On November 16, 2021, the Parliament adopted the draft law No. 3475 “On the Administrative Procedure” in the second reading and in general. It provides for the establishment of clear rules of communication between citizens and authorities when receiving administrative services. This is important because compliance with such requirements helps to establish the legality of the actions of bodies, their objectivity, and justice.

How was it before? 

To get the necessary permission from a government agency (for example, to apply for a pension), citizens had to submit numerous documents and go through several bureaucratic stages. This provoked people to pay bribes to quickly get a service.

What has changed?

From now on, public administration bodies will be required to comply with the rules when deciding on the rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities. In particular, the draft law “On Administrative Procedure” envisages:

  • the right of a person to be heard before adopting a negative administrative act regarding them;
  • introduction of the category of “stakeholders” in the administrative procedure and mechanisms for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of such persons;
  • features of administrative proceedings in cases involving many persons;
  • the obligation of administrative bodies to justify their acts and indicate the procedure for contesting them;
  • simpler rules regarding “representation” in administrative proceedings (in particular, without a notarized power of attorney from a representative);
  • rules concerning the impartiality of administrative officials and the procedure for their recusal/self-recusal;
  • the rule on the entry into force of an administrative act from the moment it is brought to the attention of a person(s) and determining the procedure for bringing such an act to the person’s attention;
  • rules for revoking (invalidating) an administrative act and regulating the enforcement of administrative acts.

However, with the adoption of this law, the reform of public administration will not be complete. Further, it is necessary to bring numerous bylaws into compliance with the law, introduce analysis and assessment of corruption-causing risks of their activity in bylaws and anti-corruption programs of public administration bodies, develop and provide the necessary training activities, and so on.

Read more about the innovations proposed by the draft law in our legal analysis.

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From now on, public administration bodies will be required to comply with the rules when deciding on the rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities.