The euphoria over the adoption of the Law on the Anti-Corruption Court has been dampened by a scandal over the “cheating” amendment providing that criminal cases already submitted to first instance courts may not be re-tried by the Appeals Chamber.

This means that appeals in these cases must be considered by courts of general jurisdiction, even if the Higher Anti-Corruption Court is already functioning. Thus, all current high-profile cases prepared by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have actually been excluded from the jurisdiction of the newly created Court.

UKRINFORM has asked Olena Drozdova, Lawyer and Director of Drozdova & Partners Law Firm, whether the top corrupt officials, whose cases are already pending in courts, will thus receive an “amnesty” and whether the scandalous amendment will disappear, taking into account that Ukraine will be gripped by pre-election fever during the next 12 months.