Today, 8 October, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading Draft Law No. 14048 ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Ensure Legality and Transparency in the Activities of Local Governments’.

The document sets out clear mechanisms for state supervision of the legality of local government decisions, as well as the establishment of a transparent system for forming a personnel reserve for heads of district state administrations.

The draft law proposes clearly defining the bodies responsible for supervising the legality of local council decisions and distributing powers as follows:

• Acts of regional councils: by the central executive body designated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
• Acts of district councils: by regional state administrations.
• Acts of village, settlement, and city councils and their executive bodies: by district state administrations.

Supervision will be carried out in two ways:

• preventively, through consultations and information about changes in legislation,
• control, through verification of regulatory and individual acts to ensure compliance with the law.

If a violation is detected, the supervisory authority will first send a request for its elimination, which the local government must consider within 20 days. If the request is ignored or rejected without grounds, the matter will be referred to court.

In certain cases, when an act poses a threat to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the supervisory authority will have the right to suspend its effect through the courts.

Additionally, the draft law amends the Code of Administrative Procedure that would establish a simplified procedure for considering cases concerning the legality of local government acts.

A separate section of the document outlines the process for establishing a personnel reserve for the positions of heads of district state administrations. A competitive selection process is being introduced, setting out the following key requirements for candidates:

• Ukrainian citizenship;
• proficiency in the official language (confirmed by a certificate);
• higher education at master’s level or above;
• at least seven years of work experience, including at least three years in management positions.

Candidates will undergo professional training and annual assessment. According to the new procedure, a head of a regional state administration will propose three candidates to the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration, at least two of whom must be from the personnel reserve.

As stated in the explanatory note, Ukraine is currently the only European country without a legally defined mechanism for controlling the legality of local government decisions. Therefore, the introduction of this instrument is necessary to ensure a balance between the independence of communities and compliance with the principle of the rule of law.

Commenting on the adoption of the draft law, Oleksii Riabykin, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, said to the Decentralisation portal:

‘The adoption of this draft law in the first reading is another step towards strengthening the decentralised management system in the country. We are creating a European model that combines strong local self-government with effective state supervision rather than control for its own sake. The introduction of a mechanism to ensure legality is a tool for dialogue and error prevention, not interference in the powers of communities. We are creating a system that will protect the interests of citizens and the state as a whole, ensuring that decisions made at the local level are transparent, legal and aimed at the development of territories.’

Once adopted in the second reading, the document can be adopted as a whole and sent to the President for signature.