EU4PAR: Supporting Good Administration in Ukraine

The EU enlargement process requires candidate countries to adhere to a common set of standards regarding fundamental principles of administrative conduct, such as the protection of human rights, the rule of law, and legal certainty. These principles, collectively known as good administration, are essential for the EU accession process and form the cornerstone for preventing corruption and fostering an environment conducive to investment and business.

Until recently, Ukraine lacked a comprehensive administrative procedure, relying instead on over 400 laws and thousands of pieces of secondary legislation that offered various approaches to defining administrative procedures. Just before the onset of the war, the Parliament passed the Law on Administrative Procedure (LAP), a legislative effort assisted by the EU4PAR project. It was signed by President Zelensky in June 2022 and scheduled to take effect in December 2023. The task at hand to implement this law was enormous and multifaceted, considering the high number of laws and other legislative acts that needed alignment with the LAP and practical implementation.

In response to this challenge, EU4PAR assembled a group of Ukrainian and international administrative law experts from civil society and academia to assist the governmental Working Group in identifying and preparing amendments to sectorial legislation. Through this collaborative effort, the team reviewed over 400 laws containing administrative procedures, identifying almost 200 laws requiring amendments. A draft omnibus law with the necessary amendments was prepared, approved by the Government, and forwarded for parliamentary consideration and approval. Additionally, the EU4PAR team assisted the government in drafting a new Administrative Violations Code and a new Law on Citizen Appeals (read petitions), as the relevant two laws became outdated due to the LAP taking effect.