The preparation and presentation of analytical materials is part of a project implemented by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives within the framework of the USAID RADA Program: Responsible, Accountable, Democratic Assembly implemented by the East Europe Foundation.
Press conference: Presentation of the analytical report “Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians: Structure, Content, Topics. Realities and Suggestions for Ukraine”
On September 7, 2017, the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center hosted a presentation of the analytical report “Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians: Structure, Content, Topics. Realities and Suggestions Concerning Codification”, which was attended by:
- Svitlana Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives;
- Ihor Kohut, Director of the USAID RADA Program;
- Olena Sotnyk, MP of Ukraine;
- Ostap Yednak, MP of Ukraine;
- Serhiy Leshchenko, MP of Ukraine.
This report was drawn up within the framework of the project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives “Support to Democratic Political Culture in the Verkhovna Rada Political Dialogue and Ethical Standards”. The report aims to summarize the discussions of MPs of Ukraine, international experts, OSCE ODIHR experts and other stakeholders on the basis of the dialogue platform that ensures an inclusive process of the elaboration of a Code of Parliamentary Ethics coming from parliamentarians themselves. In addition, the document proposes a codification of the existing legislation in the areas covered by the Code.
Discussions based on the dialogue platform will make up the basis for the future Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians and are subject to broad discussion.
“This report is an important intermediate step towards the adoption of the Code. It summarizes MPs’ discussions held in the Verkhovna Rada for several months. The codification contained in the report will boost MPs’ awareness of ethical dilemmas and provide the basis for the future Code. The Code of Parliamentary Ethics is not only about the subtleties of ethical conduct; due to the lack of trust in deputies and the Verkhovna Rada as a whole, this Code is a necessity of our parliamentary reality”
“The issues of parliamentary ethics are included in the roadmap for the reform of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and this was made possible due to the long-term work of partner organizations that raised the topic. This topic has resonated with many members of the Ukrainian parliament who have contributed to the discussion of the principles and provisions of the Code by convincing their colleagues-parliamentarians. We only provided expert support and a platform. Drafting of such a code is one of the expected outcomes of the USAID RADA program. We are grateful to our partners for the great contribution to this cause, and to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada for the support of the initiative”
“Today, when the Ukrainian parliament has the lowest level of trust among all other state institutions, we urgently need to look for tools that can restore people’s confidence. The initiated dialogue on the standards of parliamentary ethics, rules of conduct, and conflict of interest is beginning to change the voters’ view of the deputy they would like to elect. This process inevitably changes the behavior of politicians themselves. Only when people realize that decisions affecting their lives are taken in accordance with well-established ethical rules, standards, and procedures, will they have more confidence in such decisions and in the parliament as a whole. In addition, the very process of drafting a code of parliamentary ethics will be the first step towards standardizing the behavior of parliamentarians since they will have to personally determine whether the behavior is acceptable. Thus, they will familiarize themselves with current models and experiences. In the future, the implementation of this Code will bring the work of the Ukrainian parliament closer to the standards of developed and civilized European countries. The adoption of a code of parliamentary ethics is important, first of all, for Ukrainian citizens, who deserve to have deputies who represent their will in a decent and professional manner”
“The elaboration and adoption of a Code of Parliamentary Ethics is a logical and necessary step in the development of Ukrainian parliamentarism and professionalization of politics. Various people are elected to the Ukrainian parliament – with different backgrounds, education, experience, and ideological convictions. Every convocation, the Parliament is renewed. Therefore, I would like the document drafted within this convocation to become a behavior reference point for current and future parliamentarians, to get integrated into the parliamentary tradition and legislation, and to become imperative. The Code should strengthen Parliament as a democratic institution”
“The Code of Parliamentary Ethics is a tool for preventing conflicts of interest and averting corruption risks. In civilized countries, it has long been settled that politicians cannot deal with state policy issues in a field where they have a personal stake. Because there is always a risk of blackmailing or rewriting rules as they see fit. If you have a business manufacturing equipment for railroads, you cannot head the committee on transport. But Dubnevych can. If you have a bank, you do not have the right to be a member of the bank committee. But Demchak and Klimov can. By blocking conflicts of interest, we prevent corruption. It is much easier and more effective than tolerating conflicts of interest and then investigating criminal cases for years, wasting state resources, and involving the repressive arms of the state. Therefore, a Code of Parliamentary Ethics should resolve this issue in the Verkhovna Rada, bringing it closer to the standards of the European Parliament”
The activities are carried out within the framework of the project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives “Support for Democratic Political Culture in Parliament via Political Dialogue and Ethical Standards” implemented with the support of MATRA Program (Netherlands Embassy) and in partnership with the OSCE ODIHR Project “Strengthening Dialogue Among Civil Society and With Key Government Stakeholders in Ukraine on Human Dimension Issues”, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, and USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly implemented by East Europe Foundation.
Photos: Ukraine crisis media center
Code of Conduct: Structure Content, Subject. Codification Realities and Proposals
This report has been prepared under the Agency for Legislative Initiatives Project “Support of the Democratic Political Culture in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine via Political Dialogue and Ethical Standards” backed by the Matra Programme (the Netherlands Embassy) in partnership with the OSCE/ODIHR “Strengthening Dialogue among Civil Society and with Key Government Stakeholders in Ukraine on Human Dimension Issues” Project, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), and with the assistance of the USAID “RADA: Responsibility, Accountability, Democratic Parliamentary Representation”.
The Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI) project aims at improving the quality of the parliamentary process through the support of the interparty dialogue and promotion of ethical standards in the parliament, which includes:
- Establishment of the multiparty dialogue platform to discuss ethical dilemmas;
- Support of the World Café format discussions with participation of the OSCE/ODIHR and NIMD leading experts to facilitate the dialogue;
- Promotion of an inclusive process to develop the Parliamentary Code of Conduct or any other regulation mechanism that would be owned by the members of parliament;
- Conduct of interactive training sessions on the parliamentary ethics and political parties, as well as consultations with the stakeholders and the public;
- Preparation of analytical reports upon the discussions to form the basis for the Parliamentary Code of Conduct.
The project shall help to improve the culture of the political communication, to strengthen the interparty cooperation, to move closer to the international standards as suggested by the Cox Mission recommendations, and to restore trust in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
This document summarises the discussions held among the Ukrainian MPs, international and OSCE/ODIHR experts, as well as other stakeholders on the basis of the dialogue platform. In addition, proposals are made to codify the existing legislation in the areas related to the Code of Conduct.
The reports based on the dialogue platform discussions should form the basis for the Parliamentary Code of Conduct and should become subject to the broader debate.
Advocacy and its Aspects in Working with Parliament
During 2015 – 2016 the Agency for Legislative Initiatives supported the advocacy campaigns of the Reanimation Package of Reforms groups, in particular: “Pension Reform”, “Tax Reform”, “Health Care Reform”, and “Policy of National Memory”.
To support the campaigns a number of trainings and consultations on policy analysis were conducted and assistance in establishing communication with the parliament was provided through such tools as preparation and presentation of shadow reports and policy proposals, as well as discussing advocacy groups initiatives in the regions.
The guidelines aim to systematize and present existing experience in planning and holding advocacy campaigns. The proposed publication contains step-by-step instructions and strategies for civil society institutes on how to build effective communication with public authorities.
The guidelines aim to strengthen the civil society organizations’ skills in planning and implementing advocacy campaigns. To achieve this goal the guidelines explain what advocacy is and how it differs from lobbying; consider advocacy support for public policy implementation; teach the techniques of building coalitions and interaction with partners in advocacy campaigns; explore the main strategies of advocacy campaigns informational support, work with media and social networks, community and organization of protests of direct action; study the aspects of parliamentary advocacy and examples of successful parliamentary advocacy campaigns.
The Seventh International Academic Conference “Parliamentary Readings”
On May 26–27, 2017 in Kyiv The Seventh International Academic Conference “Parliamentary Readings” took place.
The Conference is a part of a project implemented by the NGO Agency of Legislative Initiatives with the support of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, implemented by East Europe Foundation.
Photographer Oksana Sushko
The conference is intended to form a higher level of expert and academic discourse in Ukraine and attract young researchers and academics to conduct research on the evolution of the formation and trends of the development of parliamentarianism in Ukraine, qualitative and quantitative methods of studying internal parliamentary processes, and the methodology of studying the behaviour of parliamentarians.
Photographer Oksana Sushko
Conference topics:
• The evolution of the formation and tendencies of development of parliamentarianism in Ukraine;
• Qualitative and quantitative methods of studying internal parliamentary processes;
• Methodology for studying the behaviour of parliamentarians;
• Coalition government;
• Cooperation between government and parliament.
Photographer Oksana Sushko
The first day of the VII International Academic Conference “Parliamentary Readings”, which was filled with informative presentations and discussions, showed the participants and the guests the importance of social media enhancing parliamentary democracy. International experience of building an effective and transparent parliament was also presented during the first working day. Speakers showed how an effective and transparent parliament could be built in Ukraine. They also introduced Ukrainian and worldwide practices of the internal parliamentary processes research. First day of the conference ended with the interesting and comprehensive presentation and discussion of the studies.
Фото: Оксана Сушко
Фото: Оксана Сушко
Фото: Оксана Сушко
Photographer Oksana Sushko
Second day of the Conference was devoted to the presentation and discussion of the research papers. It was focused on the evaluation of the problem of cooperation between parliament and government of Ukraine; legal regulation of parliamentary immunity; the problem of sticking to the election programs by political parties; the influence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on activity of parliament; comparative analysis of parliamentary systems in Germany, Austrian Republic and Switzerland; psychology of parliamentary lobbying; code of conduct for MPs; possibility of e-government effective functioning.
Photographer Oksana Sushko
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Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, on hromadske.ua
“MPs do not fully realize what they should do in Parliament”, said Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, in conversation with Olha Aivazovska and Andriy Saychuk on the program “Reform. Parliament” on hromadske.ua.
Discussing the issue of elaboration of a Code of MPs’ Ethics, Svitlana spoke about international experience of drafting such codes as well as focused on issues of lobbying, conflict of interests, and the need to regulate the work of MPs as a professional activity.
Parliamentary Ethics
MPs’ ethics is not an issue of parliamentary behavior, parliamentary vocabulary, or the argument of “throwing your sword”. This issue is much wider. MPs tend to think that most issues of parliamentary ethics should be solved with the help of anti-corruption legislation. But there are questions of unregulated lobbying; conflict of interest; very important questions of what MPs engage in after they cease to be deputies, how they are recruited and how they use all the privileges granted to them.
The issue of the Code of MPs’ Ethics in Ukraine is rather old. Yulia Tyshchenko, in cooperation with UCIPR, did a very important work, i.e. they considered this issue from voters’ perspective rather than from MPs’, having arranged focus groups across Ukraine to ask voters whether they think this code to be necessary. The results turned out to be rather unexpected because people consider it extremely significant and believe that it should regulate not only MPs’ behavior in the session hall but also outside Parliament. One can observe a certain imbalance; MPs’ understanding of ethics is at a lower level than the awareness among ordinary citizens.
It is important to raise the awareness of MPs because they are people with different levels of education and different professional backgrounds; there are those who were elected for the first time, and we had to work with all of them. Therefore, we started this work. This convocation of the Verkhovna Rada is interesting because it is in this convocation that the name of the committee responsible for ethical questions was reduced to just the Committee on Rules, without the word ‘ethics’ in it. In addition, it does not even have a chairperson to this day, only an acting chairman.
Foreign experience
In different countries, issues of parliamentary ethics are regulated differently, and each country chooses its own format. In Britain, it is the Nolan principles; in Sweden, there is a list of laws united in one module; the European Parliament has a big code, which, by the way, does not contain any sanction section. The experience of Estonia, which we have used from the very beginning, demonstrates that it is sometimes possible to adopt a code without sanctions, and then add a sanction section.
Work with MPs
Many international and Ukrainian experts can write a good document, but it will be useless. That is why we work with the deputy corps. It is necessary that each faction should have representatives working on the ethical code, who are constantly immersed in the process. For if different factions and groups are not in agreement on the decision, it will be pointless and will not be legitimate, and nobody will follow it. The Code of Parliamentary Ethics can exist in various forms, and it does not matter whether it will be adopted by a Law of Ukraine, by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, or will become part of the MP’s oath.
Currently, the activities of MPs are regulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law on the Status of People’s Deputies, and the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. However, very often the regulatory provisions of these documents are simply ignored. For example, when somebody is fighting in the hall, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should stop the meeting. Very often we see that it does not happen, as in the case of Serhiy Leshchenko’s torn jacket or when foul language is heard in the hall.
Selected Works of the Participants of the Sixth International Conference ‘Parliamentary Readings’
On November 18-19, 2016, the Sixth International Conference ‘Parliamentary Readings’ was held at the House of Official Receptions (Kyiv, 22, Hrushevskyi Str.).
The conference was organized by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in partnership with the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Social Technologies of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy as well as the Department of Parliamentarism and Political Management of the National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine.
A collection of selected works of its participants was prepared based on the results of the conference.
The conference is part of the project implemented by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives with the support of USAID RADA Program: Responsible, Accountable, Democratic Assembly implemented by the East Europe Foundation.
Interview with Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives
“MPs are looking for excuses to avoid work”, said Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, on Channel 5 talking about the professional standards of MPs, parliament reform mission led by Pat Cox, failure to vote on the Accounting Chamber, inter-party dialogue, and prospects for early parliamentary elections.
Agency’s Expert Club
The Agency for Legislative Initiatives launched a new presentation format of its policy materials – Expert Club in a British “afternoon tea” format.
The main purpose of the study is to mark the 20th anniversary of cooperation between Ukraine and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which Ukraine celebrated in 2016. The focus of the study was to incorporate the conclusions of the Venice Commission in the preparation and improvement of legislation.
The experience of cooperation between Ukraine and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) was analyzed in the research, and the philosophy and major fields of activity of the Venice Commission, as well as its principles, standards and methods of work were highlighted. It was especially emphasized that not only the Venice Commission’s Conclusions on Ukraine but also studies of the Venice Commission in general as an integral part of the «European constitutional heritage» should be considered in the process of drafting and improving Ukrainian legislation. The author of a study concludes that Ukraine’s readiness to cooperate with the Venice Commission and proper consideration of the Commission’s recommendations could be regarded as an indicator of democratic processes taking place in the country and its commitment to European values.
The presentation included discussion with the participation of the research author Oleksandr Ilkov, the Head of the Department of Regional Cooperation Programs of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe Sergiy Kuznetsov, Director of the USAID RADA Program Igor Kogut, Chairwoman of the Agency Svitlana Matvienko and Deputy Chairman of the Agency Oleksandr Zaslavskyi and was moderated by the Senior Project Officer of the Venice Commission in the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Sergiy Tkachenko.
The research was conducted by Oleksandr Ilkov for the third issue of “Parliament” Journal 2016, a special periodic publication of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives distributed among MPs, parliamentary staff, academic and experts institutions. “Parliament” Journal is prepared and published within the framework of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, which is operated by East Europe Foundation.
Parliamentary Ethics and its Dilemmas – Glavcom
Svitlana Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, is currently working on a code of conduct for MPs. She believes that the future code, in addition to provisions on the moral and ethical components of MPs’ work, must regulate the issues associated with conflict of interests and lobbyism.
What does the notion of Code of Parliamentary Ethics imply?
There is a Roadmap prepared by the ODIHR, Rada Program, Agency for Legislative Initiatives, and Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. It prescribes that, just like any other professional (from a doctor to a pilot), a deputy ought to have clear functions and standards of work. Without these standards one cannot adequately assess somebody’s work or even hold people responsible.
Don’t you think that a society which is so respectful about brawls and fails to condemn the low political culture of its MPs deserves such MPs?
Of course, it is an ancient maxim that every nation has the rulers it deserves. But on the other hand, under the electoral system that exists in the country today, it is usually a party leader determines who will be on the list. Therefore, people are not always able to participate in the process.
Will the future Code of Parliamentary Ethics regulate the financial status of MPs?
It depends on the decision of MPs. In my opinion, yes, it should be regulated. MPs’ salary should be at a proper level. I understand that we live in a poor country, and citizens will find high salaries of MPs rather controversial. Nevertheless, I hope that it will prevent from “buying” politicians.
World café on parliamentary ethics
On the margins of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine MPs Sergei Leshchenko, Svetlana Zalishchuk, Ostap Yednak, Oleksiy Ryabchin, Grigory Shverk discussed ethical dilemmas concerning:
- how to prevent MPs’ indecent behavior;
- how to regulate the content and timing of MP’s speech in the voting chamber;
- how to prevent the domination of individual parliamentarians in the debate, deviations from the topic of discussion, the use of the parliamentary tribune for self-advertisement;
- how to prevent non-personal voting;
- how to regulate the MP’s lexicon during his / her speeches in the voting chamber.
This discussion format encourages better understanding of issues and allows for many views and opinions, and at the same time, thanks to the constant rotation of group members, presents the discussion point in different contexts.
The proposed topic also included problems of non-parliamentary language, dress code, lack of gender-sensitive language, behavior during sessions etc.
At the end of the event MP Grigory Shverk also signed the Declaration of Intent on development of the Parliamentary Code of Conduct.
The activities are carried out within the project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives “Promoting Democratic Political Culture in Verkhovna Rada through Political Dialogue and Ethical Standards”, carried out with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine in partnership with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) “Strengthening Dialogue among Civil Society and with Key Governmental Stakeholders in Ukraine in Human Dimension” and with the assistance of the RADA Program.