e-Petitions (UA0055)

Preparing and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in due course a draft resolution on the approval of the Procedure for Processing of Citizens’ Electronic Appeals

21. E-democracy roadmap

Commitment Text: 21. Preparing the Roadmap for Development of Electronic Democracy.

Expected result: proposals developed for identifying the ways of realising the potential of e-democracy instruments as means to ensure the possibility of citizens’ impact upon state decision-making and supervision over authorities.

23. E-petitions

Commitment Text: 23. Preparing and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in due course a draft resolution on the approval of the Procedure for Processing of Citizens’ Electronic Petitions.

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

Editorial Note: These two commitments were combined as they involve interrelated activities.

Lead institution(s): State Agency for E-Governance

Supporting institution(s): Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of Justice, National Centre for E-Governance of the State Company Derzhinformresurs, NGO Transparency International-Ukraine, International Renaissance Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Association of Local Self-Government Bodies "Cities of E-Governance," NGO "Podil Agency for Regional Development," other non-specified NGOs and international organisations (commitment 21); Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of Justice, Administration of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, UNDP, other non-specified NGOs and international organisations (Commitment 23)

Start Date: Not specified                                                        End Date: 30 June 2015

Commitment aim

21. Roadmap for Development of Electronic Democracy

The commitment aimed to develop proposals on ways to realise the potential of e-democracy tools. Such tools would ensure citizens’ ability to influence public authorities’ decisions, and provide public oversight of these authorities.

23. Government regulation of e-petitions

Until recently, the Law of Ukraine on Citizens' Petitions (the Law on Petitions) did not include procedures for processing petitions submitted electronically. The government planned to fill this gap by regulating the procedure for processing electronic petitions in its by-laws. This was supposed to introduce a new way for citizens to communicate with authorities via the electronic submission of petitions (complaints, requests, proposals, etc.).

Status

21. Roadmap for Development of Electronic Democracy

Midterm: Substantial

The title of the commitment referred to the development of a Roadmap for E-Democracy, although the expected output mentioned only the development of “proposals on how to determine ways of realizing potential of the e-democracy instruments.” The government reported on an outline of the proposals submitted to the government by the State Agency on E-Governance in May 2015,^{[Note 104: http://bit.ly/1jYVTlV. ]} which was required by the commitment’s deliverable.^{[Note 105: Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) Progress Report 2014-15: Ukraine, 73.]}

The government failed to hold public consultations on the document that was developed, and published it only after it was submitted to the government. The result of the document’s submission to the government was not clear. The proposals prepared by the State Agency on E-Governance included a definition of e-democracy, a detailed overview of the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec (2009)1 on e-democracy, an overview of the main instruments of e-democracy in Ukraine, and a proposal for three alternative scenarios for e-democracy development in Ukraine.

End of term: Complete

No further proposals were developed since the midterm. However, given the low specificity of this commitment as written, it can be considered complete. The State Agency on E-Governance reported on proposal outlines, and published the document online, thereby fulfilling the only requirement specified in the commitment text.          

23. Government regulation of e-petitions

Midterm: Limited

In July 2015, Ukraine’s Parliament amended the Law on Petitions to allow petitions to be submitted electronically, and introduced a special form of petitions—e-petitions (see the description under OGP commitment 18). The government reported that the State Agency on E-Governance has set up a working group to develop a procedure for processing e-petitions in line with the commitment. The group has also developed draft regulations.^{[Note 106: Ibid, p. 73.]}

End of term: Completed

In February 2016, the government adopted a resolution to amend the government bylaws to regulate processing of electronic petitions in line with the new law.^{[Note 107: http://bit.ly/2ifuWKH. ]}

Did it open government?

21. Roadmap for Development of Electronic Democracy

Access to Information: Did not change

Civic Participation: Did not change

The expected output of the commitment was to develop “proposals on how to determine ways of realizing potential of the e-democracy instruments.” The government developed such proposals, but they had no tangible impact, and could not be considered a roadmap for development of e-democracy (as intended in the title of the commitment).

23. Government regulation of e-petitions

Civic Participation: Marginal

Public Accountability: Did not change

The commitment aimed to improve the implementation of new tools for citizens to address public authorities with requests, complaints, or proposals. This was done by developing a system for the government to review and respond to submissions from the newly authorized e-petitioning system. This commitment is related to commitment 18 (see previous), which had an outstanding impact on opening government, since it legally authorized and implemented an e-petition system at all levels and offices of government. The commitment, to establish a system for processing e-petition submissions, represented a largely internal government procedural change.

In 2016, the government updated its regulations to reflect new changes in the Law on Petitions. This was a positive step, as it aligned government bylaws with the new requirements. However, it had only a marginal effect on open government. While amending the law to permit regulations for responding to online petitions is a necessary component of responding to citizens, this commitment was technical in nature, and did not represent more than a marginal change in practice.

Carried forward?

The commitment on the development of e-democracy was carried over to the new action plan. The new plan requires preparation of a concept paper on the development of e-democracy (by May 2017) and an action plan to implement the concept paper (both documents must be approved by the government).