12:55 16.12.2019

Zelensky tables to Rada urgent bill with amendments to Constitution regarding decentralization of power

6 min read
Zelensky tables to Rada urgent bill with amendments to Constitution regarding decentralization of power

 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has registered in the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on amendments to the Constitution of the country regarding the decentralization of power.

Corresponding bill No. 2598 was registered on Friday. The document is defined as urgent for consideration in parliament, the parliament's website said.

According to an explanatory note to the bill published on Monday morning on the parliament's website, the document proposes changes to decentralize state power, improve the territorial organization of power and strengthen the constitutional and legal status of local self-government.

So, certain provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine regarding the administrative-territorial structure are changing. In particular, it is proposed to introduce such a list of administrative-territorial units: the community, district, region, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The current version of the Constitution enshrines a list of specific names of all regions of Ukraine.

It is supposed to legislatively resolve issues of the administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine, in particular, the order of formation, liquidation, establishment and change of borders, the name and renaming of communities, districts, regions, as well as their order of formation, name and renaming and classification of settlements (villages, towns, cities) to the appropriate category. It is enshrined that the change of their borders, the name and renaming is carried out taking into account the opinions of local residents.

The amendments to Section XI "Local Self-Government" propose the consolidation of local self-government as the right and opportunity of the community to resolve issues of local importance within the framework of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. Moreover, the community is defined as the primary subject of local self-government and a legal entity.

At the constitutional level, the community's right to the direct implementation of local self-government is secured through elections, local referenda, and local initiatives and in other forms determined by law. The creation of representative and executive bodies of local self-government is envisaged. Such bodies are the district, regional council, and their executive committees. These councils appoint and dismiss the head of the executive committee and, upon his motion, form the composition of this body.

It is proposed at the constitutional level to determine that the voting power in the election of the head (chairman) of the community, deputies of the council of the community belongs to legally competent residents of the relevant community, permanently residing in its territory and having reached 18 years on election day.

It also provides for a reduction in the term of office of the head of the community, deputies of its council, district and regional councils elected in the next election, which will be four years. The election of the chairman of the district and regional councils is based on rotation. The term of office of the chairman is one year.

The material and financial basis of local government is consolidated. In particular, it is determined that such a basis is land, movable and immovable property, natural resources, other objects, in the communal property of the community; objects of joint ownership of communities controlled by district and regional councils; local taxes and fees, and other revenues of local budgets.

At the same time, it is proposed to determine that the state ensures the proportionality of financial resources and the powers of local authorities, as defined by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, and the change in the competence of the local government is carried out with simultaneous changes in the distribution of financial resources.

Section XI of the Constitution of Ukraine is also supplemented by a provision according to which the division of powers between local governments of communities, districts, regions is determined by law on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity.

"At the same time, decentralization does not mean weakening central authority in such matters as defense, foreign policy, national security, the rule of law, respect for human rights and freedoms," the explanatory note reads.

That is why, for the administrative supervision over the observance of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine by local authorities, the coordination of the territorial bodies of central executive bodies and the supervision of their observance of the Constitution and laws, it is proposed to introduce the institution of prefects. The draft provides that the prefect is appointed and dismissed by the president of Ukraine on the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"The prefect suspends the acts of local self-government on the grounds of their inconsistency with the Constitution or laws of Ukraine with simultaneous appeal to the court," the note says.

In addition, the bill provides that if the head of the community, its council, district, regional council adopts an act that does not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine and creates a threat of violation of state sovereignty, territorial integrity or a threat to national security, the president, upon the request of the prefect, suspends the relevant act while appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, temporarily stops the powers of the head of the community, the composition of such a council and appoints a temporary state authorized representative.

If the Constitutional Court of Ukraine recognizes the act of the head or council of the community, district, and regional councils as not compliant with the Constitution, the Verkhovna Rada, upon the president's request, terminates their powers ahead of schedule and calls early elections.

"Thus, the amendments proposed by the bill comply with European and international standards, take into account the conclusions and comments of the Venice Commission and will ensure the capacity of local self-government and build an effective system of territorial organization of power in Ukraine," the explanatory note reads.

The bill, according to the comparative table, does not list the regions of the country. Article 133 states that "the system of the administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine is constituted by the administrative-territorial units: communities, districts, regions, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The territory of Ukraine is constituted by the communities. The community is the primary unit in the system of the administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine. Several merged communities constitute a county."

According to the bill, "the legal status of the city of Kyiv as the capital of Ukraine is determined by a separate law." The current Constitution states that "the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol have a special status, which is determined by the laws of Ukraine."

It is also proposed to indicate in the Constitution that "a citizen serving a sentence for committing a crime or having a criminal record for committing a deliberate crime cannot be elected the head of a community, a deputy of a council of a community, district or regional council."

According to the current legislation, initiatives involving amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, after consideration by the parliamentarians at the first reading, are sent by them to the Constitutional Court of the country to determine constitutionality - checking compliance with the provisions of the Basic Law of the country.

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