The General Prosecutor signs a regulation regarding violations’ prevention during raids

Today Yurii Lutsenko, Prosecutor General, signed a Regulation (Letter of Guidance) for his deputies and heads of Regional Prosecutor’s Offices on prevention of business entities’ rights violations. The Business Ombudsman Council, American Chamber of Commerce, Society of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs and the European Business Association joined the document elaboration. 
The Regulation aims at regulating and minimizing unmotivated actions of enforcement officers during raids. Prosecutor General bound his subordinates to align the procedure of conducting investigative actions that can limit rights and interests of business entities, namely: [below is an excerpt from the Letter of Guidance] 
1) prior to investigators’ requests approval for getting a court order to conduct a raid procedural managers should find out the necessity of engaging task forces for this investigative action and if such a need arises one should align it with Heads of Regional Prosecutor’s Offices;
Engaging task forces for performing raids is allowed in criminal proceedings concerning grievous and especially grievous crimes in case of physical resistance to performing investigative (search) actions or otherwise preventing  their conduct. Heads of Regional Prosecutor’s Offices must immediately report to the Prosecutor General or his deputies on engaging task forces according to established area of work; 
2) ensure due fulfillment of requirements of the Criminal Procedural Code of  Ukraine during raids through their mandatory documentation by video recording means; 
3) when performing raids, provide unconditional admission of lawyers to conducting investigative actions in case of their being engaged by concerned persons including cases when a lawyer comes to a scene once they are started; 
4) having fulfilled the criminal procedural legislation requirements for presentingthe ruling for raid permission  and providing its copy, start carrying out  the specified investigative action after voluntary refusal to give items or documents indicated in the court ruling; 
5) temporary seizure of computer equipment, its parts, mobile means of communication, devices and media for gathering and processing of electronic information is to be carried out only when their provision (together with the information contained in them) is the necessary condition for performing an expert study or information is in place that such items have been obtained as a result of committing a criminal offense, or being its means or instrument. If necessary, an investigator, a prosecutor with the participation of a specialist iscopying information contained on these media and their systems; 
6) ensure thorough consideration of investigators’ requests as to granting temporary access to things, documents and searches to prevent distortion of their data and correct accounting temporarily seized property. Once the final procedural decision in criminal proceedings is made, the issue of temporarily seized property return, especially documents, is to be immediately resolved;
The Business Ombudsman Algirdas Šemeta thanked for the quick  elaboration and expressed hope the number of violations shall considerably reduce. “We hope that the same documents will be elaborated in other law enforcement agencies”, he added.