Members of Parliament of Ukraine – non-compliance with the Constitution or a PR campaign

Members of the Parliament of Ukraine I.P. Fris, H.M. Tretyakova, T.I. Batenko (20 people in total) developed the draft Law of Ukraine ‘On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Civil Appeals” on the Procedure for Consideration of Civil Appeals’ (Registry No. 12059 dated 24 September 2024), which proposes to amend Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Civil Appeals’ in order to expand the list of rights and requirements at the legislative level to civil appeals addressed to public authorities and local self-government bodies, etc.

For example, the draft law stipulates that proposals (comments), applications (petitions) and complaints from Heroes of Ukraine and their family members, holders of the Order of Freedom, holders of the Order of Merit, holders of the Order of Princess Olga, holders of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, combatants, and persons with war-related disabilities will be considered personally by the first heads of state bodies, local governments, enterprises, institutions and organisations.

While I have absolutely nothing against this draft law, I would like to point out the following:

1) why these benefits are granted to those who are holders of only the above orders. Why are such advantages not granted, for example, to holders of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (incidentally, this order was the highest order of Ukraine until 1998), the Order of Courage, the Order of Danylo Halytskyi, etc. (there are 9 orders in Ukraine, not counting the order for the title of Hero of Ukraine).

And why one order is more honourable than another, and why the holders of some orders have more special services to Ukraine than the holders of other orders;

2) how this complies with the Constitution of Ukraine, in particular Article 21, according to which all people are free and equal in their dignity and rights, and Article 40, according to which everyone has the right to send individual or collective written appeals or personally apply to state authorities, local self-government bodies and officials and officers of these bodies, which are obliged to consider the appeal and give a reasoned response within the time limit established by law.

Whereas Article 40 refers to personal consideration of proposals, applications and complaints by the first heads of state authorities, local self-government bodies, enterprises, institutions and organisations;

3) whether the response to the received proposals, applications and complaints will directly depend on who personally considered them – the first head or his/her deputy;

4) what to do with the draft Law of Ukraine ‘On Appeals’, which was developed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (reg. No. 11082 of 13 March 2024), adopted as a basis with revisions at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 24 April 2024, and on the basis of which the Law of Ukraine ‘On Citizens’ Appeals’ should cease to be effective.

I wonder what conclusion the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will provide on this draft law and what comments the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will have?

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