Language Ombudsman proposes to increase fines for violating the law on the state language by at least two times

Olena Ivanovska, Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language made a proposal to significantly increase fines for violating the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language”.

She appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to amend the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, arguing that the current amounts of fines do not stop violators and do not provide a proper preventive effect.

Ivanovska noted that in many cases, paying an administrative fine is less burdensome than bringing activities into compliance with the requirements of the law. She emphasized that strengthening administrative responsibility is a key condition for the real effectiveness of language legislation.

According to the Ombudsman, the number of citizens’ appeals regarding violations of language legislation is increasing, in particular in the areas of services, advertising, Internet resources and public information. She emphasized that low fines create a sense of impunity among violators and do not encourage them to voluntarily comply with the requirements of the law.

“Symbolic fines are not commensurate with the economic benefit that some business entities receive by systematically ignoring the requirements of the law, therefore they do not motivate them to comply with language norms,” Olena Ivanovska explained.