Senators approve conflict of interest bill

According to the parliamentary press service, the country has carried out reforms in the field of combating corruption, but today problems remain in some areas. In particular, despite the fact that a number of legislative acts provide clarifications on conflicts of interest, there are no clear mechanisms for their implementation and control in state bodies and institutions.

In addition, in this area there is no authorized body that forms a single practice, the practice of notification of a conflict of interest has not been established.

Although the law “On combating corruption” establishes that employees of state bodies who have violated the requirements for preventing or eliminating conflicts of interest, as well as their leaders, are liable in accordance with the law, the legislative acts do not provide for liability issues.

“The Law “On conflict of interest” is important in that it eliminates the above problems, and is also aimed at regulating relations in the field of conflict of interest that give rise to corruption situations. This law defines the concept of a conflict of interest, the duties of civil servants, as well as specific mechanisms for its regulation. The law specifies the scope of its application.

The law applies to state bodies and local government bodies, state institutions, state unitary enterprises, state trust funds, as well as legal entities in the authorized capital of which the share of state bodies or other organizations is 50% or more.

It is also stipulated that close relatives of an employee of a state body or other organization, a legal entity, shares of the authorized capital, which are owned by an employee of a state body or other organization and (or) his close relatives, are related persons of an employee of a state organization.

“Most importantly, authorized bodies are determined to regulate conflicts of interest in the activities of a state organization. From now on, the Anti-Corruption Agency, ethics commissions of state organizations, personnel departments and internal anti-corruption control departments are defined as bodies that regulate relations related to conflicts of interest.

The law establishes restrictions on the prevention of a conflict of interest in relation to employees of a state organization, the legal consequences of violation of the conflict of interest requirements, the grounds for invalidating transactions with the assumption of a conflict of interest, and measures of responsibility for the assumption of a conflict of interest,” the press service said.

It is noted that the implementation of the law in practice serves to establish a clear legal mechanism for regulating conflicts of interest. At the end of the discussion, the law was approved by senators.