WILL THE PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT OF LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE?

Soon the people can receive the right of legislative initiative. It is proposed by the draft law of Ukraine “On amendments to Article 93 of the Constitution of Ukraine (regarding the legislative initiative of the people)” dated August 29, 2019, which has become the subject of heated discussion in the society.

What is the legislative initiative?

The legislative initiative is a stage of legislative procedure, which includes the introduction by an authorized body or official to the Parliament of a formal proposal for the adoption, amendment or repeal of a legislative act.

Unlike foreign legislation, the proposed changes do not concern the setting of deadlines for consideration of such proposals, which in practice may lead to neglecting them.

In general, the analysis of trends in the development of the institute of petitions to the President of Ukraine in recent years suggests the possibility of leaving the resources of this institute to remain only theoretical.

The recommendation of the Committee on issues of European integration to apply to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) to obtain an opinion on the compliance of the draft law “On the legislative initiative of the people” with European standards and values is now quite fair.

Andriy Pomazanov, the UIF expert on the reform of the law-enforcement authorities, judicial bodies and judicial branch