Unified State Register of Local Self-Government Acts: Conclusion from the Council of Europe

Unified State Register of Local Self-Government Acts in Ukraine

According to hvylya.net: The Center for Expertise on Multi-Level Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe provided a conclusion regarding the implementation of the Unified State Register of Local Self-Government Acts in Ukraine. The document was prepared at the request of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.

The conclusion states that creating such a Register aligns with the general European trend towards enhancing transparency and accountability of government authorities, particularly at the local level. Despite the lack of a unified standard in European countries regarding such registers, there is a prevalent practice in Europe of openness and publicity of decisions.

Nevertheless, the experts of the Council of Europe emphasized that it is important to ensure proper implementation of such a tool – taking into account the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

Recommendations for the Implementation of the Register

In particular, it is recommended to:

• ensure the automatic publication of acts in the Register without the possibility of delay or blocking by central authorities;
• make the publication procedure simple and accessible for local self-government bodies;
• observe the principle of proportionality in supervision as defined in Article 8.3 of the Charter: the frequency and depth of supervision should depend on the significance of the interests to be protected, rather than on the convenience of access to information about the decisions of local self-government bodies;
• provide that publication in the Register replaces the obligation to send acts to supervisory authorities;
• ensure compliance of the Register with data protection norms (GDPR);
• conduct training for those responsible for monitoring.

Thus, the Council of Europe found no contradictions between the initiative to implement the Register and the provisions of the Charter, provided that the aforementioned approaches are adhered to.

It was provided that the Unified State Register of Local Self-Government Acts in Ukraine received a positive conclusion from the experts of the Council of Europe. The implementation of the register is recommended taking into account European standards for the transparency and publicity of governmental decisions. Emphasis was placed on the necessity for the Register to comply with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.