The Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada criticized the bill to ban the UOC

The main legal department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has published comments to the draft law No 8371 aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The department disputes certain provisions of the law, including, for example, the provision that the document is needed to “protect national security”. About it reports “Strana.ua”.

“The Office of the Rada writes that according to the norms of international law, the protection of national security can not be the basis for limiting the right to religion. Also, experts believe that any law can only contain mechanisms to ban a particular religious organization — and not directly ban it. The lawyers oppose the term “ROC in Ukraine” (this is how the draft law refers to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church), which “does not comply with the principle of legal certainty” (i.e. the church is not registered under this name),” — the publication said.

We would like to point out that on May 21, 2024, during a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, MPs from the European Solidarity and Golos parties blocked the rostrum of the Ukrainian parliament with a demand to put to a vote draft law No. 8371 aimed at banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.