Summary of the Unit
During the 14th session, the share of violations of the Rules of Procedure in the adoption of laws amounted to 38%, which is 30% lower than during the previous session.
The share of violations at the second reading of draft laws decreased by half compared to the 13th session.
The overall share of violations of the constitutional time limit (15 days) for the signing of laws by the President during the 14th session again amounted to 44%. The time limit for signing (or submitting proposals) was violated for 20 laws, while another 8 laws were neither signed nor vetoed.
The volume of violations of the legislative procedure during the 14th session decreased significantly and almost reached the level observed before the full-scale invasion. The overall share of draft laws adopted with violations is lower than during all other sessions under martial law, due to the significant decrease in violations at the second reading.
Violation of the Rules of Procedure regarding laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada
This section provides information on violations of the Rules of Procedure during the 14th session.
The 14th session demonstrated a decrease in the share of violations across all categories. During the 14th session, approximately 38% (more than one third) of laws were adopted with violations of consideration procedures, compared to 68% during the 13th session.
During the 14th session, the dynamics of the frequency of violations of the Rules of Procedure are similar for both the first and second readings. For the first reading, the share of violations decreased compared to the 13th session. Overall, the share of violations of the Rules of Procedure at the first reading has continued to decline since the 11th session.
Since the 9th session, the share of violations at the second reading had been increasing. During the 14th session, however, the share of violations of the Rules of Procedure at the second reading decreased almost twofold across all three types of violations monitored for the second reading.
These are among the lowest indicators for the entire IX convocation. The volume of violations at both the first and second readings continues to gradually approach the levels observed before the full-scale invasion.
In the charts and table, data on the share of draft laws adopted with specific types of violations of the Rules of Procedure are presented by session.
Violations of the Rules of Procedure in the Adoption of Laws in the Verkhovna Rada
| Type of violation | Provision of the Rules of Procedure | Total number of laws assessed for violations | Number of laws with violations |
| Opinion of the committee before the first reading (absence of such opinions or violation of the time limits established for familiarisation with these opinions prior to their consideration in the session hall) | The opinion is provided 7 days prior to the consideration of the draft law in the session hall at the first reading | 63 | 16 (25.4%) violations, all related to time limits, including 3 cases where the draft law was adopted on the day the opinion was provided. All opinions are available |
| Opinion of the MSED* before the first reading (absence of such opinions or violation of the time limits established for familiarisation with these opinions prior to their consideration in the session hall) | The opinion is provided 7 days prior to the consideration of the draft law in the session hall at the first reading | 63 | 11 (17%) violations of time limits. All opinions are available |
| Comparative table after the first reading (absence of the comparative table or preparation of such a table within timeframes that do not allow all entities to submit their amendments within the time limits established by the Rules of Procedure) | Proposals and amendments must be submitted to the table no earlier than 14 days after adoption at the first reading, or 7 days in case of shortened timeframes | 32 (draft laws adopted at the second reading) | No violations of time limits. All comparative tables are available |
| Opinions of the MLD (absence of MLD opinions or violation of the time limits established for familiarisation with these opinions prior to their consideration in the session hall) | MLD comments are provided 10 days prior to the consideration of the draft law in the session hall at the second reading, or 5 days in case of shortened timeframes | 32 (draft laws adopted at the second reading) | 10 (31.3%) violations of time limits. All opinions are available** |
| Opinion of the committee before the second reading (absence of committee opinions or violation of the time limits established for familiarisation with these opinions prior to their consideration in the session hall) | Committee opinions before the second reading are provided 10 days prior to the consideration of the draft law in the session hall at the second reading, or 5 days in case of shortened timeframes | 32 (draft laws adopted at the second reading) | 10 (31.3%) violations of time limits. Committee opinions are available for all laws |
| Comparative table before the second reading (absence of the comparative table or violation of the time limits established for familiarisation with these tables prior to their consideration in the session hall) | Tables must be provided 10 days prior to the consideration of the draft law in the session hall at the second reading, or 5 days in case of shortened timeframes | 32 (draft laws adopted at the second reading) | 9 (28.1%) violations of time limits. All tables are available |
*The Rules of Procedure of the VRU do not contain a direct and clear requirement regarding the mandatory nature of opinions of the MSED. Alongside Article 103(4), which provides that in the absence of opinions within 14 days there are deemed to be no comments, there are also provisions requiring MSED opinions:
- Article 112 establishes that accompanying documents to a draft law shall be provided to MPs no later than seven days before the day of consideration of the draft law at a plenary sitting of the Verkhovna Rada.
- Article 99(2)(3) provides that expert opinions on a draft law form part of the accompanying documents.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the Rules of Procedure of the VRU are imperfect and contain contradictory provisions. For example, the MSED may provide an opinion after the 14-day deadline (due to workload), and in such a case it is unclear what the main committee should do — treat the absence of timely opinions as meaning there are no comments or consider the comments submitted after the deadline.
**The opinion of the MLD was absent for the draft state budget, but this was not considered a violation due to the established practice of the absence of MLD opinions on budgets in different years.
Violation of the Constitution regarding the timeframe for signing laws
In addition to standard violations of the Rules of Procedure, monitoring was carried out of violations of the Constitution related to breaches of the 15-day time limit for the signing of adopted laws by the President (Article 94 of the Constitution). The monitoring covered 63 laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during the 14th session. The time limit for signing (or submitting proposals) was violated for 20 laws, i.e. in 32% of cases (compared to 43% during the 13th session). In addition, a further 8 laws were neither signed by the President, nor vetoed, nor accompanied by proposals (although the deadline for their signing had already expired). If all violations are combined, this amounts to 44% of all laws adopted during the 14th session, which is lower than the results of the 13th session (47%). Thus, almost half of all laws adopted during the 14th session involved violations of the time limits established by the Constitution of Ukraine.
Of course, the extent of the delay — whether 2 days or 102 days — does not change the fact that both constitute a violation. If one considers the most extreme cases, the longest recorded time for signing was 83 days.
Violations of the constitutional procedure began to increase with the introduction of martial law. The 11th and 13th sessions recorded the highest number of such violations, while the 12th and 14th sessions showed only a slight decrease. However, it is premature to conclude that the trend has changed. Despite significant improvements in the process of adopting laws, the timeframes for signing remain a major issue. These violations also cannot be explained by According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the President has 15 days to sign a law and officially promulgate it, or to return it with his reasoned and formulated proposals to Parliament. At the decision of the President, the Government organises an expert review of the law submitted for signature. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Government has a maximum of seven days to submit its proposals regarding the signing of the law by the President or reasoned and substantiated proposals on the expediency of the President exercising the right of veto. The time spent on preparing generalised comments and proposals depends both on the scope and complexity of the law and on other factors — the day of the week and time when the copy of the law was received, the number of ministries involved in the review, differences in their positions regarding the adopted law, internal bureaucratic procedures in the ministries, technical reasons, etc. Any combination of these factors may delay the Government’s submission of proposals on the law and, accordingly, the President’s decision to sign the law or return it to Parliament. deficiencies in the regulatory or procedural framework, as the relevant provisions have not changed.
During the 14th session, the President, within the established 15-day time limit (i.e. without violation), vetoed one draft law and submitted his proposals. The draft law had been initiated by representatives of the Servant of the People faction, which suggests that, in this case, the positions of the initiators and the President were not aligned or that the draft law was technically flawed. The Verkhovna Rada has not yet considered this draft law.
