Complaints Mechanism

ARTAN TRAINING CENTER and ARTAN SECURITY COMPANY (hereinafter “ARTAN”, “we”) are trade names under which the ARTAN group of companies operates. The party to the relationship with the complainant, and the personal data controller for data received through this mechanism, is [full legal name and EDRPOU code (Ukrainian company registration number) of the personal data controller]. Where a complaint concerns both security services and training courses, it is handled jointly, irrespective of which company of the group delivered the service.

This Complaints Mechanism gives clients, course participants, employees, contractors and third parties an accessible, transparent and safe way to report misconduct by the company or its personnel — and guarantees that every such report is examined on the merits within defined time limits.

The mechanism is based on the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals” No. 393/96-VR of 2 October 1996, which by its Articles 1 and 5 applies expressly to enterprises, institutions and organisations irrespective of their form of ownership; on the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights” No. 1023-XII of 12 May 1991 (Article 13(2) — the duty to inform the consumer of the claims-handling procedure); and on the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” No. 2297-VI of 1 June 2010.

In addition, ARTAN follows industry standards: the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoCA), ISO 18788 “Management system for private security operations”, and international donor requirements on the protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEA). These standards have no direct force under Ukrainian law and are applied voluntarily. Current membership and certification status: [ICoCA membership and/or ISO 18788 certification — to be evidenced in writing; if it cannot be evidenced, this reference must be removed].

1. Purpose of the mechanism

To enable anyone who believes that their rights have been infringed by an act or omission of ARTAN or its personnel to:

• report the matter in a convenient and safe way, including confidentially;
• receive acknowledgement of receipt and information on the next steps;
• be confident that the complaint will be examined objectively, within the statutory time limits and without adverse consequences for the complainant;
• receive a substantive written reply and, where justified, remedial action or compensation for damage.

2. Two reporting channels: formal appeal and confidential report

The mechanism operates two separate channels governed by different rules. The separation is deliberate: Ukrainian law requires an appeal to contain the complainant’s identifying details, while international donor standards require that the most serious misconduct can be reported anonymously. A single blended channel cannot satisfy both requirements.

• Channel A — formal appeal — An application, complaint or proposal under the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”. It must contain the complainant’s identifying details (Section 6), is registered, examined within the time limits of Article 20 of that Law, and the complainant receives a substantive written reply. Under Article 8 of the Law, anonymous appeals are not subject to examination.
• Channel B — confidential or anonymous report (PSEA / whistleblowing) — Intended for reports of sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment, corruption, fraud, abuse of authority, human rights violations, and retaliation against complainants. It is accepted without disclosure of the reporter’s identity. Such reports are not “appeals” within the meaning of the Law and are handled under ARTAN’s internal policy; feedback is provided only where the reporter has left a means of contact.

The complainant chooses the channel. Where an anonymous report contains sufficient verifiable facts, ARTAN verifies them on its own initiative under Channel B — in which case the reporter cannot be informed of the outcome.

3. Who may submit a complaint

• clients and customers (training, security, convoy protection, armoured vehicle rental, ARTAN SOS);
• course participants, applicants for training and their representatives;
• ARTAN employees, security personnel and instructors;
• third parties affected by the actions of personnel in the performance of their duties;
• partners, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers;
• staff and beneficiaries of client organisations (international organisations, diplomatic missions, humanitarian NGOs).

4. Subject matter of a complaint

A complaint may concern:

• the quality, scope or timeliness of training or security services;
• the conduct of security personnel or instructors, in particular the improper use of special means or exceeding of authority;
• breach of the contract or of the public offer;
• human rights violations or harm caused to third parties during security operations;
• sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEA/SH), discrimination, bullying;
• corruption, fraud, conflict of interest, misuse of client or donor resources;
• breach of personal data processing rules;
• retaliation against or pressure on a person who previously submitted a complaint or assisted an inquiry;
• any other conduct contrary to the law of Ukraine or to ARTAN’s internal standards.

5. How to submit a complaint

The following channels are available:

• via the form on this page — see below; the form may be completed anonymously;
• by e-mail — training@artan.center;
• by telephone — +38 050 559 50 55;
• in writing — to the postal address: 35A Mashynobudivna St., Kyiv, 03067, Ukraine;
• confidential PSEA channel (Channel B) — [a separate channel for anonymous reports: secure form, dedicated mailbox or PSEA focal point — to be defined by the client].

Complaints are accepted in Ukrainian and in English.

6. Content requirements for a formal appeal (Channel A)

To be examined as a formal appeal, a submission must contain (Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”):

• the surname, first name and patronymic of the complainant;
• the complainant’s place of residence;
• the substance of the matter raised — observations, proposals, applications or complaints, requests or demands;
• for a written appeal — the complainant’s personal signature and the date;
• for an appeal in electronic form — the e-mail address to which the reply is to be sent.

A qualified electronic signature for an appeal in electronic form is not required.

An appeal that does not meet these requirements is returned to the complainant no later than ten days from the date of its receipt, together with the relevant explanations (Article 5). An appeal that gives no place of residence, is unsigned, or from which authorship cannot be established, is deemed anonymous and is not subject to examination (Article 8). This does not prevent the complainant from using Channel B.

Whichever channel you use, the review will be faster and more complete if you state the date and place of the incident, the persons involved, the available evidence (photographs, video, documents, witnesses) and your preferred means of reply.

7. Review procedure

1. Registration. The submission is registered no later than 2 business days after receipt. This is an internal ARTAN standard — the law sets no separate registration deadline.
2. Acknowledgement of receipt. A complainant who has provided contact details receives an acknowledgement of receipt stating the expected review period.
3. Assignment of the reviewer. A complaint is not referred for examination to the persons whose acts or decisions are being challenged (Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”). Where the complaint concerns a head of unit, it is examined by the company management or by the designated ethics officer.
4. Examination on the merits. ARTAN is required to verify the facts objectively, comprehensively and in good time: to interview those involved, examine documents and, where necessary, CCTV recordings at the site (Article 19).
5. Decision. The complaint is either upheld (with defined measures — remedial action, compensation for damage, disciplinary measures against personnel, changes to procedures) or dismissed with reasons. Where justified, ARTAN revokes or amends the challenged decision.
6. Notification of the complainant. The complainant is notified in writing of the outcome and of the procedure for challenging the decision taken.

8. Time limits

Appeals that require no additional examination are considered without delay, but no later than 15 days from the date of receipt. The general time limit is no more than one month from the date the appeal is received. Where the matter requires additional examination, ARTAN’s management sets the necessary additional period and notifies the complainant in writing, provided that the overall period for resolving the matter may not exceed 45 days (Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”).

At the reasoned written request of the complainant, the review period may be shortened.

Submissions containing information about an immediate threat to life or health are dealt with without delay, with response measures taken as a matter of priority.

Where a submission concerns the exercise of data subject rights, the time limits of the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” apply (30 calendar days to satisfy a request); for persons located in the EU, the time limit under Article 12(3) GDPR applies: one month, extendable by a further two months with notice to the complainant of the reasons.

9. Complainant’s personal data

Personal data received through this mechanism are processed for one purpose only — registering and examining the submission and issuing a reply. The legal basis is the performance of a statutory duty of the personal data controller, together with the complainant’s consent (Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection”). Retention period: [specific retention periods for complaint files — to be defined by the client]. For further details see the Privacy Policy.

The complainant’s data are disclosed to the person whose actions are challenged only to the extent objectively necessary to verify the facts and, where possible, without identifying the complainant. For Channel B reports the reporter’s identity is not disclosed at all, save where disclosure is expressly required by law.

A complainant may lodge a complaint concerning the processing of their personal data with the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) (Secretariat: 21/8 Instytutska St., Kyiv) or with a court. Persons located in the EU additionally have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority of their Member State (Article 77 GDPR) and to an effective judicial remedy (Article 79 GDPR).

Please do not submit health data, biometric data or other special categories of data through the web form. If such data are needed for the review, we will agree a separate secure means of transmission with the complainant.

10. PSEA, complainant safety and protection from retaliation

ARTAN applies the following principles and extends them to all personnel, subcontractors and partners:

• Zero tolerance of SEA/SH. Sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment are unacceptable and result in termination of employment or of the contractual relationship and, where there are indications of a criminal offence, in notification of the law enforcement authorities.
• Non-retaliation. Any form of retaliation, pressure, discrimination, worsening of working conditions or termination of a contract in connection with a good-faith complaint or with participation in an inquiry is prohibited and is itself grounds for a separate complaint.
• Survivor-centred approach. The safety, dignity, health and wishes of the affected person take priority. No action is taken without their informed consent, except where the law so requires or where there is an immediate threat to life.
• Confidentiality. Access to the case file is limited to the persons directly involved in the inquiry, on a need-to-know basis.
• Good faith. Protection extends to a complainant who acted in good faith, even where the allegations are not substantiated. A knowingly false report is not protected.

The documents setting out these principles in detail: [the approved Code of Conduct and PSEA Policy, and the contact details of the PSEA focal point — to be provided by the client]. Where the contract with a client or donor so requires, ARTAN notifies them of a report received within the time limits set by that contract.

11. Escalation

If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome, they may apply:

• to ARTAN management again — with a reasoned request to review the decision;
• to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) — on matters relating to the processing of personal data;
• to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine as the licensing authority for security activities — on matters relating to compliance with the licensing conditions for security operations; the validity of a licence can be verified in the State licensing register maintained by the Ministry;
• to the State consumer protection authorities — regarding the quality of services supplied to a natural person for personal needs;
• to the data protection supervisory authority of their EU Member State — for persons located in the EU (Article 77 GDPR);
• to a court — in accordance with the jurisdiction rules of Ukrainian law (for persons in the EU, also Article 79 GDPR).

Staff and contractors of client organisations may in parallel use the internal complaints channel of their own employer or donor.

Applying to ARTAN does not deprive the complainant of the right to apply, simultaneously or subsequently, to those authorities or to a court.

A distinction applies: consumer protection legislation covers natural persons purchasing services for personal needs (primarily course participants). Relations with legal entities — international organisations, diplomatic missions, NGOs — are governed by the contracts concluded with them, and consumer guarantees do not extend to those relations.

12. Record-keeping, analysis and improvement

ARTAN maintains a register of complaints received and reviews them periodically to identify systemic issues and to improve its services, personnel training and internal procedures. Anonymised complaint statistics may be provided to clients and donors on request, excluding any information that could identify a complainant.

13. Contacts

To submit a complaint: training@artan.center, +38 050 559 50 55, 35A Mashynobudivna St., Kyiv, 03067, Ukraine.

14. Language of this document

The Ukrainian-language version of this Mechanism is the legally binding version. The English-language version is a translation provided for the convenience of international clients and partners. In the event of any discrepancy in interpretation, the Ukrainian text shall prevail. A complaint may be submitted in Ukrainian or in English; the reply is given in the language of the submission.