18 Jun, 2024
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Verkhovna Rada is preparing to adopt the draft law “On public consultations” with a fundamental flaw
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Back on March 5, 2021, the draft law № 4254 “On public consultations” was adopted in the first reading. However, compared to the version submitted by the Government (developed with the active participation of the public), the text recommended by the relevant Parliament Committee in March 2023 contains a significant flaw – it removes the MPs obligation to hold public consultations on draft laws, which they were submitted.
We hoped that this shortcoming would be eliminated during additional consultations that have taken place in recent months. Especially since the draft law in the first reading version contained this fundamental requirement and established similar rules for all individuals entitled to the right of legislative initiative. It was in this wording the draft law 4254 was supported by representatives of the public within the working groups of the Ministry of Justice and the Parliament, as well as international organizations (SIGMA Program, Council of Europe, etc.).
However, the version of the draft law currently planned for the second reading has the aforementioned exclusion for MPs and may be put to a vote this week. This effectively defeats the purpose for which the draft law was initiated and developed.
CPLR’s position
The CPLR does not support the exclusion for MPs of Ukraine and the failure to establish an obligation for them to hold public consultations regarding submitted draft laws. After all, the majority of laws in Ukraine are adopted from among the draft laws submitted by MPs. For example, in 2023, 82% of adopted laws were submitted by MPs. This is very uncommon compared to the experience of developed countries, where the government is the main lawmaker. Therefore, if such draft laws are excluded from the scope of the future Law “On public consultations”, most laws will remain to be adopted without proper mechanisms for public participation.
In particular, this approach will encourage ministries and other developers of legislative initiatives in the executive branch to bypass public consultations. After all, the procedure for public consultations for them becomes even more demanding (as well as for local self-government authorities), while there are no requirements for the draft laws initiated by MPs. Although initially, the draft law № 4254 required only electronic discussion for such legislative initiatives without any other significant obligations for MPs, just to protect citizens and businesses against “surprises”.
Thus, the CPLR believes that the adoption of the draft law “On public consultations” in its current version will not address lobbying issues and poor quality lawmaking. This is also involves a constant risk of “revision” of already implemented reforms.
The CPLR calls to revise the relevant recommendation of the Parliament Committee and adopt democratic and anti-corruption law “On public consultations”. This is especially important in the context of limited mechanisms of direct democracy during martial law (under condition that the timeframe for the entry into force of this law is also shortened).
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