Weekly analysis for 06 — 12 January

The procedure for appointing and dismissing members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is improved by law.

Event

On December 17, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Aimed at Improving the Procedure for the Appointment and Dismissal of Members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” (Draft Law № 3195 of March 10, 2020). The Law introduces amendments to the Laws of Ukraine “On Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”, the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved by the Law of Ukraine “On the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”, as well as the Laws of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” and “On Central Executive Bodies”.

CPLR’s assessment 

The majority of the amendments focus on improving the procedural activities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its committees concerning the preparation and preliminary consideration of issues related to the appointment by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and other members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as the termination of the powers of members of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its committees have been granted the authority, when considering the dismissal of a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, to hear that member’s report on his/her performance while in office.

The amendments introduced to the Laws of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” and “On Central Executive Bodies” fail to address the existing substantive problems affecting the functioning of the Government and central executive bodies. Instead, these amendments are limited to introducing a reference to the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as the legal basis for regulating the procedure for appointment and termination of powers of a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and a minister, respectively.

In January 2024, during the preparation of Draft Law № 3195 for its second reading, the CPLR submitted an expert opinion to the Parliament’s Committee on State Power Organization, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning. In this opinion, CPLR experts emphasized the need for further refinement of the draft law with regard to a number of substantive issues. However, several of the concerns raised in the opinion remain unaddressed; as a result, the adopted Law still contains a number of technical and legal shortcomings.

In particular, CPLR recommended retaining the current wording of Part 2 of Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” and rejecting the amendments proposed by the draft law. In our view, the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” does not require provisions regulating the procedure for the adoption of resolutions by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The CPLR also found the amendments to Part 3 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Central Executive Bodies” to be unjustified. The Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are not an act that defines the competence or status of central executive bodies. Therefore, in our view, referencing the Rules of Procedure in this provision is unnecessary.

The Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should not define the powers of the President of Ukraine. Thus, when drafting the new wording of Part 1 of Article 205 of the Rules of Procedure, it would have been more appropriate to retain the current version of this provision, adding, after the words “Prime Minister of Ukraine”, the phrase “Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine”. In addition, it was recommended to amend and supplement Part 2 of the same article to ensure its consistency with the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.” In addition, it was recommended to introduce amendments to Part 2 of the same article to ensure its consistency with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine”.

It was also advisable to remove Part 1 of Article 206-1, introduced into the Rules of Procedure by the adopted Law, since the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are not an act that defines the competence or status of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine or the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Their powers are established by the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine”.

In addition, it would have been appropriate to exclude from Part 2 of this article the provision stating that “one candidate shall be submitted for each position of a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine”. This rule already exists in the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine”. 

Moreover, we believe that the proposal concerning the feasibility of requiring a report on the activities performed throughout the entire period of service as a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was not addressed. According to the adopted amendments, such a report is required only in cases of dismissal under paragraph 1 of part one of Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,” whereas it would be appropriate to require such a reporting in other circumstances as well. This issue requires  further analysis.