The Ukrainian Bar Association has issued its official position on Draft Law No. 13533, submitted by the President of Ukraine.
In its statement, the UBA welcomes this legislative initiative, aimed at restoring the functional and institutional independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), and calls on the Verkhovna Rada to support it without delay.

This step comes in response to the public outcry following the adoption of Law No. 4555-IX, which significantly curtailed the independence of the country’s anti-corruption infrastructure.
The UBA commends the President’s willingness to heed the views of civil society and the expert community.

Draft Law No. 13533 largely reinstates the provisions that were in force prior to 22 July 2025 and ensured the genuine autonomy of NABU and SAPO:

• The Head of SAPO is once again vested with the authority to independently appoint and reassign prosecutors in criminal proceedings;

• The Prosecutor General is deprived of the power to interfere in the activities of SAPO prosecutors and NABU detectives, as well as the authority to close criminal proceedings or approve NABU plea agreements;

• The prohibition on transferring NABU cases to other pre-trial investigation bodies is reinstated;

• The exclusive competence of the Head of SAPO to serve notices of suspicion to high-ranking officials in NABU criminal proceedings is restored.

The new draft law also provides for the introduction of additional vetting procedures for employees of anti-corruption bodies who have access to state secrets, with the aim of preventing any influence by the aggressor state on strategically important institutions.

At the same time, the UBA notes that certain provisions of Law No. 4555-IX remain in force, in particular:

• The Prosecutor General’s authority to request any criminal proceedings (except NABU cases) for review;

• The power to reassign cases from an investigative body in the event of non-compliance with a prosecutor’s instructions;

• The appointment of prosecutors without a competitive selection process and their dismissal through staff reductions.

The Ukrainian Bar Association calls on the Verkhovna Rada to refrain from initiatives that could jeopardize the independence of anti-corruption bodies. It further emphasizes that the provisions of Law No. 4555-IX allowing for the appointment of prosecutors without a competitive selection process and their dismissal through staff reductions undermine the results of the previous reform, pave the way for the reinstatement of non-certified personnel, and create risks of prosecutorial dependence on leadership. In adopting the draft law as a whole, the UBA insists on removing these provisions.

An independent and effective anti-corruption infrastructure is not only an international commitment of Ukraine but also the foundation of citizens’ trust in the state.