Draft Law on Public Consultations (UA0068)

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.

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 institutions: 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: August 2018

Commitment Aim:

This commitment aims to develop a draft law on public consultations. The government authorized the Ministry of Justice to develop the draft law of Ukraine On Public Consultations. The commitment calls for regulation of matters related to public authority consultations with the community and for the submission of a draft for Cabinet of Ministers consideration.

Status

Midterm: Substantial

By September 2017 the government had substantially completed this commitment. A multi-stakeholder working group developed the draft law, and it underwent wide public discussion. [220] According to the Ministry of Justice, the ministry held two expert discussions. It also consulted the general public via offline and online means. Civil society leaders provided input but noted that the discussion largely focused on legal issues instead of methods of implementation. In January 2017, the draft text was submitted to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. This initial submission received comments by other government ministries and was resubmitted in June 2017. [221] The draft law had been initially expected to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for adoption in December 2016. However, as of September 2017, it remained with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. For more information, please see the 2016–2018 IRM midterm report. [222]

End of term: Complete

The Ministry of Justice submitted the revised draft of the law to the Cabinet of Ministers on 25 October 2017. [223] The Cabinet approved the draft on 20 December 2017. [224] On 27 December 2017 the Cabinet of Ministers submitted the draft law On Public Consultations to the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada. [225] A specialized committee reviewed the draft law. As a result, on 15 May 2018 the committee submitted a resolution requiring a substantial revision of the draft law. On 18 September 2018 Parliament returned the draft law to the government for revision. [226] A civil society activist who advocated the draft laws believed that this occurred because some members of Parliament (and the parliamentary committee) were offended by the planned law's mandate over Parliament (the requirement to consult the public about all future draft laws). [227] This activist admitted that as of September 2018, the situation seemed like a deadlock. In any case, by the end of the action plan, the draft law had been developed and submitted, which marks the completion of this commitment as written.

Did It Open Government?

Civic Participation: Marginal

The draft law envisioned establishing a framework for citizen engagement in public consultations at different levels and branches of government. The legal provisions were widely discussed. The government included requirements for recommended by civil society (the obligation that all policies can be adopted only after public consultations, consulting procedures, responsible officials, and inclusion of an accountability mechanism). Consequently, the government advanced in introducing clear guidelines for public discussion. The public consultations on this draft law demonstrated the good practice of citizen involvement. A civil society expert who participated in drafting the law acknowledged that stakeholders involved in deliberation of the draft law took the initiative to implement its regulations even before its formal adoption. [228] For instance, several municipalities took the draft laws as a guidance for action and proactively conducted public consultations. [229] The Ministry of Justice also conducted online consultations to draft this law. [230] As a result, offline working groups and online public consultations became more widespread within the ministry and in several other ministries. [231]

Carried Forward?

When this report was written, the government had not published the next action plan. Therefore, it is not clear if this commitment has been carried forward. The IRM researcher recommends Parliament adopt the law to institutionalize the practice of public consultations across the entire public administration. As a next step, government could issue an executive decree obliging central authorities to introduce mandatory public consultations according to the guidelines developed in the draft law.

[220] “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.

[221] “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.

[222] “Ukraine Mid-Term Report 2016–2018,” Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/ukraine-mid-term-report-2016-2018-year-1/.

[223] Natalia Bernatska (Ministry of Justice of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 September 2018.

[224] Ibid.

[225] “The Draft Law on Public Consultations,” #7453, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: The Official Web-portal, http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=63237.

[226] “The Draft Law on Public Consultations,” #7453, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: The Official Web-portal, http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=63237.

[227] Victor Tymoshchuk (Center of Policy and Legal Reform), interview with IRM researcher, 9 August 2018.

[228] Ibid.

[229] Victor Tymoshchuk (Center of Policy and Legal Reform), communication with IRM researcher, 18 October 2018

[230] Ibid.

[231] Victor Tymoshchuk (Center of Policy and Legal Reform), interview with IRM researcher, 9 August 2018.