By KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Verkhovna Rada has terminated the Convention on Legal Assistance in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases in Relations with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
Corresponding presidential bill No. 0163 was supported by MPs at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday, parliamentarian Oleksiy Honcharenko (European Solidarity faction) said on Telegram.
The bill provides for the termination of the Convention of January 22, 1993 and its Protocol of 1997 in relations with the Russian Federation and Belarus and withdrawal from these international treaties.
According to Article 84 of the Convention, it is valid for five years from the date of entry into force. After this period, the Convention is automatically renewed each time for a new five-year period. Each Contracting Party may withdraw from the Convention by sending a written notification to the depositary 12 months before the end of the current five-year period of its validity.
The 1993 Convention entered into force on May 19, 1994 (for Ukraine – April 14, 1995) and is applied in Ukraine’s relations with Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Georgia and Turkmenistan.
The current five-year period expires on May 18, 2024.
The law comes into force the day after its publication.
