Recently, the government approved and registered in the parliament the draft law “On the passport book of a citizen of Ukraine ” (№3986). The document proposes to replace the paper book with a obligatory plastic card.
What else is planned to be changed by this document, in case it is supported by the Verkhovna Rada, lawyer Viktor Zaletin told Mind.
According to the bill, all individuals who have not yet turned 45 years old (if a photo is not pasted into the passport – even after 45 years) have to say goodbye to old passports. Replacement is inevitable, because it will take place when a new photo is pasted at 25 and 45 years old. Instead of the lost passports, they will also issue a new sample.
Technological effectiveness or bureaucracy?
We cannot ignore the fact that the old form of the passport is more convenient, because it does not force us to confirm the registration with a separate document and does not require renewal every 10 years. The practice is really European, but the queues are still Ukrainian.
New passport is from the evil one?
Let us recall that the introduction of the new form of the passport began with its publication at the age of sixteen and immediately met the resistance from believers. In fact, it turned out to be incompatible with religious beliefs, because it looks like stigmatizing of people.
Back in September 2018, the Supreme Court spoke in favor of obtaining a paper passport book in the form of a booklet instead of a plastic one, since “the introduction of new technologies should not be a single option and compulsory.”
This legal position is outlined in the decisions of the Supreme Court of November 21, 2018 in case No. 821 / 1974/17 of June 26, 2019 in case No. 0840 / 3992/18 of July 19, 2019 in case No. 2340 / 2876/18 of July 25, 2019 and case No. 807 / 85/18 of August 7, 2019 in case No. 520 / 11053/18 of November 29, 2019 in case No. 260/1414/18 and others.
Now it is proposed to distribute plastic passports to almost all Ukrainian citizens anyway.
Is it just religious confession?
In fact, the courts also indicate a violation of legal provisions, in particular the personal data. As a result, we have discontent not only for religious convictions – so far two petitions to the President of Ukraine have been registered about the possibility of choice and not to eliminate passports of old sample.
What does quarantine have to do with it?
Remember the quarantine rules? From April 6, you must always have an identity document with you (to simplify the penalties for quarantine violators). It is difficult to predict when the quarantine will end, so legislators are resorting to such measures.
In particular, since April 22, the «Action» mobile application introduced digital passports, which are equivalent to paper ones, but only ID-passports (the ones that will replace paper ones) and foreign ones are uploaded there. Obviously, the expectations were not met, and citizens (of a special elderly age) can still walk around the city without documents.
We can assume that replacing passport books with plastic ones will justify further measures of influence against violators of quarantine rules, because it is easier to carry it in your pocket and you can download it on your phone
Instead of conclusion
Anyway, Ukrainians will not be pioneers, ID-passports are not a new phenomenon. First of all, such changes once again highlight the issues of mutual distrust of the authorities and citizens, but no law can correct this situation.
Source: MIND.UA