Recently, draft law No. 15217 dated 04.05.2026 on amendments to certain legislative acts to improve the protection of persons performing the activities of arbitration managers was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
In this article, we will analyze what changes are proposed to protect arbitration managers, and why, according to the authors of the bill, such a need arose.
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Justification of the need for protection of arbitration managers in Ukraine
Thus, according to the authors of the bill, there are several reasons for establishing additional separate protection for persons managing an entity during its bankruptcy procedure.
They manage the debtor’s property, search for it and, if necessary, sell it, organize settlements with creditors, ensure the balance of interests between creditors and debtors in bankruptcy and insolvency cases.
According to Article 12 of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures , the arbitration manager carries out his activities independently, while exercising his powers independently, is guided by the legislation and court decisions, and also has no right to be influenced or interfered with by state bodies, participants in the case or other persons.
In addition, the arbitration manager, when exercising his powers, has the right to receive from state authorities, local governments, enterprises, institutions, organizations regardless of the form of ownership, as well as from individuals, the necessary information, documents and their
copies, including those with limited access, for the proper performance of his duties.
However, in practice, the provisions of this article, firstly, are not provided with effective mechanisms of criminal law protection, and secondly, arbitration managers are faced with unfounded refusal, delay or provision of unreliable information by certain entities, which complicates the implementation of bankruptcy procedures, delays the terms of the bankruptcy procedure and
prevents the exercise of the rights of creditors and debtors to the prompt settlement of debts.
Despite the independence provided for by the Code of Bankruptcy Procedures of Ukraine, arbitration managers are often subjected to pressure, threats, and obstacles in the performance of their duties by interested parties – debtors, creditors, law enforcement agencies, or other participants in the process. Such cases
create risks of bias, disruption of bankruptcy procedures, and reduced
trust in the institution of the arbitration manager.
The current Criminal Code of Ukraine establishes an increased level of protection for judges, law enforcement officers, state bailiffs and persons who are private bailiffs, but does not provide for similar effective protection for arbitration managers who perform similar functions in the field of bankruptcy and insolvency. Similarly, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine does not contain sufficient procedural guarantees for the effective protection of arbitration managers in the event of pressure or unlawful interference in their activities.
In this regard, there has been an objective need to make changes to
the criminal and criminal procedural legislation, which would: establish criminal liability for interference, resistance or encroachment on the life and health of an arbitration manager in connection with the performance of his professional duties.
There was also a need to amend the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, which would establish liability for unlawful refusal to provide information to the arbitration manager.
Thus, the adoption of this draft law is a necessary step to strengthen guarantees of independence, the activities of arbitration managers, ensuring the legality of bankruptcy procedures, and increasing the efficiency of the insolvency institution in Ukraine.
The final goals and objectives set by the authors of the bill
The main tasks are:
- to equate arbitration managers with persons subject to
a special procedure for criminal law protection (judges, law enforcement officers, state bailiffs and persons who are private bailiffs, etc.); - establish in criminal law liability for resistance,
interference or encroachment on the life, health or property of an arbitration
manager in connection with the performance of his professional duties;
to establish additional guarantees of the independence of the arbitration manager in criminal procedural legislation ;- establishing administrative liability of officials for
unlawful refusal, untimely, incomplete or unreliable provision of information at the requests of the arbitration manager.
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