Private detective: with a "crust" and tied hands
On February 17, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the first reading the draft law “On private detective activity”. Whether he succeeds in becoming a law - we'll see. The fact is that the fate of bills adopted in the first reading may turn out to be, to put it mildly, unpredictable.
Remember how in April 2016 in many media there was news that in Ukraine, they say, "a law on private detectives has been adopted." Well, it was adopted in the first reading, and then the president proposed amendments, and the entire presidential veto ended, which could not be overcome. And in December 2018, the draft law "On private detective (search) activities" safely ceased to exist.
But suppose the story with the bill # 3010, for which the parliamentarians voted the other day, will end with a happy end, and it will eventually become a law. Does this mean that private detectives will be able to work effectively in the legal field? But this is unlikely.
Wanted too much?
In a bill prepared six years ago, the fifth president, Poroshenko, was embarrassed, for example, by the fact that the Ministry of Justice had to issue permits to private detectives, and the search is what the internal affairs bodies are doing. And in general, that bill allowed detectives too many incomprehensible things, in particular, to collect information that could serve as evidence in court. But what about the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine? According to him, full-fledged evidence must be collected in compliance with the requirements of this very Criminal Procedure Code. Or, at least, surveillance is also the business of the competent authorities. There were also questions with the collection of information: why on earth should individuals, even detectives, be allowed to collect it? In general, there is nothing to take liberties here, get a veto.
This week had to listen to two whole new "detective" bills: one authorship of the deputies from the "Servant of the people", the second - the fruit of the joint work of legislators from "Batkivshchyna" and OLE. Guess which one went through? Of course, the first one, so let's dwell on it in more detail.
However, let's say right away that there are few fundamental differences between bills No. 3010 and 3010-1, and they are not so fundamental. For example, one uses the concept of "detective agency", the second calls it "association". According to one, a certain "authorized body" should control private detectives, according to the other - the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
They have one thing in common: the possibilities of a private detective are so small that, honestly, you shouldn't try so hard for the sake of a license.
"Something" is, but there is no word
All this time, while there was no law, there were no private detectives in our country either. In the meantime, it is worth asking a search query on this topic, as a flood of advertisements from private agencies and separately practicing professionals falls on the seeker. Even OLX, along with advertisements for pedigree cats and used bicycles, turns out to be full of ads offering private search services. And, by the way, along with the usual offers - to find a lost thing, to compile a dossier on a business partner or potential employee, or to follow the second half, there are also offers of rather exotic services. For example, test a potential partner on a polygraph. Or here's another interesting thing - the provocation of treason. Checking a spouse or spouse for fidelity in one agency will cost, for example, UAH 5,000 or more. An attractive partner will drive up to your half, and if half bite, the courtship process and, who knows, maybe the Fall (for a fee) will be documented.
By the way, an explanatory note was attached to the bill # 3010-1, authored by the people's deputies from "Batkivshchyna" and OLSZ, which very sensibly describes the situation with detective services in the world and in Ukraine. For example, in Britain, it says, the staff of private security and detective firms is twice the number of police officers. And in the United States, the budget for private security services is twice the budget of the state police, and they employ more than a million employees. In small Israel with a population of just over 5 million (for comparison, about 3 million people live in Kiev alone) there are more than two thousand detective and security companies. And the World Association of Detectives, founded in 1925, unites professionals from more than 60 countries of the world.
God bless them, with other countries. In the explanatory note to the bill from the "servants", the arguments are more mundane, but no less compelling. It turns out that the Classifier of Occupations of Ukraine has approved requirements for the provision of detective services and even the corresponding KVED for "the activities of security services and investigations."
But there is no law regulating the activities of individual entrepreneurs who decide to investigate. The situation is like in a children's song about a certain part of the body - “something” is there, but there is no word.
Who can become a detective
So, let's briefly go over the bill # 3010, adopted in the first reading.
A private detective can be "an individual who has Ukrainian citizenship, full higher education in law or higher education in the specialty" law enforcement ", speaks the state language", has three years of experience in the field of law or law enforcement, has completed appropriate training and received a certificate on the right to engage in private detective work. You cannot be a detective with an outstanding criminal record, mental illness, alcohol or drug problems, and working in the judiciary, law enforcement and government agencies.
A detective can work like a lone wolf, that is, an individual entrepreneur, or he can create a legal entity - a detective agency. Data on detectives are entered into the Unified Register of subjects of private detective activity.
Private detective - only with written permission
The most interesting part is the field of activity and the rights of a private detective. You can search open sources for data about people, you can find out biographical data - with the written permission of the object. You can search for missing people, animals and things, watch children and disabled people and disabled people by order of their legal representatives. You can identify and expose illegal surveillance, search and find cases of plagiarism and theft of intellectual property. You can even look for debtors.
But the data necessary for the consideration of court cases, it is allowed to search only if the contract is concluded with one of the parties to the process.
And in general, with the rights of a private detective, things are sour. You can, for example, apply with inquiries to state and local government bodies - after all, anyone can do that. You can get acquainted with the documents of enterprises, inspect the territory, but only with the permission of the enterprises. To study any materials and documents - with the permission of the owner. Oral questioning is also only with the permission of the respondents. It is forbidden to collect data related to the personal life, political or religious beliefs of people without the written consent of these people. (Imagine that some news agency decided to hire detectives to conduct an independent investigation. But no: it turns out that it is illegal to find out the most interesting things.)
The list of prohibitions and permissions spelled out in the bill is quite long, and its essence can be reduced to one phrase: a private detective is allowed the same thing as an ordinary citizen, no more. True, if the detective dug something, this “something” is guarded by a detective secret. And thanks for that.
A reasonable question arises: why should a detective at all declare publicly that he is a detective? In order to pay for a license, so that the appropriate authority, invented by the authors of the bill, took it under the hood?
... Oh, yes, also in order to receive special training. The programs are developed by "the central executive authority, which ensures the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of education and science." Anyone who has learned to be a private detective (paid, of course) receives a "document of the institution of higher education of the established sample." Detective diploma, simply put.
In the meantime, there is no need to worry about it. ”
… Let's summarize. A law on private detectives is needed. The draft law "On private detective activity" is aimed, rather, to bring out of the "shadow" those who offer provocations of adultery and the search for pets on OLX. But with such conditions it is easier for them to continue to work in the "shadow".
And the bill passed in the first reading is, we repeat, not yet a law.
Проект закона «О частной детективной деятельности» направлен, скорее, на то, чтобы вывести из «тени» тех, кто предлагает на OLX провокации супружеских измен и розыск домашних животных
racurs.ua