You are reading Legal Corner for March 2024. If you are looking for the legal updates from February of 2024, follow this link.
On 21 March, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Resolution № 3625-IX "On the exercise by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration and the Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration of the powers provided for in part three of Article 10 and part three of Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine 'On the Legal Regime of Martial Law'.
On 22 March, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) adopted Resolution №331 "Some Issues of Adoption and Placement of Orphans, Children Deprived of Parental Care, and Social Protection of Children Left Without Parental Care". This Resolution:
- introduced the payment of temporary assistance for children in respect of whom the fact of absence of parental care has been established and who are temporarily placed in a family of relatives, friends, foster family or family-type children's home, "A Child is not Alone", in the amount of 2.5 subsistence minimums for children of the relevant age for each child, for children with disabilities - 3.5 subsistence minimums for children of the relevant age for each child;
- approved the "Procedure for the appointment and payment of temporary assistance for children in respect of whom the fact of absence of parental care has been established and who are temporarily placed in a family of relatives, friends, foster family or family-type children's home, "A Child is not Alone";
The right to receive temporary assistance is granted to a person whose family temporarily accommodates a child (children) in respect of whom the fact of absence of parental care has been established and who permanently resides in Ukraine (except for persons residing in the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in accordance with the list of territories where military operations are being conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation approved by the Ministry of Reintegration, or who are abroad).
Temporary assistance is granted based on an order of the children's service on the temporary placement of a child in respect of whom the fact of absence of parental care has been established, for the period of temporary placement of the child specified in such an order, in the event of:
- death or loss of life of the parents or one of the parents in case the other parent fails to fulfil his/her duties;
failure of the parents to fulfil their duties due to the fact that the parents or one of the parents, if the other parent does not fulfil their duties, are in the territories that have been temporarily occupied, surrounded (blocked)/temporarily occupied since 24 February 2022 in accordance with the list of territories where hostilities are being (were) conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, approved by the Ministry of Reintegration;
- the parents or one of the parents, in case the other parent does not fulfil his/her duties, are wanted as missing under special circumstances or are recognised as missing under special circumstances (absence of a death certificate of the child's parents);
- if the parents or one of the parents, in case the other parent does not fulfil his/her duties, are prisoners of war (captured by the aggressor state);
- deprivation of personal liberty (detention, hostage-taking) by the authorities of the aggressor state (its occupation administrations and armed formations), or one of the parents, if the other parent does not fulfil his/her duties;
- temporary placement of a child in respect of whom the fact of absence of parental care has been established in a foster family or family-type children's home.
On 22 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №323 "On Approval of Criteria for Assessing the Admissibility of State Aid to Business Entities Involved in the Use of Port Infrastructure Facilities". These criteria are used to assess the admissibility of state aid (including that provided at the expense of the local budget) provided to business entities to promote economic activities related to the use of port infrastructure facilities and establish the conditions under which such state aid is admissible for competition.
On 22 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №313 "On Amendments to the Procedures Approved by the Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 110 dated 16 February 2011 and No. 541 dated 14 May 2012". This Resolution amended the following acts of the Government:
- "The Procedure for Local Borrowing", approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 110 dated 16 February 2011;
- "The Procedure for Providing Local Guarantees", approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 541 dated 14 May 2012.
Therefore, now the right to make borrowings belongs to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast council, town, village, or settlement hromada represented by the head of the local financial authority on behalf of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, town, settlement, or village council. Borrowings are made within the limits determined by the council's decision on the local budget, subject to the limit of local debt at the end of the budget period.
On 22 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №310 "On Amendments to the Procedure for Providing Financial State Support to Business Entities". According to this resolution, the areas of business activity that are important for the Ukrainian economy and may be supported include business entities whose production facilities as of 24 February 2022 were in the territories of active hostilities, where state electronic information resources are still functioning, or which are temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. Such support will be provided through the prolongation of existing loans granted for working capital financing in accordance with the "Procedure for Providing Financial State Support to Business Entities" approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 28 dated 24 January 2020 (as amended by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 229 dated 14 March 2023).
On 15 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №305 "Some Issues of Monitoring and Evaluation of the State Regional Policy". This Resolution approved:
- "The Procedure for Monitoring the State Regional Policy", which defines the mechanism for monitoring the state regional policy, as well as the procedure for reporting on the results of such monitoring;
- "The Procedure for Evaluating the Implementation of the State Regional Policy", which defines the mechanism for evaluating the implementation of the state regional policy, as well as the requirements for the structure and content of the report on the results of such evaluation.
The subjects of monitoring of the state regional policy include local self-government bodies. Associations of local self-government bodies and their voluntary associations, regional development agencies established in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the Principles of State Regional Policy", scientific institutions, and public associations may also be involved in its monitoring.
The monitoring of the state regional policy is carried out by tracking the dynamics of a certain list of indicators, analysing them, preparing and publishing the results of such monitoring and includes
- monitoring the development of regions, hromadas and functional types of territories;
- monitoring the implementation of strategic planning documents and the implementation of state regional policy;
- monitoring the use of public funds for the purposes of the state regional policy.
The same resolution approved the following indicators for quarterly monitoring of the development of hromadas (Annex 2):
- growth (decline) rate of revenues of the general fund of the local budget (excluding transfers), percentage of the corresponding period of the previous year
- the share of local taxes and fees in the revenues of the general fund of the local budget (without transfers), percentage points;
- share of development budget expenditures in local budget expenditures (general and special funds), percentage;
- number of registered unemployed at the end of the reporting period, persons;
- number of internally displaced persons registered, thousand people.
The indicators of annual monitoring of the development of hromadas include 32 indicators listed in Annex 4 of this Resolution.
On 15 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №301 "On Approval of Procedures for Monitoring the Status of Compliance with International Humanitarian Law in Connection with the Armed Aggression against Ukraine and the Functioning, Maintenance and Access to Information of the Electronic Information System of Violations of International Humanitarian Law as a Result of the Armed Aggression against Ukraine". The subjects of monitoring include local governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental international organisations and their bodies, and public associations that collect and analyse information on the state of compliance with international humanitarian law in connection with the armed aggression against Ukraine.
Local self-government bodies should:
- identify authorised persons to act on their behalf as authorised users of the information system;
- ensure:
-
control over access to the information system of authorised users acting on their behalf;
-
authorised users acting on their behalf by providing a valid qualified public key certificate, its cancellation, blocking and renewal for authorisation in the information system.
On 15 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №292 "On Approval of Procedures for Providing Compensation for the Cost of Engineering and Transport Infrastructure Built by an Applicant or Investor with Significant Investments and Compensation for the Cost of Connection and Connection to Engineering and Transport Networks Required for Implementation of an Investment Project with Significant Investments". According to this resolution, local governments are recommended to follow the procedures approved by this resolution when making decisions on compensation for the cost of engineering and transport infrastructure built by an applicant or investor with significant investments and compensation for the costs of connection and connection to engineering and transport networks necessary for the implementation of an investment project with significant investments at the expense of the local budget.
On 12 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №281 "On Amendments to the Procedures Approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 738 "Some Issues of Providing Grants to Business" dated 21 June 2022. This Resolution amended the Procedure for Granting Grants for the Establishment or Development of Horticulture, Berry and Viticulture and the Procedure for Granting Grants for the Establishment or Development of Greenhouse Farming, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 738 of 21 June 2022.
On 8 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №272 "On Amendments to the Methodology of Property Valuation". We would like to remind you that the above-mentioned "Property Valuation Methodology" is used for the valuation of
- property of municipal enterprises contributed to the charter capital of a business entity during privatisation by transforming these enterprises into business entities;
- municipal property objects that, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Privatisation of State and Municipal Property", are subject to small-scale privatisation (provided that there is no book value of municipal property objects), or sale by purchase, or are subject to large-scale privatisation
- privatisation objects that are returned to municipal ownership;
- alienation of municipal property.
On 8 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №270 "On Amendments to the Regulation on the Unified State System of Civil Protection and the Regulation on the Organisation of Warning of the Threat or Occurrence of Emergency Situations and the Organisation of Communication in the Field of Civil Protection". The amendments provide for the functioning of a local automated system of centralised warning of the threat or occurrence of emergencies.
On 8 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №266 "On Approval of the Procedure for Informing the Public on Biological Safety and Biological Protection".
This Procedure defines the interagency interaction of the unified state civil protection system, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the main expert institution in the field of public health, disease control and prevention centres, healthcare units of oblast, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, enterprises, institutions and organisations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to perform civil protection tasks and inform the public on biological safety and biological protection.
In accordance with this Procedure, informing the public on the prevention of biological threats and biological protection is carried out through various communication channels, in particular, on the official websites of local governments.
On 8 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №261 "On Amendments to the Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 303 "On Termination of State Supervision (Control) and State Market Supervision under Martial Law" dated 13 March 2022 and No. 550 "On Termination of State Control of Non-Food Products under Martial Law" dated 3 May 2022. In accordance with the amendments, during the period of martial law, in the event of a threat that has a negative impact on the rights, legitimate interests, life and health of a person, unscheduled measures of state supervision (control) over compliance by business entities with the requirements of the legislation on the formation, establishment and application of state regulated prices, consumer protection and metrological supervision in the field of housing and communal services are carried out by decision of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
On 5 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №254 "Some Issues of Implementation of the Pilot Project on Creation of the Unified State Register of Administrative and Territorial Units and Territories of Territorial Communities, the Unified State Register of Addresses, the Register of Buildings and Structures as Part of the Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction". This Resolution:
- approved the Procedure for Implementation of the Pilot Project on Creation of the Unified State Register of Administrative and Territorial Units and Territories of Territorial Communities, the Unified State Register of Addresses, the Register of Buildings and Structures as Part of the Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction. This Procedure sets out the mechanism for implementing the pilot project to create the Unified State Register of Administrative and Territorial Units and Territories of Territorial Communities, the Unified State Register of Addresses, and the Register of Buildings and Structures as part of the Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction;
- local governments are recommended to ensure the implementation of this pilot project. They are involved in the pilot project as urban planning and architecture authorities and address assignment authorities established in accordance with the Laws of Ukraine "On Architectural Activity" and "On Regulation of Urban Planning Activity", whose officials have access to the relevant electronic cabinet of the electronic system in accordance with the "Procedure for Maintaining the Electronic System".
On 5 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №248 "On Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 30 September 2015 No. 775". The Resolution amended Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 775 dated 30 September 2015 "On Approval of the Procedure for Creating and Using Material Reserves for Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Emergency Situations".
Therefore, the nomenclature and volume of material reserves are now determined and approved by local governments and business entities in accordance with the methodology approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
On 5 March, the CMU issued Resolution №245 "On Amendments to Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 14 January 2015 No. 6 and 27 December 2017 No. 1088". This resolution amended the following resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine:
- № 6 dated 14 January 2015 "Some Issues of Providing Educational Subventions from the State Budget to Local Budgets", according to which local state administrations are instructed, in particular:
-
to develop and approve an action plan for filling local budgets, finding additional sources of budget revenues, including through the de-shadowing of the economy
-
ensure that the powers to make budget expenditures correspond to the amount of budget revenues;
-
to ensure that when approving the respective budget, the need for funds to pay the salaries of employees of budgetary institutions is taken into account in accordance with the terms of remuneration and the minimum wage established by law;
-
to regulate the number of employees within the approved allocations for labour remuneration, and to prevent an increase in their number;
- № 1088 dated 27 December 2017 "On Approval of the Formula for the Distribution of Educational Subventions between Local Budgets", which reads as follows:
-
"Procedure and Conditions for Providing Educational Subventions from the State Budget to Local Budgets";
-
"Formula for the distribution of educational subventions between local budgets".
On 4 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №257 "On Approval of the Procedure for Determining the List of Settlements in Which Persons Belonging to National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine Traditionally Reside or in Which Such Persons Make Up a Significant Part of the Population". This Procedure establishes the procedure for determining the list of settlements where persons belonging to national minorities (communities) of Ukraine traditionally reside or where such persons constitute a significant part of the population (in accordance with part one of Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine").
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №241 "On Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 738 dated 21 June 2022". This Resolution amended the "Procedure for Granting Grants for the Establishment or Development of Horticulture, Berry and Viticulture" and the "Procedure for Granting Grants for the Establishment or Development of Greenhouse Farming" approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 738 "Some Issues of Granting Grants to Business" dated 21 June 2022.
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №240 "On Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 476 dated 31 May 2012". This Resolution sets out in a new wording the "Procedure for Submission of Information Required for Calculation of Tax on Real Estate Other Than a Land Plot". This information is provided for in the "Procedure for Submission of Information Required for Calculation of Tax on Real Estate Other Than a Land Plot by the State Registration Authorities for Real Estate Rights and the Authorities Carrying Out Registration of Residence of Individuals" approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 31 May 2012, № 476.
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №239 "On Amendments to the Procedures Approved by the Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1127 dated 25 December 2015 and No. 637 dated 16 June 2021". This Resolution amended the following acts of the Government:
- "Procedure for State Registration of Real Property Rights and Encumbrances", approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 1127 "On State Registration of Real Property Rights and Encumbrances" dated 25 December 2015;
- "Procedure for verification of compliance of the acquirer or owner of an agricultural land plot with the requirements set forth in Article 130 of the Land Code of Ukraine", approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 637 dated 16 June 2021.
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №236 "On Amendments to the Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 284 dated 19 April 1993 and No. 1051 dated 17 October 2012". This resolution amended the following CMU resolutions:
- № 284 "On the Procedure for Determining and Compensating Losses to Land Owners and Land Users";
- № 1051 "On Approval of the Procedure for Maintaining the State Land Cadastre".
So now for the period of martial law:
- termination of the right of permanent use, change of the designated purpose of land plots will be carried out without compensation to land users belonging to state or municipal property, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine № 3505-IX of 8 December 2023 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Ensuring the Construction and Operation of the National Military Memorial Cemetery";
- in case of transfer to the land user belonging to the state or municipal property of another land plot to replace the one withdrawn with his consent for the placement of the National Military Memorial Cemetery, the losses associated with the withdrawal of such land plot shall not be reimbursed to the land user.
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №235 "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Land Use Efficiency". This resolution amended the following acts of the Government:
- "Model Land Lease Agreement", approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 220 dated 3 March 2004;
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 22 September 2021 № 1013 "Some issues of preparation for and conduct of land auctions for the sale of land plots and acquisition of rights to use them (lease, superficies, emphyteusis)" and "Requirements for preparation for and conduct of land auctions for the sale of land plots and acquisition of rights to use them (lease, superficies, emphyteusis)", approved by the same resolution;
- "The Procedure for Land Conservation", approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 35 of 19 January 2022.
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №232 "On Amendments to Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 23 May 2018 No. 420 and 27 December 2019 No. 1175". This resolution amended the following resolutions of the CMU:
- № 420 dated 23 May 2018 "On Approval of the List of Services of General Economic Interest"
- № 1175 dated 27 December 2019 "On the introduction of competitive conditions for stimulating the production of electricity from alternative energy sources".
On 1 March, the CMU adopted Resolution №229 "On Approval of Technical Requirements for the Operation of Waste Incineration Plants and Combined Waste Incineration Plants". These Technical Requirements define the main conditions for operators of stationary waste incineration plants or co-combustion plants during their operation to prevent the negative impact of such plants on human health and the environment, and are binding on all plant operators (except for plants defined in parts three and four of Article 38 of the Law of Ukraine "On Waste Management").
On 26 March, the CMU issued Resolution № 270-r "On Approval of the Action Plan for Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organisation of Power in Ukraine for 2024-2027". The Action Plan provides for the following tasks:
- settlement of certain issues of the administrative and territorial structure;
- reformatting local state administrations into prefectural bodies;
- restore the activities of local governments and executive authorities in the de-occupied territories;
- delineation of powers of local self-government and executive authorities on the principle of subsidiarity;
- Strengthening the financial capacity of local self-government bodies to ensure the exercise of their statutory powers;
- formation of a professional competitive service in local self-government bodies;
- creation of conditions for involving residents in local decision-making, development of forms of direct democracy;
- strengthening the institutional capacity of local government associations;
- enshrining the results of the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power in the Constitution of Ukraine.
On 22 March, the CMU issued Resolution №256-r "On Approval of the National Plan of Preventive Measures to Stop and Prevent Gross Violations of Children's Rights in the Context of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine".
On 22 March, the CMU issued Resolution №253-r "On the Allocation of Funds from the Reserve Fund of the State Budget to Cover Expenses for October - December 2023 of State, Communal and Private Property".
On 18 March, the CMU issued Resolution №244-r "On Approval of the Ukraine Facility Plan". To implement the EU's Ukraine Facility initiative introduced by Regulation (EU) No. 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the above-mentioned Ukraine Plan,
On 8 March, the CMU issued Resolution № 211-r "On the Redistribution of the Education Subvention from the State Budget to Local Budgets in 2024". The educational subvention in the amount of over UAH 128 million was redistributed among local government budgets from most oblasts of Ukraine.
On 1 March, the CMU issued Resolution № 206-r "On the Distribution of Subventions from the State Budget to Local Budgets in 2024". However, the list of communities and the amount of subvention received by them are not reflected in the electronic version of the CMU order, but only in the annex to the original Government act.
On 18 March, the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine issued Resolution №33 "On Approval of Amendments to the Rules for Keeping, Protecting, Using and Disclosing Bank Secrecy". According to the amendments, commercial banks, upon request of authorised state bodies and persons specified in part one of Article 62 of the Law of Ukraine "On Banks and Banking Activities", must provide the following information regarding bank accounts of clients and transactions carried out in favour of or on behalf of the client
1) availability of accounts
2) account numbers;
3) information on unique identifiers and/or numbers of payment instruments issued;
4) account balance;
5) transactions of debiting from accounts and/or crediting to accounts;
6) purpose of payment;
7) identification data of the counterparty (for individuals - surname, full name and patronymic, registration number of the taxpayer's account card of Ukraine; for legal entities - full name, identification code under the EDRPOU);
8) counterparty account number;
9) information on unique identifiers and/or numbers of the counterparty's payment instruments;
10) the unified identifier of the National Bank of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the NBU ID code) of the counterparty's payment service provider;
11) name of the payment service provider of the counterparty.
On 1 March, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine issued Order №254 "On Approval of the Procedure for Registration of Persons for Participation in the National Multisubject Test in 2024", and on 8 March, it amended it by Order №278. This Procedure defines the specifics of registration of persons who have completed or will complete secondary education in 2024 and who intend to participate in the national multi-subject test in 2024.