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Ukraine

Improve Government Rules on CSO Involvement (UA0031)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Ukraine Second Action Plan 2014-2015

Action Plan Cycle: 2014

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: Ministry of Justice

Support Institution(s): United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), unspecified NGOs and international organisations

Policy Areas

E-Government, Legislation & Regulation, Public Participation, Regulatory Governance

IRM Review

IRM Report: Ukraine End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Ukraine IRM Report 2014 – 2015

Starred: No

Early Results: Marginal

Design i

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to OGP Values: Civic Participation , Public Accountability

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Preparing and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposals on amending the Cabinet of Ministers resolutions that govern the procedure of interaction with civil society institutions as regards public consultations, establishment and operation of public councils under executive authorities, facilitation of public expert evaluations of executive authorities’ activities

IRM End of Term Status Summary

1. Improve government rules on CSO involvement

Commitment Text: Preparing and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposals on amending the Cabinet of Ministers resolutions that govern the procedure of interaction with civil society institutions as regards public consultations, establishment and operation of public councils under executive authorities, facilitation of public expert evaluations of executive authorities’ activities.

Expected result: relevant resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

4. Public Participation Law

Commitment Text: Developing and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in due course of a draft law on public participation in state policy making and implementation as well as in addressing local-level issues.

Expected result: relevant draft law endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and followed up until adoption.

Editorial Note: The IRM researcher grouped these two commitments together, since both are related to public participation in policy making.

Responsible institution(s): Ministry of Justice

Supporting institution(s): United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), unspecified NGOs and international organisations (commitment 1); Ministry of Regional Development, State Agency for E-Governance, Administration of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, NGO "Ukrainian Independent Centre for Political Research," UNDP, non-specified NGOs and international organisations (Commitment 4)

Start Date: Not specified .............. End Date: May 2015

Commitment aim

Both commitments aimed to improve civil society participation in the development and implementation of public policy by establishing new formal procedures and structures or refining existing ones. Civil society engagement is crucial for effective participatory democracy, especially in Ukraine, where the legacy of state monopoly over public policy is still strong. Commitment 1 focused on improving government rules to better facilitate public consultation in policymaking. Commitment 4 sought to draft and, ultimately, adopt a law on public participation. If implemented, this would be a major step forward in improving citizen engagement in decision making.

Status

1. Improving government rules on CSO involvement

Midterm: Complete

The government adopted several regulations with regard to CSOs involvement in the policy making process: Procedure for Consultations with the Public on Policy Development and Implementation, and Model Regulations on Public Councils to the Executive Authorities (both adopted in 2010), as well as Procedure for Facilitating Public Examination of the Executive Authorities (adopted in 2008). For a long time, CSOs advocated for revision of the above regulations to streamline and make them more effective. The first commitment was fully implemented. The Ministry of Justice set up a working group to develop amendments, and held public consultations on the draft proposals in December 2014. Draft amendments were published on the ministry’s website and the government’s web portal, “Civil Society and Authorities.” The government enacted relevant amendments to its own regulations in April 2015. Civil society groups reported that the ministry developed the draft amendments in an open and inclusive manner, and that they (the amendments) are generally positive and significantly improve relevant procedures. The changes include simplifying and improving consultation methods, making consultations more open and inclusive, and setting clear lists of issues that require mandatory public consultation. In addition, regulations were strengthened for an accountability mechanism that allows public examination of authorities.[Note 1: Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) Progress Report 2014-15: Ukraine, 24, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Ukraine_Second_IRM_Report_PublicComment_ENG.pdf]

4. Public Participation Law

Midterm: Limited

The government’s plan for many years included the development of a  law on public participation in policy formulation and implementation. According to the government’s self-assessment, the Ministry of Justice set up a working group to develop the draft law. It included representatives of CSOs and, in March 2015, the Government’s Secretariat and the Ministry of Justice held public consultations on the topic. The Ministry of Justice, together with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Project Coordinator’s Office and the Government’s Secretariat, organised six regional discussions in June and September 2015. The working group prepared a compendium of best practices and international standards in this area, and published it on the government’s website. Comments on the draft law proposals were also solicited through an online form. Eventually, the scope of the draft law was narrowed to focus on “public consultations,” which made it more tangible and realistic.[Note 2: Ibid, 25.]

End of term: Substantial

Based on the preliminary discussions, the Ministry of Justice prepared a draft law on public consultations. This was published for consultation on the websites of both the ministry and government in July-August 2016. On 31 October 2016, the ministry put out a report on the results of the consultations.[Note 3: http://bit.ly/2glgW3s. ] The report described the latest consultation exercise, as well as previous discussions, and explained which proposals were taken into account and which were not. The Ministry of Justice also requested OSCE/ODIHR to examine the draft law. The OSCE/ODIHR evaluations were delivered in September 2016.[Note 4: http://bit.ly/2hkz6A7. ] As of December 2016, the draft law had not yet been submitted to Parliament.

Did it open government?

1. Improving government rules on CSO involvement

   Civic participation: Marginal

   Public accountability: Marginal

The commitment aimed to improve a set of formal rules for civic participation and oversight of government decision making. Its potential was moderate, as it aimed to streamline the rules and procedures put in place between 2008 and 2010. In completing this commitment, the Ministry of Justice worked with civil society to amend three regulations: the Procedure for Consultations with the Public on Policy Development and Implementation; Model Regulations on Public Councils to the Executive Authorities; and Procedures for Facilitating Public Examination of the Executive Authorities. As reported at the midterm, the changes were brought about through an inclusive consultation process between the ministry and civil soceity. The activities included simplifying the consultation process and strengthening an accountability mechanism to allow public examination of authorities. However, as implemented, the commitment had only a marginal impact on changing government practice. The government used the adopted changes in the rules to re-launch civic councils that had been discredited due to their collaboration with the previous government. The new regulations attempted to address deficiencies in the older versions; the latter allowed civic participation structures to be hijacked by fake or government-affiliated NGOs (GONGOs), thereby undermining their watchdog function. Nevertheless, the changes implemented to replace the old procedures and structures did not improve their effectiveness. While this commitment marginally improved civic participation and public accountability by modernising some formal procedures of cooperation, the effect on open government was limited. This can be explained by outdated procedures and structures, for example, civic councils, whose role — to ensure collaboration with civil society and public oversight — declined further.[Note 5: Maksym Latsyba, NGO Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Research, interview with the IRM researcher, 29 September 2015.]

4. Public Participation Law

Civic participation: Marginal

Public accountability: Did not change

The commitment aimed to develop a new mechanism for involving civil society in the government decision-making process. If it provides for detailed and meaningful consultation procedures, the draft law could have a moderate impact on public engagement. However, as noted in the midterm report, the drafting process would have benefited from an analysis of the reasons behind poor enforcement of the current regulations on public consultations to identify more effective tools to address this problem. The government has yet to complete this commitment. Still, its consultation process vis-a-vis this draft law was more open than that of many other policy decisions or draft laws. This marginally opened the government with regard to civic participation.

Carried forward?

The first commitment on improving government rules vis-a-vis CSO involvement was not carried over to the new action plan. The fourth commitment on the Public Participation Law was included in the new plan. The Ministry of Justice, together with non-governmental partners, is to lead the development of a draft law on public consultations and submit it to the government. The commitment no longer includes the task of submitting the draft law to Parliament and following it to adoption.  

Commitments

  1. Expand budget transparency system

    UA0087, 2020, Anti-Corruption

  2. Transparency of public assets

    UA0088, 2020, Access to Information

  3. Create general education distance learning system

    UA0089, 2020, E-Government

  4. Open Science

    UA0090, 2020, Access to Information

  5. Online platform for patents and innovation

    UA0091, 2020, Capacity Building

  6. Audit of beneficial ownership register

    UA0092, 2020, Anti-Corruption

  7. Expand uses for e-democracy platform

    UA0093, 2020, Access to Information

  8. Electronic system for transparency in extractive industries

    UA0094, 2020, Anti-Corruption

  9. Establish National Centre for Open Data Competence

    UA0095, 2020, Access to Information

  10. Digital accessibility for persons with disabilities

    UA0096, 2020, E-Government

  11. Increasing youth participation in policy

    UA0097, 2020, Capacity Building

  12. Publish information related to road system

    UA0098, 2020, E-Government

  13. Register for infrastructure contract information

    UA0099, 2020, Anti-Corruption

  14. Publish gender-disaggregated open data

    UA0100, 2020, Access to Information

  15. Infrastructure Data Portal

    UA0070, 2018, Anti-Corruption

  16. Open Standard for e-System

    UA0071, 2018, E-Government

  17. Ensuring Openness and Transparency of Selling Public Assets and Property

    UA0072, 2018, E-Government

  18. Transparency in Public Procurement (Prozorro)

    UA0073, 2018, Access to Information

  19. Awarenss Raising About Social and Economic Development

    UA0074, 2018, Aid

  20. e-Calls for Proposals to Support CSOs

    UA0075, 2018, Civic Space

  21. Beneficial Ownership Registry

    UA0076, 2018, Anti-Corruption

  22. Anti-Corruption Training

    UA0077, 2018, Anti-Corruption

  23. Publishing Environmental Information

    UA0078, 2018, E-Government

  24. Database of Natural Resources

    UA0079, 2018, Access to Information

  25. Interactive Map of Mines

    UA0080, 2018, E-Government

  26. Priority Electronic Services

    UA0081, 2018, Citizenship & Immigration

  27. Online Platform for Executive Bodies and CSOs

    UA0082, 2018, Civic Space

  28. EITI Online Data

    UA0083, 2018, Access to Information

  29. Electronic Resources for Education

    UA0084, 2018, Access to Information

  30. Online Verification of Education Certificates

    UA0085, 2018, E-Government

  31. Free Access to National Repository for Academic Texts

    UA0086, 2018, E-Government

  32. Administrative Service Decentrilisation and Improvement

    UA0057, 2016, Capacity Building

  33. United State Portal Extension; Electronic Government Information Services Unification; Modern Tools for Electronic Identification

    UA0058, 2016, Capacity Building

  34. System for Entities Performing Government Functions

    UA0059, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  35. Free Urban Planning Documentation

    UA0060, 2016, E-Government

  36. Beneficial Ownership Verification System

    UA0061, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  37. CoST Beneficial Ownership Standards

    UA0062, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  38. Transpartent Budget System

    UA0063, 2016,

  39. Starred commitment Open Public Procurement

    UA0064, 2016, Access to Information

  40. Starred commitment Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    UA0065, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  41. Environmental Public Monitoring

    UA0066, 2016, Access to Information

  42. Community Policing System

    UA0067, 2016, Education

  43. Draft Law on Public Consultations

    UA0068, 2016, Legislation & Regulation

  44. Development of E-Democracy.

    UA0069, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  45. Improve Government Rules on CSO Involvement

    UA0031, 2014, E-Government

  46. Financing of Charities

    UA0032, 2014, Civic Space

  47. Not-For-Profit Status for CSOs

    UA0033, 2014, Civic Space

  48. Public Participation Law

    UA0034, 2014, E-Government

  49. Establishing Rules on Processing Official Information

    UA0035, 2014, Access to Information

  50. Access to Urban Planning Documents

    UA0036, 2014, E-Government

  51. Starred commitment Access to Communist-Era Archives

    UA0037, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  52. Starred commitment Draft Law on Open Data

    UA0038, 2014, Access to Information

  53. Starred commitment Supervisory Mechanism for the Right to Information

    UA0039, 2014, Access to Information

  54. Compliance with EITI

    UA0040, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  55. Monitoring of Infrastructure Projects

    UA0041, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  56. Adopt Regional Anti-Corruption Programmes

    UA0042, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  57. Corruption Risk Assessment Methodology

    UA0043, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  58. Starred commitment Asset Disclosure on a Single Web Portal

    UA0044, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  59. Law on Administrative Procedure

    UA0045, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  60. Law on Streamlining Payment of Administrative Fees

    UA0046, 2014, E-Government

  61. Administrative Services Portal

    UA0047, 2014, Access to Information

  62. Draft Law on Decentralisation of Administrative Services

    UA0048, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  63. Draft Law on Social Services

    UA0049, 2014, E-Government

  64. e-Government Laws

    UA0050, 2014, E-Government

  65. Electronic Readiness Assessment

    UA0051, 2014, E-Government

  66. Government Regulations on Open Data

    UA0052, 2014, Access to Information

  67. Electronic Democracy Development Roadmap

    UA0053, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  68. Open Budget Initiatives

    UA0054, 2014, Access to Information

  69. e-Petitions

    UA0055, 2014, Access to Justice

  70. e-Governance Training for Local Government

    UA0056, 2014, Capacity Building

  71. Laws on Public Participation

    UA0001, 2012, Civic Space

  72. Amendments to the Law on Community Associations

    UA0002, 2012, Civic Space

  73. Amendments to Resolutions on Collaboration with Civil Society

    UA0003, 2012, E-Government

  74. Training for Public Servants on Consultations

    UA0004, 2012, Capacity Building

  75. Harmonisation of Access to Information Laws

    UA0005, 2012, Access to Information

  76. By-Laws on Access to Information

    UA0006, 2012, Access to Information

  77. Guidelines for Classifying Data

    UA0007, 2012, Public Participation

  78. Public Information Recording Systems

    UA0008, 2012,

  79. Law on Public Broadcasting

    UA0009, 2012, Civic Space

  80. Public Access to Information in State Registers

    UA0010, 2012, E-Government

  81. Starred commitment Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    UA0011, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  82. Law for Controlling Declarations of Public Servants

    UA0012, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  83. Public Declarations of Officials’ Assets

    UA0013, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  84. Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest

    UA0014, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  85. Updated Anti-Corruption Laws

    UA0015, 2012, E-Government

  86. Regional Anti-Corruption Programmes

    UA0016, 2012, E-Government

  87. Law on Competitive e-Government Procurement

    UA0017, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  88. Starred commitment Administrative Services Reforms

    UA0018, 2012, E-Government

  89. Electronic Access to Administrative Services

    UA0019, 2012, E-Government

  90. Governmental Web Portal of Administrative Services

    UA0020, 2012, E-Government

  91. Administrative Services in a Digital Format

    UA0021, 2012,

  92. Starred commitment Regional Administrative Service Centres

    UA0022, 2012,

  93. Programme for Promotion of e-Government

    UA0023, 2012, E-Government

  94. Electronic Collaboration Between Executive Agencies

    UA0024, 2012,

  95. Web-Based Petitions System

    UA0025, 2012, E-petitions

  96. One Stop Shop for e-Reporting

    UA0026, 2012, E-Government

  97. e-Region Pilot Project

    UA0027, 2012, E-Government

  98. Network of e-Government Practitioners

    UA0028, 2012, Public Participation

  99. Public Libraries as Bridges Towards e-Governance

    UA0029, 2012, E-Government

  100. e-Government Knowledge Management Portal

    UA0030, 2012,

Open Government Partnership