The evaluation of legislation is an important component of the law-making process, as it makes it possible to identify shortcomings and gaps in legislative acts and to assess their impact on various aspects of public life. In addition, analysing the practical implementation of laws contributes to building an open dialogue between the legislator and stakeholders.
In European countries, legislative evaluation is applied to assess the achievement of stated objectives, identify shortcomings and unintended consequences, and amend legislation to enhance its effectiveness.
In Ukrainian practice, the attention of Members of Parliament is primarily focused on the mere adoption of legislative decisions, whereas the ability of legislation to achieve its declared objectives and the effectiveness of its implementation remain without proper evaluation. At the same time, the absence of a systematic approach to legislative evaluation makes it more difficult to identify problems in a timely manner and reduces the overall effectiveness of law-making activity.
Regarding Local Self-Government
From August 2019 to June 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted several laws in the field of local self-government and regional development aimed at continuing the decentralisation process. Not all of them have been analysed in terms of their practical application. Meanwhile, under wartime conditions, communities face new challenges, which in turn necessitate a prompt and high-quality review of legislation.
Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyse selected laws in the field of local self-government and regional development adopted between August 2019 and June 2025 inclusive and to assess the practice of their implementation.
Key Areas of the Study:
- what factors influence the quality and effectiveness of legislative provisions;
- to what extent the adopted legislation corresponds to the needs of territorial communities;
- how improved communication between the legislator and local self-government bodies (LSG bodies) can contribute to enhancing the legislative process and increasing the effectiveness of law implementation.
The study also contains a number of recommendations for legislators, local self-government bodies and central executive authorities aimed at developing a systematic approach to the application and evaluation of legislation.
Although in Ukraine the requirement to conduct legislative evaluation will enter into force only after the termination of martial law, the study provides recommendations that can be applied in practice now.
More on the evaluation of legislation in the field of local self-government and regional development can be found in the new issue of the journal Parliament, published by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.
This study has been prepared with the support of Sweden. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of the NGO ‘Agency for Legislative Initiatives’ and does not necessarily reflect the position of Sweden.
