The Ministry of Internal Affairs will make maximum efforts to develop a high-quality legislative framework in the field of arms circulation and its effective law enforcement - Bohdan Drapyaty
Ukraine is in fact the only country in Europe that does not have a special law regulating the circulation of civilian firearms. And the existing tangential legislation is fragmentary, inconsistent and does not comply with the principle of legal certainty. In our opinion, speeches, discussions, articles and other formats of discussion on the topic of legislative regulation of arms circulation should be started from this statement. The topic is extremely acute in political circles and civil society, because during 30 years of independence we have still not found a compromise on legal support in this socially sensitive issue.
Why do we need a law?
According to the database of police authorities, as of October 1, 2021, 707,117 owners of firearms were registered on the territory of our state, who have 790,055 units of hunting smoothbore and 170,195 units of hunting rifled and combined weapons in their personal use. Citizens also own almost 220,000 units of traumatic pistols and revolvers. The total number of weapons, devices, gas pistols and revolvers is 1,225,353 units. Despite the fact that certain types of firearms are now owned by civilians, legal regulation is carried out only at the level of the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine dated August 21, 1998 No. 622. Such a state of legal regulation is possible in the transition period, when a special law is being developed to ensure the regulation of the relevant sphere of public relations, but it cannot be perceived as a stable legal practice.
In addition, one of the important arguments regarding the need for the adoption of the law on civil firearms is the imperative norm of the Constitution of Ukraine, namely Part 1 of Article 92, which defines a list of spheres regulated exclusively by the laws of Ukraine, among which — the legal regime of ownership (p. 7). Firearms are an object of ownership that is subject to a special regime of regulation, which can be implemented exclusively by the law of Ukraine.
In the work of law enforcement agencies, difficulties often arise when a gun owner commits domestic violence, abuses drugs, alcohol, or suffers from mental disorders, given that there is a need to pick up a weapon and cancel the issued permit. In jurisprudence, this is called forced alienation of private property. The problem is that precisely because of the lack of a special law, Ukrainian courts often return seized weapons to their owners and do not take into account the provisions of departmental instructions that restrict private ownership of weapons.
What is currently on the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine?
Today, two draft laws have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine — the main (register No. 5708) and the alternative (register No. 5708-1), which have many common provisions. In particular, they provide a definition of terms and concepts, define the principles of state policy in the sphere of circulation of firearms and combat supplies for it, and for the first time it is proposed to classify civilian firearms not by purpose (hunting, sports, combat), but by technical characteristics (automatic, longevity) short-barreled, smooth-barreled, slotted, etc.).
Moreover, the list of types of weapons, ammunition and equipment for it, which are withdrawn from civilian circulation (breaking bullets of cartridges, silencers for short-barreled weapons, weapons without markings or made of materials that cannot be recognized by a metal detector, etc.) is clearly defined.
By analogy with a driver's license, it is proposed to introduce a gun owner's license, which can be issued for a period of five years. It will be issued for a certain category of weapons (long-barreled smoothbore, long-barreled rifled, short-barreled, etc.), it will give the right to purchase weapons of this particular category. The requirements for obtaining the relevant category differ in age, experience in handling weapons, etc.
As in the case of a car, it is proposed to issue technical passports for each unit of firearms indicating the characteristics of the weapon and information about its owner.
Liability insurance for damage that may be caused to a third party or its property as a result of the possession, storage or use of weapons is intended to be made mandatory for all categories of weapons. The absence of an insurance policy will be a reason for refusing to issue a permit or extending its validity.
Both bills provide for similar mechanisms for regulating the order of acquisition of civilian weapons, their inheritance, storage, carrying, transportation, use, seizure, destruction, etc. However, they also have certain differences, the main of which can be grouped into two groups.
The first concerns short-barreled weapons (pistols and revolvers). If the main draft law No. 5708 proposes that such weapons can be purchased only by athletes who must subsequently store it exclusively in the shooting range and are not entitled to carry it outside the venue of sporting events, then alternative draft 5708-1 proposes to provide the opportunity to purchase such a weapon to virtually everyone who wants to carry it with them covertly (except weapons-free zones) and keep at home.
The second group of differences concerns the Unified Register of Weapons, the holder of which, according to the authors of the main draft law, should be the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (which keeps all such records), and according to the creators of the alternative, the register must be transferred to the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, it should be noted that the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine reasonably refused to be its holder and proposed to leave subordination to the register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
What are the advantages of the introduction of the Unified Register of Weapons in Ukraine?
The gun registry, according to both bills, is not just a database for keeping track of pistols and rifles purchased by citizens. First of all, it is an effective tool for electronic exchange of information and documents between citizens, business entities and bodies of the National Police through the use of the capabilities of the Unified Register of Weapons, as well as the exchange of information with other registries in the field of hunting, sports and security activities.
The introduction of the Unified Register of Weapons will ensure:
— optimization of the processes of obtaining permits by creating convenient, comfortable, accessible conditions for applicants on the one hand, and automating the actions of police bodies — on the other;
— ensuring the possibility of citizens submitting documents for obtaining permits directly to the store, without the need to visit the police;
— minimizing the number of documents that applicants will submit for weapons permits;
— reducing the number of paper documents and minimizing bureaucratic processes;
Strengthening public order by improving the mechanism for revoking weapons permits in case of their illegal use;
— change the form of permission from paper to electronic, with the possibility of its display in the future, for example, in the application “Action”.
These are the main, but far from exhaustive advantages of the implementation of the Unified Register of Weapons, which will have a positive result and contribute to the systematic elimination of a number of potential corruption components.
Assessing the progressiveness of this approach, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine decided in the near future to introduce such a register within the existing regulatory framework, simplify the processes of issuing permits and minimize any corruption risks, as well as create the prerequisites for the prompt launch of the Unified Register of Weapons after the adoption of the relevant draft law tu.
Why hasn't the law been passed yet?
The main obstacle to the adoption of the law on weapons is its misinterpretation in the eyes of society. Even the name of the law is often used for manipulative purposes as a basis for misinformation about the alleged “legalization” of firearms.
Individual stakeholders intimidate society with massive increases in crime rates and the creation of private or street armies. However, one can verify the unreasonableness of such arguments by referring to the experience of foreign countries in which the issue of the circulation of civilian firearms is regulated by law. Thus, the authors of the draft law cite data from foreign statistics, according to which, for example, in European countries, registered civilian weapons are used during the commission of intentional crimes in less than 0.001% of the total number of offenses.
Despite the groundlessness of information accusations and the existence of indisputable counterarguments, citizens still perceive the idea of a legislative settlement of the circulation of civilian firearms with a sense of caution.
At the same time, the systematic approach in preparing for the adoption of the relevant draft laws and explaining to society their legal consequences inspires confidence and respect. Recently, on the basis of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Law Enforcement Activities, there was an expert discussion in the format of a round table with the participation of people's deputies of Ukraine, scientists, politicians, athletes, instructors, representatives of various state authorities and civil society. The general conclusion of the results of the discussion is that the draft law under registration number 5708 “On the right to civilian firearms” is currently the most balanced and high-quality from the point of view of rule-making equipment.
The team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine will continue to carry out systematic educational and explanatory work in order to achieve an objective understanding by society of the legal consequences of the adoption of the relevant law.
In addition to legislative support, we are actively working on the implementation of effective mechanisms for accounting and controlling the circulation of weapons in the existing conditions. Thus, the Ministry initiates amendments to the normative and legal acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and a number of acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the introduction of the Unified Register of Weapons within the framework of the existing regulatory regulation. This will make it possible in the near future to simplify the processes of issuing permits, minimize corruption risks, as well as create the prerequisites for the prompt launch of a fully functional Unified Register of Weapons after the adoption of the relevant bill.
Also recently, on the basis of the State Research Expert and Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there was a meeting of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with members of the specialized Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on law enforcement activities. Observing live the procedures of ballistic examinations, certification tests, inspection of technical condition and firing of weapons, as well as its inspections under forensic accounting of the Unified Information System of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we proved that we have state-of-the-art scientific, technical and personnel potential of the units of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to keep records of weapons and identify a specific instance of it in case of its misuse.
That is, today the Ministry of Internal Affairs has and quite effectively uses all the technical capabilities of weapons accounting, which are available in the conditions of the current state of regulatory and legal support. However, the key to the most effective functioning of the Unified State Register of Weapons is a clear and transparent procedure for obtaining permits for civilian weapons and strict and effective control over its circulation, which is quite realistic to achieve if a quality law is adopted.
What position does the ministry conceptually support?
We support and will systematically support constructive steps towards the legislative consolidation of the legal regime of gun ownership, the definition of the fundamental rights and obligations of citizens and legal entities regarding the production, acquisition, possession and disposal of weapons and ammunition.
It is precisely such social relations, in our belief, that should form the basis of the regulation of the law on arms.
In turn, the issue of the use of weapons is much broader. Weapons can be used as sports or hunting equipment, and such relationships are already regulated by the relevant laws on sports and hunting. The use of weapons against people for the purpose of self-defense, defense of property, values, state borders, etc. is not a matter of arms circulation. It requires a deep understanding, assessment of citizens' readiness for responsible handling of weapons.
In our opinion, the first step should be the legislative settlement of the legal regime of weapons as an object of civil rights. Only after analyzing the results of the implementation of such provisions into the current legislation, the full launch of the register of weapons and the introduction of its electronic accounting, will it be possible to start a dialogue on moving to the next stage of handling weapons, in particular short-barreled weapons.
In view of the above, the Ministry shares the principles of the main draft law No. 5708 “On the right to civilian firearms”.
At the same time, allowing citizens to carry short-barreled weapons covertly and to be able to use them to defend their own rights and interests at this stage of law enforcement seems premature. To do this, it is necessary to introduce a fair institution of self-defense in Ukrainian legislation, providing effective safeguards against the illegal use of weapons on the one hand and guarantees the impossibility of persecution of victims on the other.
In any case, our team strives for the result of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to increase the level of trust of the population, because trust is a key indicator of work efficiency. Systemic reforms and projects implemented by the ministry are aimed at a socially tangible result. We will make every effort to jointly develop a high-quality legislative framework in the field of arms circulation and its effective law enforcement.
