On 10 April 2011 the Laws of Ukraine No. 3165-17 "On Introduction of Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine" and No. 3166-17 "On Central Executive Bodies" became effective after their official publication in the printed media of the Ukrainian Parliament. These laws are inter-related, as both of them provide a legal framework for the legal status of the central executive authorities.

Amendments to Law "On Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine" (the "Law No. 3165-17")

Law No. 3165-17 introduced amendments into the Law of Ukraine "On Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine" that slightly decrease the volume of the Prime Minister's powers. At the same time, Law No. 3165-17 strengthens the President's powers by introducing provisions that allow the President to dismiss members of the Cabinet of Ministers at his own decision only, without the need for a petition from the Prime Minister, as was required before.

According to Law No. 3165-17, the First Vice-Prime-Minister and vice-prime-ministers can now be appointed by the President to the positions of Heads of Ministries. Previously, the position of the Head of a Ministry could be occupied exclusively by a Minister.

Also, Law No. 3165-17 abolishes the obligation of the President to agree with the Prime Minister the involvement of members of the Cabinet of Ministers into consultative, advisory and other auxiliary bodies and services created by the President of Ukraine.

Further, Law No. 3165-17 changes the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by abolishing certain elements of the previously existing structure, such as governmental bodies within the respective Ministries and governmental committees.

Finally, Law No. 3165-17 broadens the grounds for involvement of central and local governmental authorities in the activity of the Cabinet of Ministers. For example, a chairman of a regional state administration shall be invited to attend the session of the Cabinet of Ministers during which the matters of appointment of a head of the relevant territorial bodies of the Ministry in the respective region, as well as heads of other regional central executive authorities, regional state owned enterprises, institutions or organizations is being resolved. The chairman of the regional state administration shall have right to make proposals on the appointment, make remarks and provide explanations in respect of the respective matters considered in the course of the session.

Further important changes introduced by Law No. 3165-17 also include:

  • The position of the Minister of Cabinet of Ministers has been abolished. Instead, the position of the Head of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has been introduced. The Head of the Secretariat is appointed and dismissed by the Cabinet of Ministers upon the Prime Minister's petition. The Head of the Secretariat can have no more than three deputies;
  • Patronage service of vice-prime-ministers is created in the structure of the relevant Ministries, but not in the structure of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, as before;
  • The resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers are published not only in the "Oficijniy visnyk" but also in "Uryadovyj Kurier", as in the official publication.

Law of Ukraine "On Central Executive Bodies" (the "CEB Law")

The CEB Law was adopted in implementation of provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine that require the organization, powers and activities of the central executive bodies to be defined by law.

The CEB Law defines the system and the legal status of the central executive bodies as follows:

  • The system of the central executive bodies is composed of the Ministries and other central executive bodies;
  • The Ministries, other central executive bodies and their territorial (regional) bodies shall gain the status of legal entities of public law. The status of a legal entity arises from the date of their registration with the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs;

The CEB Law also strengthens the President's powers, and provides for the following:

  • The Ministries and other central executive bodies are created, reorganized and liquidated by the President of Ukraine upon the Prime Minister's petition;
  • The first deputy and deputies of ministers are appointed upon the Prime Minister's petition and are dismissed by the President of Ukraine. These positions, as well as the position of minister, from now on shall qualify as political positions and the standard employment law and public service law provisions shall no longer be applicable to the individuals occupying them;
  • The head of the central executive body is appointed oat the Prime Minister's petition and dismissed by the President of Ukraine;
  • The President adopts the regulations on Ministries and other central executive authorities.

Additionally, the CEB Law entitles the state to claim damages caused by officials of the Ministries and other central executive bodies. Also, the CEB Law states that other central executive bodies can be established in order to perform different functions in the form of a service, an agency or an inspection.

Overall, both Laws described above are aimed at strengthening the position of the President of Ukraine. At the same time, their purpose is realization of one of the stages of administrative reform, namely regulation of the executive branch of governmental power in Ukraine.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

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The original publication date for this article was 12/05/2011.