Parliament Complicates Registration and Enhances Control Over Religious Organizations
On 16 October, contrary to the agreement with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, the Supreme Council of Ukraine passed Bill 10221 making alterations to the Law of Ukraine “On freedom of worship and religious organizations,” reported IRF.
The passed law considerably complicates the procedure of assumption by religious organizations of the status of a legal person as it introduces two unmatched registration procedures, that of statutory documents and state registration (entering in the unified register of legal persons).
Bill 10221 also complicates the procedure of obtaining by foreign religious ministers of permissions to stay in Ukraine required for issuance of visas. Religious organizations are now to apply for such permissions in the Ministry of Culture in Kyiv which is in contradiction to Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of worship and religious organizations.”
In addition, the bill allows the authorities to exercise control over observance of the laws on freedom of worship and confession like in the Soviet times.
Reps of IRF noted that by this decision the parliamentary majority completely ignored the position of the religious community and the agreements reached between the Council of Churches and the author of the bill, Permanent Representative of the President, Yurii Miroshnychenko and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
