LEGAL TECH IN COMBATING CORRUPTION

The ANTI-CORR project consists in introducing into the existing mobile application "Consultant" (a technological online platform (marketplace), which makes it possible for anyone with the help of a mobile application to receive online advice on legal and accounting issues, as well as to obtain contact information about a specialist in order to solve a specific task or to order his personal service. At the same time, the opportunity for lawyers, advocates, accountants and other professionals to provide online consulting services, other professional and advertising services of their activities, in order to obtain potential customers) additional interface and services regarding exposure of corruption offenses.

Problem identification:

1. High level of corruption in Ukraine. In 2021, Ukraine took 122nd place out of 180 in the perception of corruption, which indicates the presence of corrupt elements in every sphere of society. The state is trying to carry out anti-corruption reforms, but they are quite often ineffective and ineffective. Due to the large number of anti-corruption bodies, their competences are stratified, and therefore their duties regarding the detection of corruption are not fully fulfilled. In order to become a full member of the EU, Ukraine must reform the anti-corruption system, because reducing and overcoming corruption is one of the mandatory elements of joining the EU.
2. Complexity of corruption proceedings. Corruption offenses are one of the most complex, which is why they require a lot of experience and competence of the relevant lawyers. Correct drafting of procedural documents is a guarantee of successful proceedings and a prerequisite for a successful case.
3. Low level of legal awareness of citizens. Citizens are used to corruption and consider it acceptable in a democratic society. This indicates a low level of legal awareness and lack of a public position.
4. Cases of unjustified entry of personal data into the register of corrupt persons. Entering a person into the corruption register cancels his future prospects for a number of positions, as it destroys his reputation as much as possible. There have been recorded cases of unjustified entries in the Register, which indicates the imperfection of the activity of anti-corruption bodies. Also, the removal procedure from this registry is complicated.
5. Fear of reporting corruption. Indeed, in some cases it is possible to meet cases when bearers of "valuable" information may be threatened with bodily harm, murder, persecution, violence against family members, or whatever. However, a correct approach to anonymity issues will improve the situation in the country. Дійсно, почасти можна зустріти випадки, коли носіям «цінної» інформації можуть погрожувати нанесенням тілесних ушкоджень, вбивством, переслідуванням, розправою з членами сім’ї абощо. Проте коректний підхід в питаннях анонімності дозволить покращити ситуацію в країні.

LLC "LM CONSULTANT" offers cooperation in favor of eradicating corruption, as well as helping to overcome it. We established the possibility of implementing additional functionality in the mobile application.

With the help of our project, everyone will be able to report corruption, get the necessary information about open corruption proceedings, and also get the necessary legal support in matters related to the disclosure of corruption crimes.

As part of this project, the following will be formed and introduced:

1. Improvements to the Consultant interface: adding a "Report Corruption" button, clicking on which the user can report a corruption offense, which is then forwarded to the appropriate lawyer. The lawyer, in turn, can, at the client's choice, become an assistant in establishing all the facts and share with him the profit from the revealed amount, or fully and completely transfer to the lawyer the right from himself, in accordance with the procedure defined by law (for example, through NABU), to prove the fact of a corrupt element in certain discovered schemes.Providing services in the field of corruption:

• Submission of template documents (application for denunciation of a crime, applications under the articles of a corruption offense in administrative and criminal proceedings),
• Provision of a separate service (legal support for the protection of people who have been illegally entered into the register of corrupt persons, services for the protection of those who are corrupt for political reasons, verification of the presence of open criminal proceedings in relation to a corruption case, exclusion of false information about the commission of corrupt acts from courts in the occupied territories (lost causes).

1. Providing thousands of free downloads for template documents that are needed in a case of corruption violations, such as a statement of disclosure of a crime (via a separate link).
2. Writing thematic articles by qualified lawyers at the expense of grant funds in the field of topical corruption issues for the sake of information awareness of citizens, because currently more than 600 specialists are connected to the service, most of whom have worked in one way or another in the field of exposing corruption crimes.
3. Connection of open data from the Unified State Register of persons who have committed corruption or corruption-related offenses to the application for the purpose of reporting persons illegally entered into the database.

The goal of the project is to reduce the level of corruption, increase integrity by automating through the mobile application "Consultant" the list of legal services that can be provided in the corruption component, providing an opportunity for every conscious citizen to report corruption.

Objectives:

• Formation by lawyers of procedural documents for more than 80 articles establishing responsibility for committed illegal or criminal acts related to corruption
• Reports of corruption from application users for the first year of project implementation
• Provision of 100 legal services in the field of corruption and profit from them by lawyers, in the amount of at least 250 thousand hryvnias
• Provision of 1,000 free template documents for the first six months of project implementation
• About 300 people were informed by a push-up notification about the presence in the register of corrupt persons during the first year of the project's implementation
• Writing by professional lawyers of 200 articles on issues related to corruption in order to increase the information awareness of citizens in the first year of project implementation;

Thanks to the project, it is possible to solve acute issues facing the state. The main changes that can be achieved thanks to the implementation of anti-corruption innovations in the Consultant project:

Improvement of the "Consultant" application to add the necessary elements that will solve the above-mentioned problems in the field of corruption - use of the application by clients for reporting corruption, downloading template documents, ordering legal support in proceedings related to corruption - increasing the number of reports on corruption crimes , effective consideration of cases related to corruption, effective protection of illegally violated rights and interests of clients regarding illegal entry into the register of corrupt persons, raising legal awareness of citizens — reducing corruption in Ukraine.

This will happen if all the specified elements are implemented in the application, advertising of the improved application and its use by customers. This is the best way to simplify the detection of corruption, because if the process is simple, then a larger number of people will do it, use it and cultivate integrity in themselves.

1. Individuals can easily report corruption by pressing a button and filling out the appropriate form - this information is then immediately transmitted to a lawyer - as a result of removing the obstacle to the lengthy bureaucratic process that currently operates to inform the relevant authority about a corruption offense - the number of reports will increase due to a simplified reporting procedure on corruption offenses, and therefore the amount of corruption in Ukraine in general will decrease. This will happen on the condition that the project is implemented, the application is downloaded, the button is clicked and the information about the violation is filled in, and the lawyer accepts the information about corruption. The chosen approach is the most successful because people want to save time as much as possible and do something useful, and thanks to this interface, a simple and effective way to detect corruption through the application will be provided.
2. Downloading the application - by going to a separate tab, it is easy and affordable to download template documents that will be developed by qualified lawyers and lawyers and that are necessary for proceedings in corruption violations - speeding up the proceedings. Currently, such documents are quite difficult to find for the average person, so this novel will make it easier for lawyers and people in general to obtain them. These changes will occur through innovation, app download, document payment, document download. Downloading documents through the application is the best way to simplify the detection of corruption, because if the process is simple, then more people will do it.
3. Downloading the application - choosing a service for legal support for the protection of people who have been illegally entered into the register of corrupt persons, the protection of those who are corrupt for political reasons, checking the presence of open criminal proceedings in relation to a corruption case, the exclusion of false information about the commission of corrupt acts from courts in the occupied territories (lost cases) - the person orders the service - payment - the lawyer accepts the order for the service - performance of the service - receiving funds for the work - saving time and effort for the client, because without an application in which the rating of lawyers is transparent, it is very difficult to find a proven lawyer who will perform high-quality their duties. The result of this whole process will be the effective protection of the rights and interests of the person in the ongoing, positively closed case.

Target groups:

• persons living in Ukraine who witnessed a corruption offense
• persons who were illegally entered in the register of corrupt persons and who need legal assistance
• persons who are considered corrupt and who need legal assistance
• lawyers and lawyers, or persons who need template documents in corruption cases

The short-term results will be as follows:

• increase in organic traffic of platform users;
• increase of potential and actual customers (users) for the mobile application;
• increasing the level of knowledge among the population regarding the possibility of reporting the fact of committing corrupt acts;
• increasing opportunities for citizens to cooperate with lawyers to overcome corruption;
• increasing opportunities for citizens in the field of independent struggle to overcome corruption, using our instructions on the application of developed documents from experts.

Geographic coverage

The entire territory of Ukraine. Special emphasis will be placed on the regions of the western part of Ukraine and their administrative centers. In particular, this includes the city of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and regions. Also, the emphasis will be on the city of Kyiv, as a city with a really high level of corruption. Including, due to the convenient location of the main central bodies of executive power in the field of combating corruption.

Monitoring and evaluation of the project will be carried out by the project manager by drawing up and providing monthly reports on the achievement of the results and goals of the project.

The main indicators will be:

• the number of new users of the application;
• the number of corruption reports;
• number of template document downloads;
• number of ordered services;
• number of conversions from ordered services;
• dynamics of growth in the number of mobile application downloads;
• the dynamics of the increase in the number of document downloads;

The performance indicator for each result is the achievement of the planned result, which is determined at the beginning of the project, and which must be achieved, and in case of its failure, the activity will be adjusted to achieve it.

The output data is the information that is available at the beginning of the project - the number of users of the application, the number of daily downloads, the number of corruption offenses and the possibility of their reduction or elimination.

Target effectiveness consists in the maximum approximation of our actions to achieve not only our goal, but also the goals of a specific program; compliance of real changes with planned, reference ones.

To start implementing all the set goals and testing the new functionality, approximately 2 months are needed for writing technical tasks, testing, etc. In order not to waste time, the development of the necessary documents and services will be transferred to the work of a lawyer.
At the beginning of the third month, the key functionality described above will be released. This will simultaneously launch advertisements for specific free documents, services, and a separate advertising campaign regarding the possibility of anonymous reporting of corruption.

At the same time, the technical administrator will be able to place all necessary documents, services and links to documents on the site within a week, so as not to lose the necessary traffic.

Already at the beginning of the fourth month, the first hundred downloads of documents, the first 1000 new downloads of the mobile application and the first 0-10 appeals regarding corruption are expected

All goals that are achieved will be documented and communicated. Also, the activity will be highlighted in various social networks, Google, on TV channels. Anyone who is interested in the project will be able to get acquainted with it in more detail. It is also possible to provide statistical data.

Confidential information of clients, their personal data cannot be disclosed.

For better communication, the team uses currently available means of communication in messengers (Telegram), as well as a control system and work organization.

The viability of the project is high, since the project will be introduced into an already existing and functioning application, and therefore there are no risks of its termination. Due to the high-quality development, the project covers a wide range of corruption manifestations and will be more and more relevant every day. Providing legal services online significantly saves time and simplifies the entire procedure of providing the service.

The financial stability of the project is ensured thanks to grant funds, and after the development of the project, it will be ensured by conversions for services provided in the field of corruption.

LLC UM CONSULTANT will in the future receive income in the form of conversion from services in the field of corruption provided by lawyers/lawyers through the application.

After the termination of investment, the project will continue to function thanks to the Consultant application and will be an integral part of it.

Innovation consists in:

• convenience of finding useful information directly in the application;
• the possibility to report the fact of committing corrupt acts directly in the application;
• the ability to avoid direct physical contact between lawyers and direct users, which will speed up a number of processes;
• convenience of recording the results of the project (number of application downloads, number of document downloads,
• number of left applications regarding the recorded fact of committing corrupt acts);
• automatic search of application users in the open Register of corrupt persons

The presence of risks is quite minimal, because currently we offer the implementation of additional functionality on an already working application. Including, the team of "YUM CONSULTANT" LLC was formed by time and experience, having been in the legal-tech market for more than 3 years. The key external risks are the potential delay in project implementation. At present, there are a large number of factors that are caused by the armed invasion. The risk of delay can be assessed as "medium", because the functionality itself will not be affected in any way.

The best option for minimization is better planning and proper remuneration. Among the internal risks, it is quite difficult to single out something specific, because the processes are established and automated, the team is complete and formed, the dynamics of development are positive. The only risk that can be singled out is a large number of errors that will be discovered during the penultimate stage of implementation - testing. The elimination of such errors, including, may lead to a delay, however, as part of the minimization, the development team employs specialists who have been with the UM CONSULTANT LLC project since the very beginning. The last risk can be assessed as "low", because it affects only the terms of project implementation.