Pardon is an important function of the President

In 2008, the President received 14,767 petitions, including 157 appeals from People’s Deputies regarding the pardon of 8,036 convicts. At personal appointments in the President’s reception office, employees of the Pardon Service received 567 citizens. Most petitions for the pardon of convicts came from the Donetsk region — 3,182, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea — 1,197, the city of Kyiv — 1,072, the Dnipropetrovsk region — 753, and the Odesa region — 696.
In 2008, 11 meetings of the Commission were held, at which petitions for the pardon of 927 convicts were considered. At the Commission’s proposal, the President issued 11 decrees on the pardon of 855 people. Of these, the main punishment for 515 convicts was reduced, and 340 prisoners were released from further serving the main or additional punishment. At the same time, 1,913 petitions for the pardon of convicts were granted.
Among those pardoned were 209 women and 646 men, of whom 265 were disabled and ill, 70 had many children, 61 were of advanced age, 499 were young, 11 were war veterans, 23 were liquidators and victims of the Chernobyl NPP accident, and others.
Among those pardoned were 254 convicts from the Donetsk region, 61 from the Zhytomyr region, 59 from the Kyiv region, and 50 from the Lviv region, 82 from the city of Kyiv, and others.
In the first half of 2009, the President received 7,454 petitions, including 91 appeals from People’s Deputies of Ukraine, regarding the pardon of 3,996 convicts. Over the six months of the current year, employees of the Service received 258 citizens at personal appointments in the President’s reception office.
In the first half of this year, most petitions for pardon addressed to the President came from the Donetsk region — 1,537, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea — 622, Kyiv — 578, the Odesa region — 366, the Kyiv region — 363, the Dnipropetrovsk region — 319, the Zhytomyr region — 289, and the Lviv region — 273.
During this period, at the Commission’s proposals, the President issued six decrees on the pardon of 286 persons. Of these, the main punishment for 149 convicts was reduced, and 137 convicts were released from further serving the main or additional punishment. At the same time, 672 petitions from citizens for the pardon of convicts were granted.
Among those pardoned were 61 women and 225 men, of whom 101 were disabled and ill, 44 were mothers with many children having minor children, 15 were of advanced age, 6 were war veterans, 8 were liquidators and victims of the consequences of the Chernobyl NPP accident, and others.
Among those pardoned were 67 convicts from the Donetsk region, 19 from the Kyiv region, 18 from the Cherkasy region, 15 from the Lviv region, 29 from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 25 from the city of Kyiv, and others.
Thus, to date, there are neither legal nor factual grounds to question the existence in Ukraine of the institution of pardoning persons who have committed crimes as an important state function of the President. Another matter is that work on improving this institution needs to continue, primarily in the direction of eliminating the existing legislative inconsistencies.
This concerns the lack of coordination between Article 44 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Clause 4 of Article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine with Article 62 of the Constitution and Clause 4 of the Regulations on the Exercise of Pardon, as a result of which, in practice, it is impossible to implement the release of a person who has committed a crime from criminal liability on the basis of a pardon act, just as it is impossible to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings or to close an initiated case in connection with the pardon of certain individuals.
Efforts aimed at eliminating such inconsistencies are underway, and proposals from subjects with the right of legislative initiative on this issue will soon be submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. And with their adoption, the indicated shortcomings in the legal regulation of the institution of pardon will be eliminated.
Vladimir MOISYK,
Chairman of the Commission under the President
of Ukraine on Pardon Issues,
People’s Deputy.