-church bill

Another anti-church bill No. 8371 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which grossly violates the main provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, does not comply with the Rules for drafting laws, national legislation and international law, and will significantly complicate the process of European integration for our country. The Legal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on the Parliament to remove the bill from the agenda and not put it to a vote. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC with reference to law.church.ua.

In this draft law, Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” adds a clause according to which the activity of religious organizations that are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious organization (association) whose leading center (management) is located outside of Ukraine is not allowed, in state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.

Article 16 of the relevant Law is supplemented by a subparagraph that allows the court to terminate the activities of religious organizations in the event of any violations of the requirements for the creation and operation of a religious organization (association) established by the Constitution of Ukraine, this and other laws of Ukraine (on an administrative claim of the central executive body the authority implementing the state policy in the sphere of religion, or the prosecutor).

Amendments to Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” significantly expands the list of powers of the Central Executive Authority implementing state policy in the field of religion, namely, it grants the right to conduct religious studies examinations of the activities of religious organizations to identify subordination in canonical and organizational issues with centers the influence of a religious organization (association), the leading center (management) of which is located outside Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine; issue orders to eliminate violations identified as a result of the religious studies examination within a month from the date of issuance of such an order and apply to the court with an administrative claim to terminate the activities of a religious organization if it fails to comply with the instructions to eliminate violations identified as a result of the religious studies examination within the established time limits .

Also, the Draft Law proposes to change the fundamental second part of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individuals – Entrepreneurs and Public Formations” with phrases that will directly affect the activities of all religious denominations that operate in Ukraine.

“Please note that the draft law was drawn up with numerous violations of the current Rules for drafting laws and the basic requirements of legislative technique,” the commentary of the Legal Department of the UOC says.

Most importantly, lawyers believe, the Draft Law grossly violates the basic provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine.

“The document is once again aimed solely at interfering in the internal activities of religious organizations and violating the people’s right to freedom of religion, which is fundamental and guaranteed by the state. The exercise of this right may be limited by law, but exclusively and only in the interests of protecting public order, the health and morals of the population, or protecting the rights and freedoms of other people. In this context, it should be noted that the list of grounds for restriction is exhaustive, and the protection of national security does not fall into it. Therefore, the adoption of a bill that unjustifiably restricts the rights to freedom of worship of religious denominations in Ukraine only on the grounds that it is impossible for religious organizations to operate in Ukraine, the leading center (management) of which is located outside Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine, is unlawful, illegal according to attitude towards every person who professes this or that religion,” noted the Legal Department.

“We believe that the possibility of making any changes to the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, especially in terms of restricting freedom of religion, needs to be carefully finalized in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine, international norms with mandatory discussion at the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious organizations,” the comment says.

It is also noted that the national legislation of Ukraine contains a number of legal instruments for the protection of national security and has the ability to bring to legal liability for actions aimed at violating the national interests, territorial integrity, state security and sovereignty of Ukraine, without violating the limits of the state’s legal intervention in the field of activity religious organizations.

It also remains unclear what the legislator means by the term affiliation, because it is borrowed from the sphere of economic and financial law, which regulate the activities of enterprises and organizations that do business and make a profit, which is fundamentally different from the non-profit model of religious organizations that are created to satisfy religious needs. Members of a religious organization do not have a share in the statutory fund, do not receive dividends, do not own common shared property, a temple, do not issue securities, etc.

“Therefore, despite the political context and artificial public demand, which is formed by manipulative opinion polls and media reports, as well as insignificant decisions of local governments, we believe that this bill is dangerous for Ukrainian society and all religious communities in Ukraine,” the lawyers stressed.

“Since the bill contradicts the norms of international law and the Constitution of Ukraine, does not comply with the legal technique, and will also significantly complicate the process of European integration for our country, we urge the Parliament to remove the bill (No. 8371) from the agenda and not put it to a vote,” noted the Legal Department UOC.

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