Weekly analysis for 18 — 24 August

Draft Customs Code approved in first reading, but the Customs Service’s pretrial investigation authority is to be reviewed

Event

On 19 August, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted at first reading the Government’s Draft Customs Code (Draft Law № 15450) (the “Draft Code”).

The new Customs Code is intended to align Ukraine’s customs legislation with the EU Customs Code (established by Regulation (EU) № 952/2013 of 9 October 2013) and other relevant EU legal acts, as well as to extend the application of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” to customs relations, as provided for in the Roadmap on Public Administration Reform.

At the same time, the provisions of the Draft Code concerning the establishment of specialized law enforcement units within the State Customs Service and proposed changes to the procedure for appointing the Head of the Customs Service are expected to be reconsidered before the draft proceeds to second reading.

CPLR’s assessment

CPLR experts have repeatedly criticized the provisions of the Draft Code that would transform the State Customs Service from an inspection authority into an additional pre-trial investigation body.

The main concerns regarding this proposal are:

• inconsistency with existing strategic documents on European integration and criminal justice reform; 
• potential curtailment of the powers of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine (ESBU), which could be viewed as undermining Ukraine’s commitments under the EU accession process; 
• the lack of a coherent and systemic approach to the proposed legislative amendments; 
• unjustified additional burden on the State Budget associated with establishing and maintaining a new pre-trial investigation body.

The conclusion of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy recommending the Draft Code for adoption at first reading notes that the proposal to establish a specialised law-enforcement unit within the customs authorities — empowered to detect, prevent, uncover, and investigate criminal offences — is premature and requires more detailed consideration in light of the ongoing reform of the customs system.

Therefore, the Committee proposed deferring consideration of this issue until the customs reform has been fully completed and customs officials have undergone re-certification, and removing from the Draft Code the provisions establishing the above-mentioned unit within the customs authorities.

The Government’s Draft Code also rolled back the reforms to the operation of the State Customs Service introduced by the 2024 Law. These relate to the participation of representatives of international partners, vested with a decisive vote, in the work of the selection commission for appointing the Head of the Customs Service, the External Evaluation Commission assessing the service’s performance, and the Disciplinary Committee.

The relevant parliamentary Committee also proposed revising the Draft Code in this respect by incorporating provisions governing the selection and appointment of the Head of the Customs Service of Ukraine, the First Deputy Head and Deputy Heads, as well as provisions on conducting an annual independent external audit of the effectiveness of the customs authorities, as provided for by the legislation currently in force.

Draft Government Action Program Introduced In Parliament: What Does It Say On Public Administration?

Event

The newly formed Government of Prime Minister S. Koretskyi has submitted to Parliament for approval a draft Resolution “On the Action Program of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” (Draft Resolution № 15521, registered on 17 August 2026) https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/Bills/Card/70520.

The Government is required by law to submit the Program within one month of the formation of the new Cabinet of Ministers (which was 16 July 2026). The Program is presented by the Prime Minister, and its approval requires a majority of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada.

The final section of the Program contains a chapter entitled “Cross-Cutting Issues of Public Administration” (pages 74–76).

CPLR’s assessment

CPLR experts generally welcome the inclusion in the Program of a dedicated objective aimed at building a modern European public administration in Ukraine, along with the following operational objectives:

1. A professional, stable and attractive civil service with transparent access (restoring competitive recruitment procedures; engaging war veterans in public service; ensuring the publication of vacancies through the Diia Portal; and improving the framework for determining and regulating remuneration)

2. An effective, digitalised, adaptive and service-oriented public administration (ensuring implementation of the Public Administration Reform Roadmap; introducing a unified IT system for monitoring the implementation of government tasks; and conducting functional reviews of central executive authorities, followed by the optimisation of their functions, organisational structures and staffing).

At the same time, the version submitted by the Ministry of Economy, as the lead drafting ministry, on 17 August 2026 stated that public administration reform was “under the direct control of the Prime Minister of Ukraine”. However, for reasons that remain unclear, this wording is not included in the version of the Program registered with Parliament.

In this context, strong leadership by the Prime Minister on good governance could signal that public administration reform is a Government priority and help accelerate meaningful progress in this area.

At the same time, there is currently a degree of ambiguity due to number of Cabinet of Ministers acts that remain in force. For example, the Public Administration Reform Strategy of Ukraine for 2026–2030, approved by the Government of Y. Svyrydenko in June 2026, designated the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration as the political lead for public administration reform.

However, the resolutions № 984 “On Determining Matters within the Competence of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Deputy Prime Ministers of Ukraine”, and № 985 “On Establishing Government Committees and Approving Their Membership”, adopted by the newly formed Government on 29 July 2026 do not assign responsibility for the reform to any member of the Government.

Although the Program’s objectives cover the 2026–2027 period, establishing clear legal and practical leadership of the good governance reform within the new Government is critical to addressing existing delays and catching up on the implementation of Ukraine’s national plans and EU integration commitments.

This analysis was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «Whole-of-Society Accession» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.