Wording Results in Border Control Law Violations

Interfax-Ukraine Opinion

Poor wording of the law on border controls enables employees of the border service to side-step some regulations, said Kateryna Ustinova, a lawyer of the Astapov Lawyers International Law Group. She was commenting on the law on border controls that was recently signed by the president and adopted in the Verkhovna Rada on Nov. 5, 2009. “The absence of qualifications of such notions [as an unforeseen increase in traffic density] could lead to something of a mess at border crossing points, as well as abuses of power by border guards for the own benefits via improper controls,” Ustinova said.

She said that according to this law, officials of the State Border Service of Ukraine can simplify border control procedures if there is unforeseen traffic density, during which the waiting time at border crossing points is excessive despite all staff, material and technical, organizational tools being used to reduce it.

At the same time, Ustinova said there was no adequate definition of traffic density and no indication about how it is determined when simplified border controls can be introduced. According to her, the simplification of the border controls means temporary stoppage of some actions and measures of border control foreseen in the fourth part of Article 2 of this law.

As reported, the legal basis of border controls, the procedure for implementing these controls, as well as conditions for crossing the state border of Ukraine were stipulated in the law. Among other things, border controls include the registration of foreigners, individuals without citizenship and their passports at border checkpoints, as well as checks on vehicles with the goal of detecting stolen vehicles.