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On 1 December 2022 the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law "On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and to the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine on Liability for Violation of Copyright and/or Related Rights" (№ 5643). This law amended Article 51-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences and Article 176 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and increased the penalties for violation of copyright and related rights.
On December 1, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law "On the National Informatization Programme" (№ 6241). The law is aimed at:
- ensuring the development of the information society, implementation and application of information and communication technologies in public administration and local self-government.
- application of information and digital technologies in public administration and social and economic relations.
- overcoming the digital divide.
- ensuring the security of information activities and cyber security through construction, development, integration and use of modern information systems, communication networks, information resources
The law will enter into force on March 1, 2023.
On December 1, 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on ensuring the conclusion of the agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on mutual recognition of qualified electronic trust services and implementation of the European Union legislation in the electronic identification sphere" (№ 6173).
According to the new Law citizens of Ukraine residing in the European Union will:
- be able to obtain a qualified electronic signature remotely.
- be able to use e-trust services even when their supplier stops activities.
- gain access to Ukrainian online services from abroad.
- receive protection of their data in information systems with e-identification means according to European standards.
Moreover, Ukraine will recognize the qualified electronic signature of the European Union.
On December 1, 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law "On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences to Prevent Violation of Rights at Work" (№ 5749). The Code of Administrative Offences of Ukraine was supplemented with a new Article 173-5 which establishes administrative liability for mobbing (harassment). It is noteworthy that mobbing (harassment) is an act of the employer or individual employees of the work collective, which is aimed at undermining the dignity and honour of an employee, and his professional (business) reputation in the form of psychological and/or economic pressure, in particular by using electronic communications, creating a tense, hostile, offensive atmosphere in relation to him, including, causing a person to doubt his professional competence (in accordance with Article 2-1 of the Labour Code on counteracting the violation of rights at work" (№ 5748), adopted by the Parliament on 16.11.2022, but as of 04.12.2022 has not been signed by the President of Ukraine).
On December 1, 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law "On Amendments to Final and Transitional Provisions of the law "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" on the territorial jurisdiction of local courts in Ukraine until the adoption of the law on changing the system of local courts in Ukraine due to the formation (liquidation) of districts" (registration number of the draft law № 7565-1). Under this Law, local courts will continue to exercise their powers within their previously determined territorial jurisdiction determined prior to the entry into force of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Decree № 807-IX of 17 July 2020 on the Establishment and Liquidation of Districts until the Law on the Change of the Local Court System on the Territory of Ukraine Due to the Establishment (Liquidation) of Districts (not yet adopted by Parliament) enters into force.
On December 1, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law "On amendments to the Final Provisions of the Family Code of Ukraine (on certain issues of placement and stay of a child in a foster family during martial law)" (№ 7443). Now, for the duration of martial law, the following legal provisions have been suspended:
- limitation of the possibility to simultaneously place a child into a foster carer's family only if the children are siblings or if they have been brought up in one family.
- limitation of the child's total stay in the foster carer's family to within six months.
In this way, children who are not siblings or brought up in the same family may, with the consent of the foster carer, be placed in his or her family at the same time during the duration of the martial law regime. The number of children placed with other children who are not members of the same family may not exceed five. The foster carer's ability to ensure the care, upbringing and rehabilitation of all placed children is considered. The duration of a child's stay in the foster carer's family may be extended by the tutorship and guardianship authority for more than six months, but no longer than until the end or cancellation of the martial law regime. If the foster care agreement expires during the foster carer's family's stay abroad and the foster carer does not agree to its extension, he or she must immediately, within a period not exceeding three working days, inform the Ukrainian consular office in the country of residence about it.
On December 1, 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Support the Development of Domestic Subsoil Use Industries" (№ 4187). The law proclaims the right of Ukrainian citizens to receive a part of the state income from the rent for the use of subsurface resources for the extraction of minerals. However, the amount and the procedure for Ukrainian citizens to receive a part of such income will be set by another special law. The adopted law also provides for:
- the creation and operation of an interactive map of Ukraine's minerals to become an information resource reflecting information on the State Fund of Subsoil of Ukraine.
- prohibition of the use of Ukraine's subsoil to citizens or enterprises associated with the aggressor state of russia or under sanctions.
- simplified access to geological information.
- submission of documents and reporting by subsoil users in electronic form through an electronic cabinet.
On 2 December 2022, the CabMin adopted Resolution № 1343 "Some Issues of Optimization of the System of Central Executive Authorities", according to which:
- The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine was renamed to the Ministry of Development of Hromadas, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
- The Ministry of Development of Hromadas and Territories of Ukraine (MinRegion) was reorganized by merging with the Ministry of Development of Hromadas, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
The discontinued Minregion shall continue to exercise functions and powers in certain areas until the completion of the merger with the Ministry of Development of Hromadas, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
On December 2, 2022, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention together with the All-Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC), Arzinger law firm and the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) presented "Methodological Recommendations for the Screening of Candidates for Positions Sensitive to Corruption Risks".
On 14 December 2022, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted an "Action Plan for Ukraine: Resilience, Recovery, and Reconstruction” 2023-2026" (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). The Action Plan contains a series of measures aimed at the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, which has experienced significant devastating consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, in the following areas: human rights; rule of law; and democracy.
The Action Plan includes the following activities:
- providing expertise on the application of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights);
- provide legal advice, as well as enhance the professional and operational capacity of the competent authorities (in particular, the prosecution and pre-trial investigation authorities) in the investigation and prosecution of gross human rights violations during the war, regarding the existing requirements and guarantees of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter, the ECHR)
- facilitating the full implementation of ECHR judgments against Ukraine, with a particular focus on cases under enhanced scrutiny;
- strengthening the protection of the human rights of displaced persons and returnees, improving their living conditions, and reducing the disadvantages of displacement from a gender perspective, in line with Council of Europe and European standards;
- supporting the Ukrainian authorities in dealing with emergency medical care so that it ensures human rights, in the face of infrastructural and other constraints caused by the war, etc.
On 13 December 2022, the Parliament adopted Law № 2849-IX "On Media". Its adoption is one of the prerequisites for the launch of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
This Law aims at ensuring the realization of the right to freedom of expression, the right to receive diverse, reliable, and up-to-date information, ensuring pluralism of opinion and free flow of information, protecting the national interests of Ukraine and rights of users of media services, regulating activities in the media sphere according to the principles of transparency, fairness, and impartiality, promoting a competitive environment, equality, and independence of the media.
The Law, inter alia, provides for the existence of media entities such as local public audio-visual media and municipalities’ audio-visual media (Article 29 of the Law). Entities in the field of local public audio-visual media are communal non-commercial enterprises established by local self-government bodies, including based on a cooperation agreement in the manner prescribed by the Law on Cooperation of Municipalities, as well as non-business companies with at least 50 percent of the share capital owned by local self-government bodies. Entities in the field of local audio-visual media operate in territorial communities of villages, towns, and cities, as well as in districts and regions.
Pursuant to Article 30 of this Law, local public authorities that have established entities in the field of local public audio-visual media shall not interfere with their editorial policy and shall provide the financial and organizational basis for its implementation in accordance with the requirements of this Law. They are obliged to ensure its financing to the extent necessary for:
- The remuneration of labor and the payment of accrued wages;
- the production of programs in accordance with the program concept;
- payment of remuneration for the use of objects of copyright and related rights
- payment of electronic communication, telecommunication, and radio frequency monitoring services
- rental of premises and utilities;
- equipment upgrades.
Audio-visual media entities may be public associations as well as institutions established by them, non-profit societies, or enterprises established for non-profit activities. Audio-visual media entities operate in communities united by a common interest (nationality, language, profession, creative activity, hobbies, etc.) (Article 32 of the Law). The program concept of audio-visual media of municipalities shall contain a minimum distribution obligation for programs containing information related to the general interest(s) of the municipality or dealing with municipality’s discussion issues. The volume of such programs, in the period between 06.00 and 23.00, shall not be less than 50 percent of the total broadcasting volume. Audio-visual media may be financed by local budgets and budgetary institutions. Local governments may therefore establish special budget programs to support the development of municipality’s audio-visual media.
On 13 December 2022, Parliament adopted Law № 2834-IX "On the Basic Principles of State Policy in the Field of Affirmation of the Ukrainian National and Civil Identity". This Law determines:
- goals, tasks, principles, peculiarities of formation and implementation of the state policy in the sphere of affirmation of Ukrainian national and civic identity;
- guarantees of participation of citizens of Ukraine, foreign Ukrainians, public associations, and other civil society institutions in its implementation;
- possibilities of state authorities and local self-government bodies in this sphere.
The Law regulates the formation procedure and powers of the National Commission for the Approval of the Ukrainian National and Civil Identity (hereinafter - the Commission). In particular, the Commission may:
- submit appeals to local executive authorities and local self-government bodies for revision of their decisions and legal acts to bring them in compliance with the legislation on the affirmation of the Ukrainian national and civil identity
- monitor the measures taken by local authorities to affirm the Ukrainian national and civil identity.
The decision of the Commission is binding not only on public authorities but also on local self-government bodies, individuals, and legal entities (Article 16(5) of the Law). The powers of local self-governments in the sphere of affirmation of Ukrainian national and civic identity are defined in Article 19 of the Law. Local self-government, in the formation of their respective budgets, provides for expenditure on the implementation of State, regional and local programs for the affirmation of the Ukrainian national and civil identity (Article 28(3) of the Law).
On 13 December 2022 the Parliament adopted the Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Reform of Urban Planning" (Reg. number of the draft Law № 5655). The effect of this law is to update the existing framework for urban planning to digitalize the processes for granting necessary permits in the sphere of urban planning.
This Law amended the Economic, Land, Civil, and Civil Procedure Codes of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, as well as several Laws of Ukraine, in particular:
- the Law "On Local Self-Government in Ukraine" on:
- empowering the local council to approve the concept of integrated development of the territory of the municipality, urban planning documentation at the local level, the program of comprehensive rehabilitation of the territory of the municipality (its part);
- granting executive local self-government bodies the authority to perform state registration in the area of urban planning and urban planning control;
- the need to adapt the official websites of local self-governments for the visually and hearing impaired);
- the Law "On Citizens' Appeals" on the specifics of dealing with appeals from natural or legal persons to the state town planning supervision authority.
The Law stipulates that it will come into force six months after its publication. The Cabinet of Ministers in cooperation with local self-governments within six months from the date of publication of the Law was instructed to ensure the entry into the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction of scanned copies of the approved scientific and design documentation in the field of cultural heritage protection until the introduction of such information to the State Register of Immovable Objects of Ukraine and the establishment of information interaction with the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction.
It is recommended that local self-governments should ensure that:
- implementation of state registration in the field of urban planning from the day of its introduction;
- within six months after publication of this Law - establishment of executive authorities of a village, settlement, or city council for city planning control;
- record in the State register of rights to immovable property information about the right of economic management, and the right of operational management of the immovable property of communal form of ownership (Paragraph 8 of Section II "Final and transitional provisions" of this Law).
On 13 December 2022, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted Resolutions № 2830-IX and № 2831-IX on the exercise by the Heads of Khrestivka village and Kakhovka town military administrations in Kakhovka rayon, Dolmativka, Chulakivka village, and Hola Prystan’ town military administrations in Skadovsk rayon of Kherson region, as well as Andrivka village military administration in Berdyansk rayon, and Nove village military administration in Melitopol rayon of Zaporizhzhia region, and Narodychi village military administration in Korosten rayon of Zhytomyr region of powers under part two of Article 10 of the Law "On the legal regime of martial law".
On December 30, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Government) adopted Resolution № 1495 "On Amendments to Specifics of Public Procurement of Goods, Works and Services for Customers Provided by the Law "On Public Procurement" for the Period of Legal Regime under Martial Law in Ukraine and within 90 days from its termination or cancellation".
The Government has temporarily changed the bidding rules on Prozorro: during the legal regime of martial law in Ukraine and within 90 days from its termination, auctions are canceled. Now a bidder's bid is final and the bidder who gave the lowest price when submitting the bid wins.
On 30 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution № 1487 approving the procedure for the organization and maintenance of the military register for conscripts, persons liable for military duty, and reservists. It updates the mechanism for the organization and maintenance of the military register, including local authorities, enterprises, institutions and organizations, educational institutions, and health institutions, irrespective of their subordination or form of ownership.
According to item 9 of the new Order, for the proper functioning of the military registration system (ensuring its automation with the use of the Unified State Register of conscripts, persons liable for military duty, and reservists), the following norms are established for local governments regarding the required number of persons responsible for maintaining the military register:
- in the case of between 501 and 1,000 conscripts, persons liable for military duty and reservists - one person;
- in the case of between 1,001 and 2,000 conscripts, persons liable for military duty or reserve duty, two persons; and one additional person for every additional 1,000 conscripts, persons liable for military duty or reserve personnel.
Where there are less than 500 conscripts, persons liable for military service, and reservists, the duties of maintaining the military register are assigned to a person in the personnel service, who is paid up to 50 percent of their salary (Section 10 of the new Order).
Persons responsible for military record-keeping should meet the qualification requirements defined for a military record-keeping inspector in accordance with the national classifier DK 003:2010 "Classifier of Occupations" (Section 11 of the new Order). The official salaries of employees responsible for military registration are set at the level of salaries of personnel service employees (Section 12 of the new Order). Local authorities, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, within seven days of the issuance of the order appointing or dismissing (dismissing) the heads and other persons of these bodies, enterprises, institutions, and organizations responsible for the organization and maintenance of military registration, inform the corresponding district (city) territorial centres of recruitment and social support (Section 13 of the new Order).
Sections 24-30 of the new Order define the powers of the executive bodies of village, town, and city councils to ensure the personal and primary military registration of conscripts, persons liable for military duty, and reservists.
On 30 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution № 1481 "Certain issues regarding the payment of housing allowance to internally displaced persons". It states that in January 2023 the residence allowance will be granted to internally displaced persons who fulfill one of the following conditions:
- moved from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation or the territory of territorial communities located in the area of military (combat) activities or under temporary occupation, encirclement (blockade) (the list of such communities applies as of 1 December 2022);
- their housing is destroyed or uninhabitable because of damage and they have applied by 20 May 2022 for compensation for the respective losses, or they have documentary evidence from the local government of damage/destruction of immovable property because of military action, terrorist acts, sabotage, the aggression of the Russian Federation.
On 30 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution № 1477 "On Approval of the Procedure and Conditions of Providing in 2023 Additional Subsidies from the State Budget to Local Budgets for Exercising the Powers of Local Self-Government on the De-occupied, Temporarily Occupied and Other Territories of Ukraine Affected by the Full-scale Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation".
This resolution defines the mechanism for providing additional subsidies to local budgets for exercising the powers of local self-governments that have been negatively affected by a full-scale armed aggression. It should be recalled that the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2023" provides for such subsidy in the amount of 24 billion UAH. Local self-governments operating in the de-occupied, temporarily occupied, and other territories of Ukraine will be able to receive additional funding to effectively exercise their powers and meet the priority needs of their communities.
On 30 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution № 1472 "Some issues regarding the distribution of the volume of educational subsidy for the year 2023". Annex 1 to this regulation contains the distribution of the amount of the educational subvention from the state budget to the regional budgets and the budgets of local authorities for the year 2023. This regulation applies from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
On 30 December 2022 the Government adopted Resolution № 1468 "On Approval of Procedure for Burial Expenses in Case of Death of Victim in Accident at Work or Occupational Disease". The new Procedure regulates payments, made by the Pension Fund of Ukraine, to the insured or insured's family or other person, who carried out the burial of the victim in case of his/her death from an accident at work or occupational disease, for the organization of the burial and related funeral services. The fact of an industrial accident or occupational disease shall be certified by documents specified in the Procedure for investigation and recording of accidents, occupational diseases and industrial accidents, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine from 17 April 2019 № 337.
On 30 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution №1467 "On Approval of Procedure for Compulsory State Social Insurance Payments for Industrial Accident and Occupational Disease-Causing Disablement". The new procedure enters into force on 1 January 2023.
On 27 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution №1464 "On Some Issues in the Implementation of the Programme of State Guarantees of Medical Care for the Population in 2023". It approved the Procedure for the Implementation of the Programme of State Guarantees of Medical Care for the Population in 2023, which applies from 1 January 2023.
On 27 December 2022, Government Resolution №1460 "On amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution of October 6, 2021 № 1040 and Resolution of March 7, 2022 № 214" provides for automatic continuation of social payments for the following types of assistance to individual categories of persons:
- for children over whom guardianship or custody has been established
- children suffering from serious illnesses;
- children whose parents refuse to pay child support;
- persons with disabilities from childhood and children with disabilities;
- persons caring for persons with group I and II disabilities due to a mental impairment;
- persons who are not entitled to a pension and persons with disabilities.
The transitional period for the payment of monthly compensation payments to an unemployed person caring for a person with a group I disability, as well as a person who has reached the age of 80, has also been extended until 31 December 2023.
On 27 December 2022 the Government adopted Resolution №1449 "On Approval of the Procedure for Termination of Employment Contract at the Initiative of the Employer (the owner or its authorised body, a natural person using employees' labour) due to finding out that the employee is not suitable for the position held due to health reasons and is eligible for an early retirement pension". This procedure regulates the process of termination of the employment contract with an employee (including a local government official) under paragraph 2 of paragraph one of Article 40 of the Labour Code of Ukraine in connection with the fact that the employee is not suitable for the position held due to health reasons in the following cases:
- if on the day of dismissal, the employee has not more than one and a half years left before reaching the retirement age established in Article 26 of the law "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance;
- the employee has at least one and a half years of pensionable service necessary for granting him/her a retirement pension in the minimum amount provided for in the first paragraph of Article 28 of this Law.
On 27 December 2022 the Government adopted Resolution №1420 "On amending the procedure of executing powers of the State Treasury Service in a special regime during martial law". It updated the order of payments by the Treasury and its bodies related to treasury service of budget funds on clients' instructions, considering the resource capacity of the single treasury account.
On 27 December 2022 the Government adopted Resolution № 1411 "On Stopping the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of July 10, 2019 № 822 "On Remuneration of Pedagogical, Scientific-Pedagogical and Scientific Workers of Educational and Science Institutions". It suspends until December 31, 2023, the above-mentioned Government Resolution, which approved higher salaries and various additional payments and allowances for pedagogical, scientific, and pedagogical and scientific workers.
On 23 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution №1436 "On Amendments to paragraph 7 of the Methodology for Determining the Amount of Damage Caused by Unauthorized Taking of Land Plots, Use of Land Plots Not for its Purpose, Damage to Land, Violation of the Regime, Standards and Rules of its Use".
Now the executive authorities of village, settlement and city councils will be able to determine the amount of damage caused because of unauthorized taking of land plots, use of land plots not for its intended purpose, damage to land, violation of the regime, standards, and rules of its use.
It shall be reminded that pursuant to paragraph two of part one of Article 188 of the Land Code of Ukraine, state control over use and protection of lands to the extent provided by law, may be exercised by executive bodies of village, settlement, and city councils. They acquire such authority if a local council adopts an appropriate decision on exercising state control over use and protection of lands by its executive body in the volume defined by the law.
On 23 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution № 1427 "Some Issues of Part of Excise Tax on Fuel produced in Ukraine and Imported to the Customs Territory of Ukraine to the Budgets of Local Self-Government". It approved the "Procedure for Crediting a Part of Excise Tax from Fuel Produced in Ukraine and Imported to Customs Territory of Ukraine to Local Government Budgets" which stipulates that 13.4% of excise tax on fuel produced in Ukraine or imported to its customs territory be credited to local budgets. The distribution of these funds among local budgets will be made according to the specific weight of the volume of fuel sold by retailers in the respective company in the previous six months (considering data from registrars of settlement operations) in the total volume of fuel sold in Ukraine.
On 20 December 2022, the Government adopted Resolution №1403 "On the approval of the Procedure and Conditions for granting subventions from the state budget to local budgets in 2022 to compensate for the difference in tariffs for heat energy, heat energy, and hot water supply services (according to the Law "On Specifics of Regulation of Relations on the Natural Gas Market and in the Heat Supply Sector during the State of War and the Subsequent Restoration of Their Operation"), centralized cold water supply and sewerage services (using in-house systems), centralized water supply and centralized sewerage services (according to the Law "On Measures to Settle Debts of Heating and Heat Generating Organisations and Centralised Water Supply and Sanitation Enterprises")".
It approved the procedure and conditions for granting subventions from the state budget to local budgets in 2022 to compensate for differences in tariffs for:
- heat energy;
- heat energy supply and hot water supply services;
- centralized cold-water supply and sewage services
- centralized water supply and centralized sewage services.
The same Resolution approved the distribution of the subventions from the state budget among all regional budgets and the budget of Kyiv in the amount of UAH 14 billion.
On 17 December 2022 the Government adopted Resolution № 1422 "On Amendments to Certain Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the Sphere of Notaries and State Registration". It updates the content of the following acts:
- "Procedure for control by the Ministry of Justice over activities in the field of state registration of rights to immovable property and their encumbrances and state registration of legal entities, natural persons - entrepreneurs and public formations", approved by Government Resolution № 990 of 21 December 2016;
- "Procedure for the use, storage, circulation of special blanks of notarial documents and reporting on their use" approved by the Government Resolution of 9 December 2021 № 1290;
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 2022 dated March 6, 2022 on "Certain Issues of State Registration and Functioning of Unified and State Registers Kept by the Ministry of Justice under Martial Law.
In particular, the procedure for verification of state registrars' compliance with legislative requirements for providing them with access to the unified and state registers kept by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine during martial law has been changed.
