The decentralization reform launched in 2014 has become one of the most successful in Ukraine’s history. This is evidenced by the high level of support for it by Ukrainians, the Council of Europe’s assessment, and the European Parliament’s conclusion. But in reality, the reform is still ongoing. In particular, none of the state institutions has yet been assigned the function of overseeing the legality of decisions of local governments, despite the fact that this is directly provided for in the Constitution of Ukraine and the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

Imagine what would happen if the Constitutional Court did not exist, and no one limited MPs in their decisions? Ukraine has a similar situation, only at the local level. We remain the only European country without state supervision over the legality of local government decisions.  This is stated in an international comparative study of local self-government conducted by the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

“This creates the basis for the separation of local authorities from state policy, which poses a danger to stability, especially in the context of the ongoing war,” the study states. Establishing oversight over the legality of local government decisions in Ukraine is also a requirement of the European Commission for the successful European integration of our country.

Draft law No. 4298, which is currently awaiting a second reading in the parliament, can remedy the situation. Its main goal is to transform local state administrations into prefectural-type bodies that will be vested with the function of overseeing the legality of local government activities.

In a special project created in partnership with the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, LIGA.net explains what law enforcement supervision is, why communities themselves need it, and what legislative initiatives are intended to address this issue.