December 12, 2012 Ivan Ratushniak

1. What prevents Ukraine’s system of public consultations in the central executive body policy-making process from working as it should? December 12, 2012 Ivan Ratushniak

2. Plenty has been done to institute public consultations in Ukraine

3. Regulatoryenvironmentc • Theprinciplesandbasisforstatepolicyhavebeendefinedandlegislated. • Thelegislativebasisandmechanismsforconsultationsareinplace. • A Procedure for holding public consultations related to the formation and execution of state policy has been approved.

4. Organization: Primaryresponsibility (1) • Responsibility for holding public consultations: • OblastandMunicipal (Kyiv/Sevastopol) StateAdmins • Council of Ministers of Crimea • CentralExecutiveBodies (CEBs) Subunits

5. Organization: Auxiliarysupport (2) • CEBsandlocalexecutivebodies (LEBs) nowhaveadvisoryciviccouncilsattachedtothemthat: • coordinateeffectiveinteractionbetweenexecutivebodiesandthepublic; • bringpublicopinionintoplayintheformationandexecutionofstatepolicy. • In practice, CEBsandLEBshavebeguntopostdraftlegislationandregulationsontheirofficialsites.

6. What does the government say? (1) • PresidentialDecree №212 “OntheStrategyofstatepolicytofosterthedevelopmentofcivilsocietyinUkraine”datedMarch 24, 2012, notes: • “TheworkofCEBsandLEBscontinuestobeopaque, closedandexcessivelybureaucraticratherthanmovingtowardseffectivedialogwithcivilsociety.” • “Themechanismsforcivilsocietytobeengagedintheprocessofformulatingandexecutingstatepolicyarenotbeingproperlyused.” • “PositiveinstancesofeffectivecooperationbetweenCEBs, LEBsandcivilsocietyinstitutionsaretheexceptionratherthantherule.”

7. Whatdoesthegovernmentsay? (2) • The President continues to emphasize the importance of engaging civil society in the policy-making process. During a meeting with student leaders on November 14, 2012, the President stated,“When reforms directly affect voters, it’s very important for voters to understand why they are taking place.” ViktorYanukovych

8. Howisitthat, givenalltheattentiontodemocraticdevelopmentonthepartofthoseinpower, civilsocietyinUkraineremainsuninformed, unheard, andunsatisfied?

9. The problems (1) • “Needtoincludecivilsocietyintheprocess”remainsmoredeclarativethanactual: • In practice, CEBsandLEBsdonotfollowtheCabinetRegulationortheProcedureforholdingconsultations. • As a rule, theconsultationprocesscomesdowntomerelypublishingdraftlegislationandregulations. • Thedemocraticstandardsofpublicparticipationaresimplyignored.

10. The problems (2) • The institutional capacity of CEBs and LEBs makes it difficult to hold high-quality consultations: • Sub-units of CEBs and LEBs responsible for interacting with civil society lack the necessary knowledge and skills. • The staffing of such sub-units is frequently too small.

11. The problems (3) • Neither the Law “On central executive bodies” nor the standard provisions regarding ministries and CEBs define the functions of these bodies with regard to holding public consultations. • As a result, suchfunctionsarealsomissingintheprovisionson sub-unitsattachedtotheadministrationsofthesebodiesandinactualjobdescriptions.

12. The problems (4) • Oversight, as a meansofupholdinglegislationonengagingcivilsociety, isignored. • Officials, whosepowersincludecallingtotaskthoseresponsibleforviolations, followthelawattheirowndiscretion: iftheyfeellikeit, theyrespond; iftheydon’tfeellikeit, theydon’t. Sopublicconsultationsdependdirectlyontheirwillandwhims. • Suchofficialsarenotanswerabletoanybodyfortheirbiasedactionsandthusgounpunished.

13. Theproblems (5) • Thelawdoesnotspecifyresponsibilityandpenaltiesforsuchdirectviolationsasfailuretofollowtheprocedureforholdingpublicconsultations.

14. Theproblems (6)c • Thepublicconsultationprocessisnotproperlyregulated.Provisionsinindividuallawsonlypartlyregulatethisinstitutions: • ThelawonlyextendstherequirementtoholdpublicconsultationstotheCabinetofMinisters, CEBs, LEBsandlocalgovernments. • ThereisnorequirementwhatsoevertoholdpublicconsultationswhenlegislationisbeingdraftedbyNationalDeputiesofUkraineas a legislativeinitiativeorintheLaw“OntheRegulationoftheVerkhovnaRada.” • NoristhePresidentboundtoholdconsultationswhendraftingdecreesandotherlegalacts: PresidentialDecree №970 datedNovember 15, 2006, allowsthisrequirementtobeappliedselectively.

15. Theproblems (7) • Civilsocietyinstitutionsare: • overlypassiveinexercisingtheirrightsanddefendingtheirinterestsinthe policy-making process; • notmakinguseofexistingleversofinfluenceonthegovernment.

16. Whatstepsmightbringhope? • Civil society needs to pressure the government to move from declarative to real actions in terms of public consultations. • The institutional capacity of government bodies to hold public consultations needs to be improved. • A basic law needs to be adopted that will: • set the minimal standards, mechanisms and procedures for public participation based on the existing Procedure for public consultations; • bebinding on all government agencies, without exception, including the President of Ukraine and VR Deputies. • establish the specific violations for which specific officials will be held accountable. • A system of independent state oversight needs to be set up that would automatically penalize officials for inaction in terms of holding public consultations.

17. Recommendationstocivilsocietyanddonors (1) • DemandthattheGovernmentprovide a transparentinstitutionalchartoftheexecutorsand a chartofstateoversightforholdingpublicconsultations. • DemandthatthePresidentandGovernmentdraftandincorporatechangestotheprovisionsonCEBsandindividualjobdescriptionstomakeitmandatorytoholdpublicconsultations.

18. Recommendationstocivilsocietyanddonors (2) • DemandthattheVerkhovnaRadaadopt a basiclawthatproperlyandfullyregulatespublicconsultations. • DemandthattheGovernmentholdresponsibleallofficialswhofailtofollowtheprocedureonholdingpublicconsultations. • Broadlydisseminatecurrentlegislativeandregulatorydocumentsonpublicconsultationsanddemandthatgovernmentbodiesupholdthem.