Skip Navigation
Ukraine

Draft Law on Public Consultations (UA0068)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Ukraine Third National Action Plan 2016-2018

Action Plan Cycle: 2016

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: Ministry of Justice.

Support Institution(s): Charity Fund CCC Creative Centre, the All-Ukrainian non-governmental organisation Committee of Voters of Ukraine, the non-governmental organisations Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research and Centre for Policy and Legal Reform, the OSCE project coordinator in Ukraine, the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other civil society institutions and international organisations (by consent).

Policy Areas

Legislation & Regulation, Legislature, Public Participation

IRM Review

IRM Report: Ukraine Mid-Term Report 2016-2018

Starred: No

Early Results: Marginal Marginal

Design i

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to OGP Values: Civic Participation

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Event: Development of a draft law on public consultations.; Implementation timeframe: December 2016; Entities responsible: Ministry of Justice.; Partners: Charity Fund CCC Creative Centre, the All-Ukrainian non-governmental organisation Committee of Voters of Ukraine, the non-governmental organisations Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research and Centre for Policy and Legal Reform, the OSCE project coordinator in Ukraine, the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other civil society institutions and international organisations (by consent). Expected results: Development of the draft Law of Ukraine “On public consultations” to regulate matters related to the holding of consultations by the public authorities with the community and submission of the draft in accordance with established procedures for consideration by the Government.

IRM Midterm Status Summary

12. Develop a draft law on public consultations

Commitment Text:

Development of a draft law on public consultations

Expected results: Development of the draft Law of Ukraine 'On public consultations' to regulate matters related to the holding of consultations by the public authorities with the community and submission of the draft in accordance with established procedures for consideration by the Government.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Justice

Supporting institution(s): Charity Fund CCC Creative Center, the All-Ukrainian non-governmental organization Committee of Voters of Ukraine, the non-governmental organizations Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research and Center for Policy and Legal Reform, the OSCE project coordinator in Ukraine, the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other civil society institutions and international organizations (by consent).

Start date: December 2016 End date: June 2018

Context and Objectives

The current Ukrainian legal framework weakly enshrines public consultations. No comprehensive piece of legislation pertains to consultations. The Ministry of Justice views current regulations on public consultations as only applicable to national-level parts of the executive branch. The government does not require public consultations at the local level or in relation with parliamentary deliberations. Those executive bodies currently required to hold public consultations view them as largely formal, and they are poorly utilized by relevant stakeholders.[Note299: Yaroslava Kahliak (Ministry of Justice), interview by IRM researcher, 28 July 2017.] Previous action plans included commitments on public participation. Most of these activities involved either forming working groups or making smaller, technical changes to already existing procedures.

This commitment seeks to develop and pass a comprehensive law on public consultations, a desire reflected in previous action plans. The law would mandate public consultations for all branches of government when dealing with policy change. The commitment does not specify a model or particular set of principles for this new legal framework. This lack of clarity undermines its specificity.

The commitment calls for the development of the draft law and for its submission for consideration by the government. If the draft becomes law, it would set a standard for citizen engagement for public consultations and create common norms and equal requirements for all stakeholders.[Note300: Volodymyr Kuprii (Charity Fund CCC Creative Center), interview by IRM researcher, 3 August 2017.] However, as formulated, without specification of the actual principles to be enshrined in the law, this commitment has a moderate potential impact in increasing citizens’ participation. In addition, the concept and action plan are focused at the national level and do not address lower levels of government.

Completion

This commitment is substantially completed as of September 2017. The draft law was developed by a working group created by the Ministry of Justice, which included representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, civil society, independent experts and other stakeholders. Additionally, civil society groups reported that the draft was a subject of wide public discussion.[Note301: 'The Information on Public Deliberation,' Civil Society and Authorities: Governmental Website, (link no longer accessible as of 25 April 2018) http://civic.kmu.gov.ua/consult_mvc_kmu/news/article/actual_lst/2781. ] The debate was, in part, spurred by the direct efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE sponsored a roundtable discussion[Note302: 'The Discussion of the Draft Law on Public Consultations in Ukraine during the Round Table in Kyiv City,' Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 3 November 2016, http://www.osce.org/uk/ukraine/276741.] of the draft bill. It also ensured that the MoJ could receive further recommendations on modifying the draft law from the public via email.[Note303: 'Take Part in the Discussion on Public Consultations,' Civil Society and Authorities: Governmental Website, 27 July 2016, (link no longer accessible as of 25 April 2018) http://civic.kmu.gov.ua/consult_mvc_kmu/news/article/show/3066. ]

According to the MoJ, expert discussions with the OSCE, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in public consultation advocacy, and the general public took place both through offline and online formats. Civil society leaders noted that the discussion largely focused on legal issues instead of methods of implementation. However, they stated there was a wide variety of input from both national- and local-level stakeholders, including think tanks and NGOs.[Note304: Volodymyr Kuprii (Charity Fund CCC Creative Center), interview by IRM researcher, 3 August 2017.] In early 2017, the draft text was submitted to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. This initial submission received comments by other government ministries[Note305: Yaroslava Kahliak (Ministry of Justice), interview by IRM researcher, 28 July 2017.] and was resubmitted in June 2017.[Note306: 'The Interim Report on the Realization of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Open Government Partnership Initiative in 2016–2018,' Civil Society and Authorities: Governmental Website, accessed 13 September 2017, (link no longer accessible as of 25 April 2018) http://civic.kmu.gov.ua/consult_mvc_kmu/uploads/attach-3467-910681586.doc. ]

Although the draft law had been initially expected to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for adoption in December 2016, as of September 2017, it remained with the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. The MoJ, which continues to ostensibly shepherd the document, maintains that this is due to the extensive nature of public comments and the multiple updates to the document.[Note307: Yaroslava Kahliak (Ministry of Justice), interview by IRM researcher, 28 July 2017.] On the other hand, one civil society representative suggested that the MoJ is trying to avoid being bogged down in the legislative process,[Note308: Victor Tymoshchuk (Center of Policy and Legal Reform), interview by IRM researcher, 27 July 2017.] which is seen as chaotic.[Note309: Volodymyr Kuprii (Charity Fund CCC Creative Center), interview by IRM researcher, 3 August 2017.] As of November 2017, the draft law has not been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Next Steps

The drafting process would benefit from holding consultations at the early stages. With such consultations, from the very beginning, analysis could be conducted, policy options could be outlined, and directions could be made clear.

The IRM researcher recommends that the Cabinet of Ministers adopt the current draft law in a reasonable period of time, given the already significant delays. Subsequently, the draft will need to be submitted to the parliament for deliberation and adoption.

For efficient and successful passage, both the government—primarily the Ministry of Justice—and already involved civil society and other stakeholders will need to provide systematic legal and political support for the bill.

Ukraine's Commitments

  1. Infrastructure data portal

    UA0070, 2018, E-Government

  2. open standard for e-system

    UA0071, 2018, E-Government

  3. Ensuring openness and transparency of selling public assets and property

    UA0072, 2018, E-Government

  4. Transparency in public procurement (Prozorro)

    UA0073, 2018, E-Government

  5. Awarenss raising about social and economic development

    UA0074, 2018, Aid

  6. e-calls for proposals to support CSOs

    UA0075, 2018, Civic Space

  7. Beneficial ownership registry

    UA0076, 2018, Beneficial Ownership

  8. Anti-corruption Training

    UA0077, 2018, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  9. Publishing environmental information

    UA0078, 2018, E-Government

  10. Database of natural resources

    UA0079, 2018, E-Government

  11. Interactive map of mines

    UA0080, 2018, E-Government

  12. Priority electronic services

    UA0081, 2018, Citizenship and Immigration

  13. online platform for executive bodies and CSOs

    UA0082, 2018, Civic Space

  14. EITI online data

    UA0083, 2018, E-Government

  15. electronic resources for education

    UA0084, 2018, E-Government

  16. online verification of education certificates

    UA0085, 2018, E-Government

  17. Free access to national repository for academic texts

    UA0086, 2018, E-Government

  18. Administrative Service Decentrilisation and Improvement

    UA0057, 2016, Capacity Building

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

    UA0058, 2016, Capacity Building

  20. System for Entities Performing Government Functions

    UA0059, 2016, Capacity Building

  21. Free Urban Planning Documentation

    UA0060, 2016, E-Government

  22. Beneficial Ownership Verification System

    UA0061, 2016, Beneficial Ownership

  23. CoST Beneficial Ownership Standards

    UA0062, 2016, E-Government

  24. Transpartent Budget System

    UA0063, 2016,

  25. Starred commitment Open Public Procurement

    UA0064, 2016, Capacity Building

  26. Starred commitment Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    UA0065, 2016, Extractive Industries

  27. Environmental Public Monitoring

    UA0066, 2016, Environment and Climate

  28. Community Policing System

    UA0067, 2016, Education

  29. Draft Law on Public Consultations

    UA0068, 2016, Legislation & Regulation

  30. Development of E-democracy.

    UA0069, 2016,

  31. Improve government rules on CSO involvement

    UA0031, 2014, E-Government

  32. Financing of charities

    UA0032, 2014, Civic Space

  33. Not-for-profit status for CSOs

    UA0033, 2014, Civic Space

  34. Public participation law

    UA0034, 2014, E-Government

  35. Establishing Rules on Processing Official Information

    UA0035, 2014, E-Government

  36. Access to Urban Planning Documents

    UA0036, 2014, E-Government

  37. Starred commitment Access to Communist-Era Archives

    UA0037, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  38. Starred commitment Draft law on open data

    UA0038, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  39. Starred commitment Supervisory mechanism for the right to information

    UA0039, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  40. Compliance with EITI

    UA0040, 2014, Extractive Industries

  41. Monitoring of infrastructure projects

    UA0041, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  42. Adopt regional anti-corruption programmes

    UA0042, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  43. Corruption risk assessment methodology

    UA0043, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  44. Starred commitment Asset disclosure on a single web portal

    UA0044, 2014, Asset Disclosure

  45. Law on administrative procedure

    UA0045, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  46. Law on streamlining payment of administrative fees

    UA0046, 2014, E-Government

  47. Administrative services portal

    UA0047, 2014, E-Government

  48. Draft law on decentralisation of administrative services

    UA0048, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  49. Draft law on social services

    UA0049, 2014, E-Government

  50. e-Government laws

    UA0050, 2014, E-Government

  51. Electronic readiness assessment

    UA0051, 2014, E-Government

  52. Government regulations on open data

    UA0052, 2014, E-Government

  53. Electronic democracy development roadmap

    UA0053, 2014, E-Government

  54. Open budget initiatives

    UA0054, 2014, E-Government

  55. e-Petitions

    UA0055, 2014, E-Government

  56. e-Governance training for local government

    UA0056, 2014, Capacity Building

  57. Laws on public participation

    UA0001, 2012, Civic Space

  58. Amendments to the law on community associations

    UA0002, 2012, Civic Space

  59. Amendments to resolutions on collaboration with civil society

    UA0003, 2012, E-Government

  60. Training for public servants on consultations

    UA0004, 2012, Capacity Building

  61. Harmonisation of access to information laws

    UA0005, 2012, E-Government

  62. By-laws on access to information

    UA0006, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  63. Guidelines for classifying data

    UA0007, 2012, Public Participation

  64. Public information recording systems

    UA0008, 2012, Records Management

  65. Law on public broadcasting

    UA0009, 2012, Civic Space

  66. Public access to information in state registers

    UA0010, 2012, E-Government

  67. Starred commitment Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    UA0011, 2012, E-Government

  68. Law for controlling declarations of public servants

    UA0012, 2012, Asset Disclosure

  69. Public declarations of officials’ assets

    UA0013, 2012, Asset Disclosure

  70. Guidelines on conflicts of interest

    UA0014, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  71. Updated anti-corruption laws

    UA0015, 2012, E-Government

  72. Regional anti-corruption programmes

    UA0016, 2012, E-Government

  73. Law on competitive e-government procurement

    UA0017, 2012, E-Government

  74. Starred commitment Administrative services reforms

    UA0018, 2012, E-Government

  75. Electronic access to administrative services

    UA0019, 2012, E-Government

  76. Governmental web portal of administrative services

    UA0020, 2012, E-Government

  77. Administrative services in a digital format

    UA0021, 2012,

  78. Starred commitment Regional administrative service centres

    UA0022, 2012, Public Service Delivery

  79. Programme for promotion of e-government

    UA0023, 2012, E-Government

  80. Electronic collaboration between executive agencies

    UA0024, 2012,

  81. Web-based petitions system

    UA0025, 2012,

  82. One stop shop for e-Reporting

    UA0026, 2012, E-Government

  83. E-region pilot project

    UA0027, 2012, E-Government

  84. Network of e-government practitioners

    UA0028, 2012, Public Participation

  85. Public libraries as bridges towards e-governance

    UA0029, 2012, E-Government

  86. E-government knowledge management portal

    UA0030, 2012,