Integrity effect on rulemaking in Ukraine: NACP and civil society have identified directions for improving the draft law on lobbying

27.11.2023

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) held its second public discussion on the draft law on lobbying in Ukraine. Based on the results of the previous discussion, participants agreed to continue the discourse and allow interested parties a specified period in order to provide proposals for improving the draft law. The adoption of the draft law meets the recommendations, in particular of GRECO, the OECD, the Venice Commission. Furthermore, the adoption is one of the prerequisites for Ukraine's further integration to the EU. The discussion caused significant interest and was widely represented by civil society organizations representatives, business, media, and members of parliament. The draft law aims to ensure transparent and ethical influence of various interest groups throughout the entire legislative process – from development to the adoption of regulatory acts in Ukraine. "The formation of an anti-corruption policy requires the coordination of various positions and points of view. In response to a public request, we are discussing the lobbying draft law for the second time and offline, which has not been practiced before. The NACP is interested in ensuring that the position of civil society is taken into account as much as possible. Currently, it can be noted that, thanks, in part, to the proposals of civil society organizations, the initial version of the draft law will be significantly improved", stated the Head of the NACP, Oleksandr Novikov. Representatives of civil society organizations expressed their vision regarding the ways for improving the draft law, including providing their proposals for its certain provisions. The Chairman of the Board of the NGO "The Anti-Corruption Headquarters" and a member of the Public Council under the NACP, Serhii Mytkalyk, emphasized the importance of adopting the draft law, highlighting the priority of clear distinction in the document between lobbying and advocacy to prevent excessive administrative loading on the activities of NGOs. Representative of the NGO "International Foundation for Electoral Systems" (IFES), Alisa Shushkovska, pointed out the necessity of regulating lobbying in Ukraine as a mechanism aimed at overcoming corruption at all levels of legislative activity. At the same time, she noted that the draft law needs to be revised in several other provisions. In particular, she proposed lifting restrictions on areas for which lobbying was proposed to be prohibited in the draft law, including issues related to referendums and elections. Representative of the LLC "International Consulting Group," Taras Samborsky, noted that attempts to regulate lobbying activities in Ukraine have been ongoing for almost a decade and a half, and the draft law, developed by the NACP, is the most thoughtful and balanced document compared to previous versions. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Legal Policy, Denis Maslov, acknowledged the active participation of the public in the discussion of the draft law and assured that this issue is a priority for the parliament. He added that the relevant committee is ready to work on the document and is awaiting its submission. Moderating the discussions, the head of the department for interaction with stakeholders and the adoption of anti-corruption policy acts at the NACP, Anastasiia Zernova, announced the revision of the draft law based on proposals received from the public. "We are introducing additional criteria for distinguishing lobbying and advocacy. Now it will not only be about the criterion of profitability/non-profitability but also about differentiating these concepts based on private or public interest, as well as identifying the source of funding. Within advocacy activities, there will be no administrative responsibility, unlike violations of lobbying legislation. Also, for non-profit civil organizations, the draft law proposes voluntary registration, and reporting for advocacy is simplified", explained the NACP representative. According to her, the NACP took into account the main concerns of the public and reflected in the draft law an approach to minimize risks for the unimpeded activity of civil society organizations.