On May 13, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted at first reading draft law No. 13150, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Enforcement of Legality in the Activities of Local Self-Government Bodies and Officials.”

This draft is an alternative to draft law No. 4298, which was intended to reform local state administrations into prefecture-type bodies. This reform is essential for meeting the indicator “Entry into force of legislation on the reform of the territorial organization of executive power in Ukraine,” as outlined in Reform 1, “Advancing Decentralization Reform” within the “Decentralization and Regional Policy” section of the Ukraine Facility Plan for 2024–2027.

We have repeatedly covered draft law No. 4298 and the issues it addresses, particularly about oversight of the legality of decisions made by local self-government bodies (see more in our media project with Liga).

The law was expected to be adopted in the first quarter of this year. However, the relevant parliamentary committee never reviewed the latest version due to unresolved key issues and critical feedback from stakeholders.

As a result, MPs submitted alternatives: draft laws No. 13124, 13150, and 13150-1.

Parliament supported the draft law No. 13150, but according to the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform, this version has significant shortcomings. What are they — and what should be done now to complete the necessary reform? Experts from the Centre offer their insights.

The primary flaw of draft law No. 13150 lies in its reinforcement of the influence of local state administrations over local self-government bodies. This would ultimately erode the legal subjectivity of local self-government. The enforcement of legality would be carried out through state “control.” However, the Centre argues that the term “control” is inappropriate for this context and should be replaced with “oversight.”

Another shortcoming is that the draft law does not assign the role of legality enforcement to district-state administrations. These powers would be concentrated at the regional (oblast) level, dangerously strengthening their influence within the local governance system.

A further flaw is the inclusion of a provision allowing local self-government bodies to adopt acts containing restricted access information. This contradicts the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government,” which includes no such provisions and does not permit this practice.

Additionally, the powers granted to local state administrations under draft law No. 13150 concerning the legality of activities of territorial offices of ministries and other central executive bodies suggest a move toward reinforcing a “sectoral” administration model rather than transforming them into actual prefecture-type bodies.

Overall, draft law No. 13150 fails to deliver on the reform of local state administrations into prefecture-type bodies. While this reform is not limited to ensuring the legality of local self-government acts, other essential elements are not addressed in this version of the law.

Therefore, the Centre’s experts recommend that during the preparation of draft law No. 13150 for the second reading, the term “control” be replaced with “oversight” to ensure the legality of local self-government acts. They also propose empowering district-state administrations to exercise legality oversight over acts adopted by village, settlement, city, and district-in-city councils and their executive bodies.