Kyiv City Council asks the Verkhovna Rada to immediately regulate by law the circulation of civilian weapons in Ukraine

Today, on May 28, Kyiv City Council adopted an appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with a request to immediately regulate the circulation of civilian weapons in Ukraine.

This was reported to the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners by Deputy Mayor – Secretary of the Kyiv City Council and author of the draft decision Oleksii Reznikov.

“Today, the circulation of civilian firearms is legally regulated by special laws in all European countries and in most post-Soviet countries. Due to the unstable situation in Ukraine, the issue of security in Kyiv is very important. It is no secret that the statistical number of offenses with weapons has increased, and there is no law that would regulate the use of civilian weapons, although they belong to the category of property.

The issue of weapons in the hands of people is a fact, but we turn a blind eye to it. When the external enemy understands that we, in fact, have a reserve army, they will think a hundred times before coming to us with weapons,” Oleksii Reznikov noted.

Reznikov added that now, when the state is in a state of undeclared war, when the country is rapidly filled with illegal weapons, hundreds of crimes are committed with its use, law-abiding citizens remain virtually defenseless.

“In this regard, today citizens of Ukraine are forced to purchase illegal weapons in order to protect their lives and the lives of their loved ones, to exercise the right guaranteed by the Constitution. The lack of legislative regulation of the circulation of civilian weapons essentially forces law-abiding citizens to break the law, as it impedes the implementation of the elementary natural instinct of self-defense of each person,” Reznikov concluded.

According to the Secretary of the Kyiv City Council, having envisaged in the Constitution the right to defend oneself, the state, where everyone is equal before the law, must create effective mechanisms and conditions for the effective implementation of such protection.

The law on weapons should solve the main task – to clearly establish the procedure for the acquisition, possession, storage and use of weapons. The creation of such a mechanism is a logically consistent step not only from the legal point of view, but also from the point of view of social necessity.

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Appeal of the Kyiv City Council
to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
on legislative regulation of civilian weapons circulation

The certainty and quality of the civil law regime regulating the circulation of civilian weapons is undoubtedly an indicative characteristic of the development of the country’s legislation, which aims, first of all, to ensure a balance of interests between the state and the citizen, his freedoms and rights.

Thus, almost all legal systems of liberal countries recognize human life as the main value. Ukrainians are guaranteed such a right by Part 2 of Article 27 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which a citizen has the right to protect his/her life from unlawful encroachments.

Moreover, Article 36 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides that a person has the right to use weapons to protect his life and health, as well as home.

As of today, there are two main normative acts that should regulate the circulation of civilian weapons and enable citizens to exercise the above-mentioned constitutional rights – the Instruction approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine No. 622 of August 21, 1998, and the Temporary Instruction approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine No. 379-DSC of June 13, 2000.

The above regulations do not comply with the spirit or letter of the Basic Law for the following reasons.

Thus, the implementation of constitutional rights should be ensured by an effective legal mechanism approved at the legislative level, and not by a departmental normative act that violates the rights of the majority of citizens.

Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that citizens have equal constitutional rights and freedoms. At the same time, the temporary instruction, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine No. 379-DSK of June 13, 2000, establishes an exhaustive list of persons entitled to obtain a permit to purchase, store and use firearms.

Thus, the said instruction not only violates the right of citizens guaranteed by Article 27 of the Constitution of Ukraine, but also violates the imperative norm established by Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Separately, it should be noted that given the fact that the above-mentioned instruction was marked “for official use only”, it does not comply with the general principle of law, namely the requirements of the principle of legal certainty, since the state has not fulfilled the mandatory condition – the promulgation of a normative legal act that affects the rights, freedoms and interests of man and citizen.

Now, when the state is in a state of undeclared war, when the country is rapidly filled with illegal weapons, hundreds of crimes are committed with their use, law-abiding citizens remain virtually defenseless.

In this regard, today citizens of Ukraine are forced to purchase illegal weapons in order to protect their lives and the lives of their loved ones, to exercise the right guaranteed by the Constitution.

Legislative unregulated circulation of civilian weapons – in fact, forces law-abiding citizens to break the law, as it prevents the implementation of the elementary natural instinct of self-defense of each person, which is the natural right to life.

Moreover, Article 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that the legal regime of property shall be determined exclusively by the laws of Ukraine.

At the same time, the above-mentioned departmental regulations unlawfully restrict the rights of citizens to property.

Weapons, as well as, according to Article 1187 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a car, are a source of increased danger. However, unlike weapons, the procedure for acquiring ownership of vehicles is clearly established by law.

According to the requirements of legality, established, in particular, by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, any restrictions on the rights guaranteed by the Constitution must be based on the provisions of the basic legislation.

Also, according to part 2 of Article 41 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the right of private property is acquired in the manner prescribed by law. In addition, Article 321 of the Civil Code of Ukraine stipulates that no one may be unlawfully deprived of property rights or restricted in its exercise.

Thus, the absence of a special law that would regulate the circulation of civilian weapons, among other things, violates the constitutional rights of citizens to private property.

The state is obliged to put an end to this purely Soviet legal tradition of distrust to its own people, which has developed around the civilian circulation of weapons and was unconsciously inherited by independent Ukraine.

Otherwise, taking into account the natural social processes inherent in the countries where military operations are conducted, our State risks losing control over the circulation of weapons among the population. And in this case, the consequences can be more than tragic, the responsibility for which will be borne by the state, which at the right time simply lacked the will and foresight.

In view of this, it would be appropriate to refer to the thesis from the American experience, which reflects the current US state policy on this issue: “Take away guns from their legal owners and the only people with guns will be criminals”.

Thus, the experience of many countries shows that the legalization of weapons is not only an effective way to protect the lives of citizens, but also an effective way to combat crime. Today, the issue of granting the legislative status of weapons circulation among the population is dominant in the interests of the safety of Kyiv residents and increasing the defense capability of the state as a whole.

Having envisaged in the Constitution of Ukraine the right to protection, the state, in which everyone is equal before the law, is simply obliged to create effective mechanisms and conditions for the effective implementation of such protection.

The law on weapons should solve the main task – to clearly establish the procedure for the acquisition, possession, storage and use of weapons. The creation of such a mechanism is a logically consistent step not only from the legal point of view, but also from the point of view of social necessity.

In connection with the above, we, the deputies of the Kyiv City Council, appeal to you, the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, to take all necessary measures for the soonest possible legislative regulation of civilian arms circulation in the country.

Because it is solely in your competence to bring the legal framework of Ukraine in line with the requirements of the Constitution, so that every Ukrainian can effectively exercise their constitutional rights.

We ask you to immediately adopt the Law of Ukraine on the circulation of civilian weapons.

Kyiv City Mayor

В. Klitschko

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As we reported earlier, on April 23, Cherkasy City Council appealed to the leadership of the country with a request to consider and facilitate the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the draft law №1135-1 “On civilian weapons and ammunition “.

And on May 22, Lviv City Council addressed the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk with a similar request.