Ukraine abolishes death penalty

Kuchma: Ukraine's leaders placed a moratorium on executions in 1997

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has signed a new Criminal Code that formally abolished the death penalty.

The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by parliament last month, putting it in line with most European countries.

Ukraine's previous criminal code allowed the death penalty, but the new one sets life imprisonment as the maximum form of punishment.

People under 18 and older than 65 and women who were pregnant when they committed a crime or during sentencing are not subject to life terms.

Ukraine promised to abolish the death penalty when it joined the Council of Europe in 1995, and imposed a moratorium on executions in March 1997.

But the government was sharply criticised for its failure to fully abolish it. About 180 people in Ukraine were executed between 1995 and March 1997.

Kuchma signed the new legislation on Friday and it takes effect June 1, his office said on Monday.

Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty illegal in 1999 and parliament abolished it last summer. Legislators then formalised the step by including it in the new code.

The new code also introduces "public work" as a new form of punishment for less serious crimes, with adults subject to up to 240 hours and minors up to 120 hours.

Unlike the previous code, it eliminates criminal responsibility for slander and insult, an important step toward greater freedom of speech in the former Soviet republic.

It also outlines new crimes including copyright violations and prohibits elected officials from holding a second post or job, a common practice among lawmakers and regional authorities.