Round table and civic discussion as to introduction of electronic petitions in Ukraine
06 April 2015 Kyiv, hotel “Ukrayina�
Contents
COMPARATIVE TABLE to the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Appeals of the Citizens” regarding an Electronic Appeal and Electronic Petition” ......................................... 3 COMPARATIVE TABLE to the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Appeals of the Citizens” and “On the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine” regarding an Electronic Appeal and Electronic Petition” .................................................................................................... 8 Analysis of the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Appeals of the Citizens” regarding an Electronic Form of an Appeal and Electronic Petition” # 2299 of 03.03.2015 .......... 16
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COMPARATIVE TABLE to the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Appeals of the Citizens” regarding an Electronic Appeal and Electronic Petition” Current version of the Law Article 5. Requirements for appeals The appeals shall be addressed to state authorities and bodies of local self-government, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership, associations of citizens or officials who have the powers to resolve the matters specified in appeals. An appeal shall state a surname, name, patronymic, place of residence of a citizen, explain the essence of a respective issue, remarks, proposals, declarations or complains, requests or demands. An appeal may be oral (presented by a citizen and recorded by an official during a personal appointment) or written (sent by post or submitted by a citizen to a respective authority, institution in person or through an authorized person, if these authorities are formalized pursuant to law). An appeal may be submitted both by a person individually (individual) and by a group of persons (collective). A written appeal shall be signed by an applicant (applicants) and state a date. An appeal formalized in breach of these requirements shall be returned to an applicant with respective explanations no later than 10 days after a day it was received, except for the cases envisaged by part one of Article 7 of this Law. The appeals for the pro bono legal aid shall be considered pursuant to the procedure established by law regulating the provision of the pro bono legal aid.
Amended version of the Law Article 5. Requirements for appeals The appeals shall be addressed to state authorities and bodies of local self-government, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership, associations of citizens or officials who have the powers to resolve the matters specified in appeals. An appeal may be submitted both by a person individually (individual) and by a group of persons (collective). An electronic petition shall be a special form of a collective appeal of the citizens to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, body of local self-government that shall be submitted and considered pursuant to the procedure provided for by Article 231 of this Law. An appeal may be oral or written. An oral appeal shall be presented by a citizen during a personal appointment or by telephone through specified contact centers, telephone “hot lines” and shall be recorded (registered) by an official. A written appeal shall be sent by post or submitted by a citizen to a respective authority, institution in person or through an authorized person, whose powers shall be formalized pursuant to law. A written appeal may also be sent via Internet, means of electronic communication (electronic appeal). An appeal shall state a surname, name, patronymic, place of residence of a citizen, explain the essence of a respective issue, remarks, proposals, declarations or complains, requests or demands. A written appeal shall be signed by an applicant (applicants) and state a date. An electronic appeal shall also state an email to which an answer may be sent to an applicant or information about other means of communication with him or her. It shall not be necessary to use electronic digital signature when sending an electronic appeal. An appeal formalized in breach of the specified requirements shall be returned to an applicant with respective explanations no later than 10 days after a day it was received, except for the cases envisaged by part one of Article 7 of this Law. The procedure of the receipt of electronic appeals by state authorities and bodies of local selfgovernment, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership, associations of citizens shall be determined by their leadership. 3
The appeals for the pro bono legal aid shall be considered pursuant to the procedure established by law regulating the provision of the pro bono legal aid. … Article 23. Organization of the reception of citizens by the officials of the highest rank The state officials of the highest rank – the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Prime-Minister of Ukraine – shall conduct the reception pursuant to the procedure determined by them. Not available
… Article 23. Organization of the reception of citizens by the officials of the highest rank The state officials of the highest rank – the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Prime-Minister of Ukraine – shall conduct the reception pursuant to the procedure determined by them. Article 231. An electronic petition, the procedure of submission and consideration thereof The citizens may submit electronic petitions to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local selfgovernment via official web-sites of respective bodies or web-sites of public associations. An electronic petition shall explain the essence of an appeal, indicate a surname, name, patronymic of an author (initiator) of an electronic petition. An electronic petition must not contain calls for the overthrow of constitutional order, violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, propaganda of war, violence, cruelty, stirring up ethnic, racial, religious hatred, terrorist acts, infringement of human rights and freedoms, degrading information, information degrading rights and legitimate interests of a person, materials and expressions that pose a threat to national interests and national security of Ukraine, materials and expressions of pornographic, erotic or sexual nature, materials and expressions concerning election campaigns, advertisement of goods, works and services. To create an electronic petition to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local selfgovernment, an author (initiator) thereof shall submit a text of an electronic petition to an official web-site of a body to which it is addressed or on a web-site of a public association. Before publishing for collecting signatures, an electronic petition submitted to an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government or on a web-site of a public association respectively, shall be checked by an administrator of a respective web-site to verify that it complies with the requirements of this Law. An electronic petition that complies with the established requirements shall be published on an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of 4
Ukraine, a body of local self-government or on a web-site of a public association respectively in the course of five days since a day a petition was submitted. If an electronic petition fails to meet the established requirements, it shall not be published. A date when an electronic petition is published on an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government or on a web-site of a public association is a date when the collection of signatures to support a petition starts. When collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition, a public association must ensure: free-of-charge access to and use of an information and telecommunication system used for the collection of signatures; electronic registration of citizens in order to sign a petition; prevention of automatic filling in of information, inter alia signing an electronic petition, without the participation of a citizen; documenting date and time when an electronic petition was published and signed by a citizen; sending an electronic petition that has collected a required number of votes in its support to an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government no later than on the second day after a deadline for the collection of signatures. An electronic petition that has not collected the required number of votes in its support shall not be considered. An electronic petition, addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, shall be considered and an answer to it shall be provided subject to a condition it has gathered at least 25 000 signatures of citizens during no more than 20 calendar days since a day a petition was published. The requirements to a number of signatures of citizens in support of an electronic petition to a body of local self-government and a period for the collection of signatures shall be determined by a decision of a respective local council. An electronic petition, the signatures in support of which were collected via a web-site of a public association and that has collected a required number of signatures in its support during the established period, shall, no later than on a next day after a deadline for the collection of signatures, be sent by a public association to an official web-site of a body, to which a petition is addressed, stating the information about a date the collection of signatures 5
started, a date an electronic petition was sent, total number and list of persons who have signed an electronic petition (or a link to a source of such information in the Internet), a period during which the signatures were collected, name and email of a public association. The information about the beginning of consideration of an electronic petition that has gathered a required number of votes in its support during the determined period shall be published on an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government no later than three working days after a deadline set for the collection of signatures in support of a petition, and if an electronic petition was received from a public association – no later than two working days after a day such a petition was received. An electronic petition shall be considered in the course of 10 working days since a day the information about the beginning of its consideration was published. The procedure of consideration of an electronic petition addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government shall be determined by President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a local council respectively. Should an electronic petition be supported, the information thereon shall be publicly announced: by the President of Ukraine – regarding an electronic petition addressed to him/her; Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - regarding an electronic petition addressed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; head of a respective local council regarding an electronic petition addressed to a body of local self-government. An answer to an electronic petition shall report the results of consideration of the issues stated in a petition. An answer to an electronic petition shall, no later than on the next working day after the end of the consideration thereof, be published on an official web-site of a body to which it was addressed and shall be sent to an author (initiator) of an electronic petition and to the citizens who have supported it. Should it be deemed reasonable, the proposals laid down in an electronic petition may be implemented by a body to which a petition is addressed by accepting a respective decision on the issues within its competence. The President of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Members of Parliament of Ukraine may, according to the results of 6
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consideration of an electronic petition, develop the bills aimed at the settling matters stated in a petition and submit them for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Should an electronic petition fail to gain the support of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government, an author (initiator) and the citizens who have supported it shall be notified thereon. The outcome of consideration of an electronic petition shall be communicated to a public association that collected signatures in support of a respective electronic petition. The information about a number of signatures in support of an electronic petition and a period during which they were collected shall be stored during at least three years since a day a petition was published. ‌ Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine D. Shymkiv
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COMPARATIVE TABLE to the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Appeals of the Citizens” and “On the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine” regarding an Electronic Appeal and Electronic Petition” Current version of the Law
Amended version of the Law
The Law of Ukraine “On Appeals of the Citizens” Article 5. Requirements for appeals The appeals shall be addressed to state authorities The appeals shall be addressed to state authorities and and bodies of local self-government, enterprises, bodies of local self-government, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of of ownership, associations of citizens or officials who ownership, associations of citizens or officials who have the powers to resolve the matters specified in have the powers to resolve the matters specified in appeals. appeals. An appeal shall state a surname, name, patronymic, An appeal shall state a surname, name, patronymic, place of residence of a citizen, explain the essence of place of residence of a citizen, explain the essence of a a respective issue, remarks, proposals, declarations respective issue, remarks, proposals, declarations or or complains, requests or demands. complains, requests or demands. An appeal may be oral (presented by a citizen and An appeal may be oral (presented by a citizen and recorded by an official at a private appointment) or recorded by an official at a private appointment, written (sent by post or submitted by a citizen to a received via the telephone, etc.) or written (sent by respective body, institution in person or through an post or by means of of information, authorized person if the powers of such person have telecommunication, information and been formalized in accordance with law). telecommunication systems, including emails, submitted by a citizen to a respective body, institution in person or through an authorized person An appeal may be submitted both by a person if the powers of such person have been formalized in individually (individual) and by a group of persons accordance with law). (collective). An appeal may be submitted both by a person A written appeal must be signed by an applicant individually (individual) and by a group of persons (applicants) and indicate a date. (collective). A written appeal must be signed by an applicant (applicants) and indicate a date. A written appeal that is submitted by means of information, telecommunication, information and telecommunication systems, including emails, must contain an electronic signature that shall indicate surname, name, patronymic, place of residence of a citizen and emails of an applicant (applicants). A collective written appeal to the President of Ukraine, Prime-Minister of Ukraine or Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine submitted in an electronic format, signed by at least 25 000 citizens in the course of no more than two months since a day such an appeal was published by means of information and telecommunication system that is used for collecting signatures shall be regarded an electronic petition that shall be considered pursuant to the procedure envisaged by parts two, three of Article 19-1 of this Law. A collective written appeal to local councils, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of 8
An appeal formalized in breach of these requirements shall be returned to an applicant with respective explanations no later than 10 days after a day it was received, except for the cases envisaged by part one of Article 7 of this Law. The appeals for the pro bono legal aid shall be considered pursuant to the procedure established by law regulating the provision of the pro bono legal aid.
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Crimea, village, settlement and city councils signed by the required number of citizens and within timeframe specified by the statutes of territorial community (or by a decision of a local council, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea if such statutes are not available) after such appeal was published with the help of information telecommunication system used for collection of signatures shall be deemed electronic petition that shall be considered pursuant to the procedure envisaged by parts two, three of Article 19-1 of this Law. The signatures in support of an electronic petition shall be collected with the help of an official web-site or web-portal of the President of Ukraine, Cabinet of Minister of Ukraine or Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, information and telecommunication system (in particular, a web-portal, web-site) of a public association or respective body of local selfgovernment. If the signatures are collected by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association, an electronic petition shall be sent to respective addressees by such public association immediately after a required number of signatures has been collected. During the collection of signatures in support of an electronic petition, the respective state authorities, bodies of local self-government and public associations must ensure: free-of-charge access to and use of an information and telecommunication system used for the collection of signatures; electronic registration or citizens in order to sign a petition; prevention of automatic filling in of information, inter alia signing an electronic petition, without the participation of a citizen; documenting date and time an electronic petition was published and signed by a citizen. An electronic petition that has not collected a required number of votes in its support during the established period shall be considered pursuant to the general procedure of consideration of appeals determined by this Law. An electronic petition shall explain the essence on an appeal, state a name of an author (initiator) of an electronic petition, date when the collection of signatures started and a date when an electronic petition was sent to an addressee, as well as it shall provide the information (or a link to a source of such information in the Internet) about the total number and list of signatories that supported an electronic petition, a period during which such signatures were
collected, name of information and telecommunication system used for the collection of signatures and email of a public association if the signatures were collected with the help of information and telecommunication system of a public association. An electronic petition may not contain calls for the overthrow of constitutional order, violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, propaganda of war, violence, cruelty, stirring up ethnic, racial, religious hatred, terrorist acts, infringement of human rights and freedoms. The responsibility for the content of an electronic petition shall be borne by an author (initiator) of an electronic petition. When collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition, state authorities, bodies of local selfgovernment and public associations shall bear responsibility for the observation of this Law regarding the procedure of collecting the signatures. The public associations shall bear additional responsibility for due and timely sending of an electronic petition to an addressee, and state authorities and bodies of local self-government, in their turn, shall bear responsibility for timely and due consideration of an electronic petition. An appeal formalized in breach of these requirements shall be returned to an applicant with respective explanations no later than 10 days after a day it was received, except for the cases envisaged by part one of Article 7 of this Law. The appeals for the pro bono legal aid shall be considered pursuant to the procedure established by law regulating the provision of the pro bono legal aid. Article 10. Prohibition to disclose information contained in appeals The disclosure of the information about private life of The disclosure of the information about private life of citizens without their consent or information that is a citizens without their consent or information that is a state or other kind of secret, that is protected by law state or other kind of secret, that is protected by law and other information if it infringes rights and and other information if it infringes rights and legitimate interests of citizens received form the legitimate interests of citizens received form the appeals shall be prohibited. Obtaining information appeals shall be prohibited. Obtaining information about a person that does not refer to an appeal shall about a person that does not refer to an appeal shall be prohibited. Pursuant to a request of a citizen be prohibited. Pursuant to a request of a citizen made made orally or included in a text of an appeal, his or orally or included in a text of an appeal, his or her her surname, place of residence and work shall not surname, place of residence and work shall not be be disclosed. disclosed. This prohibition shall not apply to events when the This prohibition shall not apply to events when the information contained in an appeal is communicated information contained in an appeal is communicated to persons related to considering the case. to persons related to considering the case. This prohibition shall not apply to electronic petitions. Article 19-1. Consideration of electronic petitions and appeals submitted in electronic form 10
Not available
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An answer to an appeal submitted via information, telecommunication, information and telecommunication systems, including by email, shall be given through such systems, and in a case of an individual appeal it may be sent by post subject to a request of an applicant. An electronic petition shall be considered pursuant to the following procedure: 1) an addressee or an official authorized by him or her shall, no later than three working days after a day an electronic petition was received, announce the acceptance of an electronic petition for consideration by an addressee on an official web-site (official web-portal) of an addressee and immediately send a copy of an announcement to an email of a public association from which an electronic petition was received if the signatures were collected by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association; 2) an electronic petition shall be considered out of turn and immediately; 3) an author (initiator) of an electronic petition shall be invited for consideration thereof and shall be entitled to present his or her electronic petition; 4) the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and local council shall conduct public hearings on electronic petitions pursuant to the procedure determined by law if there is such request in a respective electronic petition; 5) an addressee or an official authorized by him or her shall, in the course of 10 working days after a day an electronic petition was received, publish a text of a reasoned answer of an addressee to an electronic petition on an official web-site (official web-portal) and immediately send a copy of an answer to an email of a public association from which an electronic petition was received if the signatures were collected by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association. An answer shall explain the measures taken or planned to be taken to resolve the matters stated in an electronic petition and the deadlines for taking such planned measures or a reasoned refusal if an addressee did not support such electronic petition; 6) an addressee or an official authorized by him or her shall report the undertaken measures on an official web-site (official web-portal) of an addressee at least once a month and immediately send such information to an email of a public association from which an electronic petition was received if the signatures were collected by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association until the matters stated in an electronic
CONCLUDING PROVISIONS Not available
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petition are fully resolved. Electronic petitions to local councils, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, village, settlement, city mayors shall be considered pursuant to procedure provided for by a statutes of a respective territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, if such statutes are not available. An addressee of an electronic petition may receive the confirmation in electronic format according to his or her request of a number of persons who signed the petition by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association. A public association shall provide an answer to such request in the course of five working days after a day it was received. An author (initiator) of an electronic petition shall enjoy respective rights stipulated for the citizens who have submitted a proposal, application or complaint as provided by this Law. CONCLUDING PROVISIONS 1. Until a number of signatures of persons necessary for consideration of a petition and a period for collecting such signatures are determined in a statutes of a territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (if such statutes are not available), it is established that a period for collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition shall not exceed two months after a day such an appeal was published in information and telecommunication system for collecting such signatures; and a following number of necessary signatures in an administrative and territorial unit with the following population residing in it shall be established: 1) up to 1 000 persons – not less than 50 signatures; 2) from 1 000 to 5 000 persons – not less than 75 signatures; 3) from 5 000 to 50 000 persons – not less than 100 signatures; 4) from 100 000 to 500 000 persons – not less than 250 signatures; 5) from 500 000 to 1 000 000 persons – not less than 500 signatures; 6) more than 1 000 000 persons – not less than 1 000 signatures; 2. Until a procedure of consideration of electronic petitions is determined in a statutes of a territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (if such statutes are not available), such petitions shall be considered pursuant to a general
procedure in accordance with paragraph two of Article 19-1 of this Law. In this case, if such petition has been received, a head of a respective local council, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall immediately but not later than within three working days after a day an electronic petition was received, convene an extraordinary session of such local council or the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and shall include the consideration of an electronic petition to an agenda of a plenary meeting of such session. The Law of Ukraine “On the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine” CHAPTER V CONSIDERATION OF THE ISSUES BY THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE PURSUANT TO SPECIAL PROCEDURES ... Not available Part 36-1. CONSIDERATION OF AN ELECTRONIC PETITION Article 223-1. Preparation for consideration of an electronic petition 1. Should the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine receive an electronic petition in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Appeals of the Citizens”, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall, not later than within three working days after a day an electronic petition was received, forward it to a committee that shall be determined as primarily responsible for preparation and preliminary consideration of electronic petition according to distribution of functional areas between the committees. 2. A primarily responsible committee shall not later than within ten working days after a day an electronic petition was received, consider an electronic petition at its meeting. An author (initiator) of an electronic petition and, if necessary, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, ministries, other state authorities, associations of citizens, as well as experts, specialists and other persons shall be invited to a meeting of a primarily responsible committee. A primarily responsible committee shall adopt a conclusion on the results of consideration of the issues raised in an electronic petition and, if necessary, shall prepare a draft of a respective act of the Verkhovna Rada. Shall an electronic petition have an application for holding parliamentary hearings, a committee shall prepare a draft Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and shall submit it pursuant to a procedure determined by this Law. Article 223-2. Consideration of an electronic petition at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 1. A conclusion of the primarily responsible 13
committee and a draft of the Verkhovna Rada prepared by the primarily responsible committee shall, without the adoption of a decision about including them to an agenda of a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, be discussed pursuant to a procedure of full discussion (Article 30 of these Regulations) at a regular session of the Verkhovna Rada following a day a petition was submitted. Article 235. Preparation for a parliamentary hearing 1. The representatives of state authorities, bodies of 1. The representatives of state authorities, bodies of local self-government, political parties, other local self-government, political parties, other associations of citizens, research institutions, associations of citizens, research institutions, representatives of the public who expressed a wish representatives of the public, an author (initiator) of to participate in a parliamentary hearing at the an electronic petition who expressed a wish to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and submitted a participate in a parliamentary hearing at the respective application to a committee responsible for Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and submitted a respective the preparation of a hearing shall be invited to application to a committee responsible for the participate in a parliamentary hearing at the preparation of a hearing shall be invited to participate Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. in a parliamentary hearing at the Verkhovna Rada of 2. A committee responsible for the preparation of a Ukraine. parliamentary hearing shall draft a list of persons 2. A committee responsible for the preparation of a invited to a parliamentary hearing, a procedure of parliamentary hearing shall draft a list of persons conducting a parliamentary hearing and the order of invited to a parliamentary hearing, a procedure of speeches of those participating in a hearing. A list of conducting a parliamentary hearing and the order of persons invited to a parliamentary hearing and a speeches of those participating in a hearing. A list of procedure of conducting a parliamentary hearing persons invited to a parliamentary hearing and a shall be submitted for endorsement to the Head of procedure of conducting a parliamentary hearing shall the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine no later than three be submitted for endorsement to the Head of the days before a day of a parliamentary hearing. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine not later than three days 3. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other state before a day of a parliamentary hearing. authorities, bodies of local self-government and 3. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other state committees according to their functional areas shall, authorities, bodies of local self-government and not later than five days before a day of parliamentary committees according to their functional areas shall, hearing, provide the Members of Parliament with not later than five days before a day of parliamentary analytical and reference materials on the issues that hearing, provide the Members of Parliament with will be considered at a parliament hearing. Other analytical and reference materials on the issues that participants of a parliamentary hearing shall receive will be considered at a parliament hearing. Other respective materials during registration. participants of a parliamentary hearing shall receive respective materials during registration. Article 236. General provisions about a procedure of parliamentary hearings 1. A parliamentary hearing shall, as a rule, be held in 1. A parliamentary hearing shall, as a rule, be held in a a parliamentary chamber of the Verkhovna Rada of parliamentary chamber of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. A parliamentary hearing shall be opened Ukraine. A parliamentary hearing shall be opened and and conducted by the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of conducted by the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, First Deputy or Deputy Head of the Ukraine, First Deputy or Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 2. The reports on a discussed issue, answers to 2. The reports on a discussed issue, answers to questions shall be heard and a discussion shall be questions shall be heard and a discussion shall be held held at a parliamentary hearing. 20 minutes shall be at a parliamentary hearing. 20 minutes shall be allocated for a report; 15 minutes shall be allocated allocated for a report; 15 minutes shall be allocated for for the answers of a reporter to oral or written the answers of a reporter to oral or written questions. questions. 3. An author (initiator) of an electronic petition shall have a right to present his or her report first. 14
3. A supplementary report up to 15 minutes of a representative of a committee responsible for the preparation of a parliamentary hearing shall be heard after a report and answers to questions if necessary, after that presenter of the supplementary report shall answer questions for 10 minutes. 4. After hearing a report and supplementary report, answers to question, a general discussion shall take place, with up to two hours shall be allocated to it. Up to 5 minutes of time shall be allocated for speeches of the speakers participating in a discussion. A chairman of a hearing may decide at a hearing to continue a discussion if necessary. 5. After the end of the discussion of an issue, a chairman shall summarize the results of a parliamentary hearing. 6. Parliamentary hearings shall be taken shorthand pursuant to an established procedure. A shorthand record shall be published on an official web-site of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and shall be published as a separate Annex to a verbatim bulletin of plenary meetings of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 7. Parliamentary hearings shall be open to the public and shall be broadcast live on radio and, if necessary, on the television. 8. According to the results of a parliamentary hearing, the Verkhovna Rada shall adopt a Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada containing respective recommendations.
4. A supplementary report up to 15 minutes of a representative of a committee responsible for the preparation of a parliamentary hearing shall be heard after a report and answers to questions if necessary, after that presenter of the supplementary report shall answer questions for 10 minutes. 5. After hearing a report and supplementary report, answers to question, a general discussion shall take place, with up to two hours shall be allocated to it. Up to 5 minutes of time shall be allocated for speeches of the speakers participating in a discussion. A chairman of a hearing may decide at a hearing to continue a discussion if necessary. 6. After the end of the discussion of an issue, a chairman shall summarize the results of a parliamentary hearing. 7. Parliamentary hearings shall be taken shorthand pursuant to an established procedure. A shorthand record shall be published on an official web-site of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and shall be published as a separate Annex to a verbatim bulletin of plenary meetings of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 8. Parliamentary hearings shall be open to the public and shall be broadcast live on radio and, if necessary, on the television. 9. According to the results of a parliamentary hearing, the Verkhovna Rada shall adopt a Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada containing respective recommendations.
Members of Parliament of Ukraine Kyshkar P.M. (certificate # 134) Opanasenko O.V. (certificate # __)
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Analysis of the draft Law of Ukraine “On Making Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Appeals of the Citizens” regarding an Electronic Form of an Appeal and Electronic Petition” # 2299 of 03.03.2015 (in comparison with the draft law as agreed between the Administration of the President of Ukraine and representatives of the public expert community – the E-Democracy Group of the Reanimation Package of Reforms and Centre for Innovations and Development of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy) PRINCIPAL REMARKS (for brief analysis please follow the link)
1. Procedure of receiving electronic appeals: powers Provision of draft Law-2299: Para 8 Article 5: “The procedure of the receipt of electronic appeals by state authorities and bodies of local self-government, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership, associations of citizens shall be determined by their leadership.” Analysis of the provision: It is provided that the leadership of the addressees and not the addressees themselves will determine a procedure of the receipt of electronic appeals. Risks: Pursuant to Article 19 of the Constitution, state authorities and bodies of local self-government, their public servants are under an obligation to operate only on the basis, within the limits of plenary powers and in a method foreseen by Constitution and laws of Ukraine. Such bodies as the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, local councils are collegial and the leadership of these bodies does not have powers to determine a procedure of the receipt of electronic appeals determined by law. Thus, this provision creates the danger of collision with other laws and Constitution. Also, as it is stated in the Conclusion of the Main Research and Expert Department of 18 March 2015, in such case a procedure of consideration of electronic appeals “will be regulated in different ways by different state authorities, bodies of local self-government, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership, public associations. At the same time, as “electronic appeals” will not have a unified procedure of consideration, the procedure of consideration of “ordinary” appeals will be uniform for all bodies, institutions, organizations irrespective of their form of ownership and will be regulated by law”. Provisions of a civic draft law: The procedure of the receipt of electronic appeals by state authorities is detailed in their by-laws and is analogous to the receipt of appeals in other forms. As regards the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the regulations of the activity of which are approved by law, a civic draft law proposes amendments to the Law on the Regulations.
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2. Pre-moderation of electronic petitions and responsibility for their content Provision of draft Law-2299: “An electronic petition must not contain calls for the overthrow of constitutional order, violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, propaganda of war, violence, cruelty, stirring up ethnic, racial, religious hatred, terrorist acts, infringement of human rights and freedoms, degrading information, information degrading rights and legitimate interests of a person, materials and expressions that pose a threat to national interests and national security of Ukraine, materials and expressions of pornographic, erotic or sexual nature, materials and expressions concerning election campaigns, advertisement of goods, works and services. [...] Before publishing for collecting signatures, an electronic petition submitted to an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government or on a web-site of a public association respectively, shall be checked by an administrator of a respective web-site to verify that it complies with the requirements of this Law. An electronic petition that complies with the established requirements shall be published on an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government or on a web-site of a public association respectively in the course of five days since a day a petition was submitted. If an electronic petition fails to meet the established requirements, it shall not be published.” Analysis of the provision: The Law establishes the requirements to the content of a petition, in particular it envisages the prohibition with respect to certain calls, materials and expressions. This has resulted in the establishment of the procedure of pre-moderation that is performed by an administrator of a website during five working days. Risks: The general legislation on information (Article 28 of the Law of Ukraine “On Information”) prohibits the abuse of a right to information, envisages a clear list of respective abuses: calls for the overthrow of constitutional order, violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, propaganda of war, violence, cruelty, stirring up ethnic, racial, religious hatred, terrorist acts, infringement of human rights and freedoms. Other abuses incorporated in the draft Law go beyond that and constitute, inter alia, censorship, which is prohibited by Article 24 of the Law “On Information”. There is another non-democratic restriction: giving an obligatory function of pre-moderation to an administrator of a respective web-site/web-portal also indirectly means that the responsibility for spreading dubious information is borne by a technical intermediary. Firstly, the described scheme does not comply with international approaches to granting freedom of expression via Internet. Thus, pursuant to the Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Internet (signed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression on 1 June 2011), nobody, who is not an author, shall be responsible for the content in Internet except for the cases when he or she admits that he or she is an author or refuses to delete content pursuant to a decision of a court, which means a technical intermediary (web-portal/administrator) should not be responsible for the
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content generated by others (this approach is supported, inter alia, by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights). Secondly, in such case an administrator of a web-site who is not a competent person to adopt decisions regarding the presence or absence of abuse is responsible for the content. Also, there is a risk that the content of an appeal may be assessed in a partial manner that may lead both to abuses committed by administrators (in particular in case of web-sites of state authorities) upon their own initiative and to the risk of pressure (opening proceedings) on administrators of public web-sites with a view to “making them be loyal to the authorities”, i.e. “filter” electronic petitions in a nondemocratic way, referring to the provisions on pre-moderation. Also, subject to certain political environment, the phenomenon of “anti-democratic self-censorship” may reborn. Additionally, the mechanism providing that petition that have not undergone the procedure of pre-moderation should not be published poses serious threats of impossibility / complication of appealing such a decision. A period for pre-moderation (up to five working days) and the absence of communication about a decision of an initiator (author) of petitions will not let authors operatively spread a petition and start collecting signatures in support of urgent petitions. Provisions of a civic draft law: Obligatory pre-moderation is not provided for in the draft Law. Instead, a petition must meet general requirements of legislation on information, must not contain elements of corpus delicti determined by criminal legislation. An author (initiator) of a petition should be responsible for this. Also, a web-portal may set additional rules, its own pre-moderation (as the one in the U.S., for instance, that provides for non-use of swearing and discriminative expression, or legal support and also a “public filter” – when a petition must collect a certain number of voices during a certain period when it is still not in a public domain, the U.S. require the collection of 150 signatures during 30 days).
3. Periods of collection of signatures in support of a state electronic petition Provision of draft Law-2299: “An electronic petition, addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, shall be considered and an answer to it shall be provided subject to a condition it has gathered at least 25 000 signatures of citizens during no more than 20 calendar days since a day a petition was published.” Analysis of the provision: The provision stipulates the collection of signatures during 20 calendar days since a day a petition was published (after the pre-moderation). Risks: According to the results of the analysis of international experience, the smallest period for the collection of signatures is four weeks (Germany), 60 days (the U.S.), 6 months (Finland), 12 months (the UK). The decrease of a period does not have a positive effect on the quality of a petition or its relevance. On the contrary, a requirement of a short period and a rather high number of votes may lead to a situation when a necessary number of votes will be collected during the proposed period only by “organized” petitions (for instance, the ones of certain political forces, organizations having 18
many members and the ones initiated by non-existing persons or for remuneration), whereas an ordinary public initiative will not have time to present its idea to wider population. Provisions of a civic draft law: It is proposed that a period of two months be established: “A collective written appeal to the President of Ukraine, Prime-Minister of Ukraine or Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine submitted in an electronic format, signed by at least 25 000 citizens in the course of no more than two months since a day such an appeal was published by means of information and telecommunication system that is used for collecting signatures shall be regarded an electronic petition that shall be considered pursuant to the procedure envisaged by parts two, three of Article 19-1 of this Law.”
4. Procedure and periods for considering electronic petitions Provision of draft Law-2299: “The procedure of consideration of an electronic petition addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government shall be determined by President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a local council respectively. [...] Should an electronic petition fail to gain the support of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government, an author (initiator) and the citizens who have supported it shall be notified thereon.” Analysis of the provision: The following periods for considering a petition have been established: publication / acceptance for consideration – 3(2) days, consideration – 10 days. A procedure of considering a petition is determined by a respective addressee. If an addressee does not support a petition, this fact should be communicated only to an author of a petition and all those who signed it, as well as a public association that collected signatures in support of a respective electronic petition. The public is not notified about the fact that a petition was not supported and about the reasons of that. This contravenes the aim of the mechanism of electronic democracy that is being implemented, namely the open public transparent initiative-oriented bilateral communication between the authorities and the public. Risks: A procedure and periods of consideration are particular features of an electronic petition as an electronic collective appeal. First of all, the draft Law does not determine basic principles of the consideration of a petition, namely: personal consideration by an addressee, urgency/first priority of consideration, openness to the public and reasoning of every position. If an addressee does not support a petition, such answer should be reasoned and accessible to the public because the fact that a petition is not supported and the justification of such decision may invoke further reaction of the public that may initiate another petition. Also, although a procedure of considering a petition by the Verkhovna Rada must be determined by the amendments to the Law on the Regulations, such amendments are not provided in the submitted draft Law, which actually disables the implementation of this Law. 19
Provisions of a civic draft law: The draft Law provides for immediate consideration of a petition by an addressee, openness of such consideration and amendments to the Law on the Regulations.
5. The procedure of considering electronic appeals that have not become electronic petitions Provision of draft Law-2299: “An electronic petition that failed to collect a needed number of votes in support thereof during a determined period shall not be considered.” Analysis of the provision: An electronic petition that has not gathered a necessary number of signatures will not be considered pursuant to any procedure. Risks: In fact, such electronic petition (that has not collected a necessary number of signatures during a set period) constitutes an ordinary electronic collective appeal pursuant to the Law and, thus, should be considered pursuant to regular procedure. However, pursuant to the draft Law, there may be a situation when an electronic petition that has collected 24 999 votes will not be considered and an electronic petition signed by two or three persons and sent via an email will be considered. Provisions of a civic draft law: Such petitions should be considered pursuant to regular procedure envisaged for collective appeals in an electronic form.
6. Requirements for web-portals for collecting signatures Provision of draft Law-2299: “When collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition, a public association must ensure: free-of-charge access to and use of an information and telecommunication system used for the collection of signatures; electronic registration of citizens in order to sign a petition; prevention of automatic filling in of information, inter alia signing an electronic petition, without the participation of a citizen; documenting date and time when an electronic petition was published and signed by a citizen; sending an electronic petition that has collected a required number of votes in its support to an official web-site of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government no later than on the second day after a deadline for the collection of signatures.” Analysis of the provision:
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The draft Law establishes the rules for web-portals of public associations that provide for free-ofcharge procedure, electronic registration, identification of a person, documenting date and time of publishing and signing a petition, sending a petition to an addressee. Risks: The very same rules may be established for web-portals of state authorities and bodies of local selfgovernment. Provisions of a civic draft law: The draft Law does not establish additional requirements for web-portals because current legislation seems to be sufficient and general requirements for information and telecommunication systems and their security must be determined by respective legislation. Instead, a right of an addressee to ask for a confirmation of a number of signatures collected by public web-portal is prescribed. “An addressee of an electronic petition may receive the confirmation in electronic format according to his or her request of a number of persons who signed the petition by means of information and telecommunication system of a public association. A public association shall provide an answer to such request in the course of five working days after a day it was received.”
7. Local petitions: rights of territorial communities, addressee, periods and number of signatures necessary for the adoption of a decision Provision of draft Law-2299: “The requirements to a number of signatures of citizens in support of an electronic petition to a body of local self-government and a period for the collection of signatures shall be determined by a decision of a respective local council.” Analysis of the provision: A body of local self-government is an addressee of a local petition. A number of and periods of collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition to bodies of local self-government are determined by a decision of local councils. Risks: Pursuant to the Constitution (Article 140), local councils and their executive bodies are bodies of local self-government. That is why it is logical to limit a number of addresses only to local councils (that are elective bodies and are entitled to adopt decisions on behalf of territorial communities). The same remark was made in the Conclusion of the Main Research and Expert Department of 18 March 2015: “pursuant to part three of Article 140 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the bodies of local self-government shall include village, settlement, city councils and their executive bodies. At the same time, pursuant to part one of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, executive bodies of village, settlement, city, city district (if any) councils are their executive committees, departments, administrations and other executive bodies established by the councils. Given the above, a proposal to submit electronic petition to any of bodies of local selfgovernment (part 1 pf Article 23-1) appears slightly excessive”. The present provision also ignores a right of territorial communities to establish a number of signatures and periods for consideration of an electronic petition (as an instrument of edemocracy) immediately in a statutes of a territorial community. For instance, the criteria for 21
considering the decisions of general meetings of citizens and local initiatives as democratic instruments by bodies of local self-government are determined by the statutes of territorial communities. Provisions of a civic draft law: The following rule is provided for local electronic petitions: “Electronic petitions to local councils, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, village, settlement, city mayors shall be considered pursuant to procedure provided for by a statutes of a respective territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, if such statutes are not available.” There is also a transitional provision: “1. Until a number of signatures of persons necessary for consideration of a petition and a period for collecting such signatures are determined in a statutes of a territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (if such statutes are not available), it is established that a period for collecting signatures in support of an electronic petition shall not exceed two months after a day such an appeal was published in information and telecommunication system for collecting such signatures; and a following number of necessary signatures in an administrative and territorial unit with the following population residing in it shall be established: 1) up to 1 000 persons – not less than 50 signatures; 2) from 1 000 to 5 000 persons – not less than 75 signatures; 3) from 5 000 to 50 000 persons – not less than 100 signatures; 4) from 100 000 to 500 000 persons – not less than 250 signatures; 5) from 500 000 to 1 000 000 persons – not less than 500 signatures; 6) more than 1 000 000 persons – not less than 1 000 signatures; 2. Until a procedure of consideration of electronic petitions is determined in a statutes of a territorial community or by a decision of a local council, Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (if such statutes are not available), such petitions shall be considered pursuant to a general procedure in accordance with paragraph two of Article 19-1 of this Law. In this case, if such petition has been received, a head of a respective local council, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall immediately but not later than within three working days after a day an electronic petition was received, convene an extraordinary session of such local council or the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and shall include the consideration of an electronic petition to an agenda of a plenary meeting of such session.”
8. E-petition to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Provision of draft Law-2299: “The procedure of consideration of an electronic petition addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a body of local self-government shall be determined by President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a local council respectively.” Analysis of the provision: The procedure of considering an e-petition to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is determined by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 22
Risks: The necessity to further adopt an additional law amending the law on the Regulations, without which the procedure of submitting an e-petition to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will not work. This was also stated in in the Conclusion of the Main Research and Expert Department of 18 March 2015: “as the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine exercises its powers pursuant to the procedure determined by the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”, “the rules of considering electronic petitions by the Parliament should also be determined by the Regulations. However, the draft Law does not have respective provisions”. Provisions of a civic draft law: Provides the amendments to the Law on the Regulations.
9. Adoption of by-laws in execution of the law Provision of draft Law-2299: “Concluding provisions. ... 2. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall adopt normative legal acts necessary for the implementation of this Law. 3. It shall be proposed to the President of Ukraine to adopt normative legal acts necessary for the implementation of this Law. 4. It shall be recommended to the bodies of local self-government to adopt decisions necessary for the implementation of this Law”. Analysis of the provision: The execution of certain provisions of the law depends on political will of the above-mentioned bodies with respect to the adoption of necessary by-laws. Risks: Delay of actual launch of the mechanism of e-petitions at national and local levels. Provisions of a civic draft law: It is necessary to provide for that in such circumstances, a provision (for instance, part 9 of the new version of Article 5) stating that the absence of elaborated by-laws is not a ground to refuse to consider an e-petition, the signatures in support of which have been collected pursuant to the requirements of law by a respective civic resource, should be provided.
(С) Prepared by the expert of the Electronic Democracy Group of the Reanimation Package of Reforms supported by the Centre for Innovations and Development of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Emails: info@enarod.org; cid@ukma.kiev.ua
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