After the war amnesty for criminals or exemption from responsibility?

To ensure national reconciliation, rehabilitation of persons who have been persecuted for political reasons, restoration of justice, and establishment of lasting peace, it is proposed to introduce an amnesty after the war.

The corresponding draft law No. 14317 «On the amnesty of persons, the prevention of their persecution and punishment in connection with the end of the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine with the aim of national reconciliation and restoration of the constitutional order» was registered on December 18, 2025.

At the request of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on law enforcement, the National Bar Association of Ukraine analyzed the document and expressed a number of reservations about it.

The draft proposes to define the legal grounds and procedure for applying amnesty to Ukrainian citizens in connection with events related to the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

According to the authors of the legislative initiative, persons who were detained, arrested, brought to criminal responsibility, or convicted for crimes provided for in Articles 109, 110, 110-2, 111, 111-1, 111-2, 114 -1, 114-2, 332, 332-1, 336, 337, 402, 403, 407, 408, 409, 436-2 of the Criminal Code, including in cases where their actions are classified as a combination of crimes with other articles of the Criminal Code (except for Articles 258 and 258-3), if such acts were committed in the period from February 24, 2022, to the date of entry into force of an international agreement on a ceasefire, the establishment of a truce, or the conclusion of a peace treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Persons who were convicted under Articles 112, 113, 258, and 258-3 of the Criminal Code at the time of the adoption of the Law shall be subject to amnesty.

The UNBA Committee on criminal law and procedure called these initiatives premature.

In addition, advocates noted that in terms of exempting persons from liability, the draft does not comply with Article 1 of the Law «On the application of amnesty», as well as Articles 85 and 86 of the Criminal Code, which stipulate that amnesty is a full or partial exemption from serving a sentence for persons found guilty of committing a criminal offense, or criminal cases against whom have been considered by the courts, but the verdicts against these persons have not yet entered into legal force.

Thus, the amnesty that is proposed to be introduced cannot provide for the exemption of persons from criminal liability. It may be a full or partial exemption from serving a sentence.

The full text of the comments on draft law No. 14317 is available at this link.