You are reading Legal Corner for November 2024. If you are looking for legal updates from September 2024, follow this link.

On 30 October, the European Commission published its annual Ukraine 2024 Report with a detailed assessment of the progress made in Ukraine’s reforms and the alignment of its legislation with the EU’s ‘acquis’ (its body of law) in the path to future membership. In recognition of its successes, the report recommends that “decentralisation reform should advance”. For the country's resilience and recovery, Ukraine should ensure that measures to utilise the potential of municipalities are on track, as envisaged in the Ukraine Plan, in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government. This is a significant vote of confidence in the contribution of empowered municipalities, to which you should be proud. The report also contains relevant recommendations relating to military administrations, the fiscal base, service delivery, education strategies and local decision-making on the use of the Ukraine Facility.

On 15 November, the Law of Ukraine № 4017-IX “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On administrative procedure’” dated 10 October 2024 came into force. This Law is aimed at bringing 196 legislative acts, including the Law of Ukraine “On local self-government in Ukraine”, in line with the Law “On administrative procedure” regarding the procedure for adopting, implementing and appealing administrative acts. This Law is aimed at adapting national legislation to the EU legal system and fulfilling Ukraine's obligations in the field of European integration.

On 8 November 2024, the Law of Ukraine dated 8 October 2024 No. 3993-IX ‘On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on protection of interests of owners of land shares (units) and application of administrative procedure in the field of land relations’ came into force. This Law provides for: extension of the term for registration of unclaimed (unallocated) land plots, distribution of land plots between owners of land shares and their heirs of land remaining in collective ownership after the distribution of land plots until 2028; resumption of mandatory advanced training for certified land surveyors (this provision was suspended under martial law); extension of the pilot project on entering information into the State Land Cadastre by certified land surveyors until 2026; use of funds received by the respective budgets as a result of compensation for forestry production losses to develop working land management projects and implement measures envisaged in these projects; peculiarities of the administrative procedure in the field of land relations; the possibility of using the funds received as compensation for losses for non-use of agricultural land for land protection.

On 1 October, November, the Law of Ukraine No. 4033-IX “On amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on improving the regulation of plea bargaining agreements in criminal proceedings on corruption and corruption-related criminal offences” came into force. According to this Law of Ukraine, an additional penalty in the form of a fine may be imposed, if such a penalty is not provided for in the sanction of an article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, only if the court approves a plea agreement in criminal proceedings for corruption criminal offences or corruption-related criminal offences, and provided that the parties to the agreement agree on an additional penalty in the form of a fine, taking into account the property status of the perpetrator, within the following limits:

• In case of a minor offence, from 20,000 (UAH 340,000) to 120,000 (UAH 2.04 million) tax-free minimum incomes;
• In case of a serious crime, from 120,000 (UAH 2.04 million) to 6 million (UAH 102 million) tax-free minimum incomes;
• in case of a particularly serious crime, from 270,000 (UAH 4.59 million) to 12 million (UAH 204 million) tax-free minimum incomes.

The possibility of imposing a lighter sentence than that provided by law has been introduced, not only in cases where the suspect or accused person(s) has exposed another person(s) in the commission of any corruption criminal offence or corruption-related criminal offence, but also in the absence of signs of complicity in the commission of these offences and subject to full compensation by the suspect or accused person for the loss or damage caused.

Reapplication of the agreement with the same suspect or accused in the same criminal proceedings is allowed only once in case of elimination of the grounds on which the court refused to approve such agreement. In case the court repeatedly refuses to approve the agreement, the next application with the agreement with the same suspect or accused in the same criminal proceedings is not allowed.

This Law of Ukraine is adopted to implement the Ukraine Facility initiative of the European Union, introduced by Regulation (EU) No. 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024.

On 22 November, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) adopted Resolution № 1332 “Some issues of waiving of persons liable for military service for the period of mobilisation and wartime”. According to this Resolution, the postponement of a call-up for military service during mobilisation, which was granted to a person liable for military service by a decision of the Ministry of Economy before the entry into force of this Resolution, is valid for the period for which it was granted, but not longer than until 28 February 2025.

The cancellation of the deferral received as a result of the waiving is carried out in the event of: expiration of its validity; liquidation of a local self-government body; dismissal of a person liable for military service from a local self-government body (except for dismissal with subsequent appointment to another position within the same local self-government body); temporary termination of an employment contract; a substantiated submission by the head of a local self-government body; granting a deferral for other reasons specified in Article 23 of the Law “of Ukraine ‘On mobilisation training and mobilisation”.

Local self-government bodies - no later than the next day after hiring an employee, transferring him/her from one structural unit to another or transferring to another permanent position or job, dismissal, reinstatement, temporary termination/renewal of an employment contract – must now submit relevant information to the Pension Fund of Ukraine through its web portal of electronic services in electronic form with the obligatory imposition of an electronic signature based on a qualified electronic signature certificate.

The “Procedure of waiving of persons liable for military service for the period of mobilisation and for wartime” was approved in a new version, according to which: waiving of persons liable for military service in local self-government bodies will be carried out for the duration of mobilisation (i.e. for up to 90 days, the period of general mobilisation has now been extended until 7 February 2025); all persons liable for military service who hold the positions of village, settlement, and town mayors and only up to 50% of persons liable for military service who hold other positions in local self-government bodies are subject to reservation.

On 22 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1325 “On amendments to the Procedure for submitting applications for compensation for losses, damage or damage caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine to the register of damage caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine by means of the unified state web portal of electronic services”. Pursuant to this Resolution, the Procedure was approved in a new version. Therefore, now an application can be submitted through the user's personal electronic account on the Diia portal, after passing the electronic identification and authentication procedure, in the following cases: damage or destruction of residential real estate (for each real estate separately); forced internal displacement (by each internally displaced person separately); death of a close family member (by each close family member separately); disappearance of a close family member (by each close family member separately).

On 19 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1321 “On approval of the Model Regulation on the rescue centre”. This Government Resolution approved the above-mentioned ‘Model Regulation’, which defines the basic principles, tasks and functions, as well as the procedure for establishing and organising the activities of a rescue centre to provide assistance to persons who have suffered physical, psychological or economic harm as a result of hostilities, armed conflict, temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine, natural or man-made emergency, and persons who have suffered suffering, in particular from sexual violence related to the armed conflict.

Local self-government bodies are recommended to be guided by this Model Regulation in their activities related to establishing and operating rescue centres, to provide counselling services and social and psychological assistance to victims, and assist in ensuring the exercise of their rights.

On 15 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1313 “On amendments to the Procedure and Conditions for granting subventions from the state budget to local budgets for the purchase of school buses”. The administrators of subventions from local budgets should ensure the purchase of school buses specially equipped with seats for transporting people with reduced mobility, and seats for accompanying persons and wheelchairs, in the amount corresponding to the number of children with special educational needs belonging to the relevant groups and receiving education in the municipality’s pre-school and general secondary education institutions, regardless of the form of education. In the absence of such children in the municipality, subvention administrators should ensure the purchase of at least one bus specially equipped with seats for transporting people with reduced mobility and seats for accompanying persons.This Resolution comes into force on 1 January 2025.

On 15 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1308 “On amendments to the Procedure and Conditions for providing subventions from the state budget to local budgets for the design, restoration, construction, modernisation, arrangement, repair of public construction objects, social sphere, cultural heritage, housing and communal services, and other objects affecting the life of the population’. In 2024, the remaining funds of the subvention from the state budget to local budgets provided in 2023 under the abovementioned budget programme (code 3121440) may be redistributed between projects and activities by the regional, Kyiv city and Kyiv region military and police authorities. The lists of projects and activities between which the remaining subvention balances are redistributed are to be approved by 2 December 2024.

On 15 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1303 “On amendments to the Procedure and Conditions for providing in 2024 an additional subsidy from the state budget to local budgets for the exercise of powers of local self-government bodies in the de-occupied, temporarily occupied and other territories of Ukraine affected by the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation”. Based on the results of the execution of local budgets for the first 8 months of 2024, it is allowed to make an additional distribution of the above-mentioned additional subsidy according to the formula specified in the Resolution.

On 8 November, the CMU adopted Resolution № 1286 “Some issues of remuneration of teachers of general secondary education institutions”. This Resolution introduced a monthly salary supplement for pedagogical staff of general secondary education institutions of state and municipal ownership in the following amount: UAH 1,000 from 1 January 2025 (UAH 1,300 before taxes); and UAH 2,000 from 1 September 2025 (UAH 2,600 before tax). This Resolution will be in force from 1 January 2025 until the end of martial law. Teaching staff will continue to receive the allowance until the end of the year when martial law is lifted.

On 8 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1283 “On amendments to the Procedure for development and approval of safety data sheets for critical infrastructure facilities”. This Resolution amended the above Procedure approved by CMU Resolution No. 818 “Some issues of certification of critical infrastructure objects” dated 4 August 2023. Therefore, during the period of martial law, the critical infrastructure operator shall, within 1 month from the date of entering information about the critical infrastructure facility into the Register of Critical Infrastructure Facilities, develop a protection plan (as part of the safety passport) that provides for measures to protect and counteract air and artillery attacks.

On 8 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1277 “On amendments to the Procedure and Conditions for granting subventions from the state budget to local budgets for design, construction and repair works, purchase of housing and premises for the development of family and other forms of upbringing close to family, support of small group homes and provision of housing for orphans, children deprived of parental care and persons from among them”. According to this Resolution, the objectives and conditions for granting the above subvention were changed.

On 5 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1265 “On amendments to certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on provision of subventions from the state budget to local budgets”. In accordance with this Resolution, the following acts of the Government were amended:

• “Procedure and Conditions for providing subventions from the state budget to local budgets to ensure quality, modern and affordable general secondary education ‘New Ukrainian School”, approved by CMU Resolution No. 237 “Some Issues of Providing Subventions from the State Budget to Local Budgets to Ensure Quality, Modern and Affordable General Secondary Education ‘New Ukrainian School’’’ dated 4 April 2018;
• ‘Procedure and Conditions for providing a subvention from the state budget to local budgets for the provision of safe conditions in general secondary education institutions’, approved by CMU Resolution No. 419 of 28 April 2023 “Some issues of providing a subvention from the state budget to local budgets for the provision of safe conditions in general secondary education institutions”;

It also updated the maximum amounts of subventions from the state budget to local budgets for the provision of safe conditions in general secondary education institutions in 2024.

On 5 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1264 “On amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 303 of 13 March 2022 ‘On termination of state supervision (control) and state market supervision measures under martial law’”. The amendments expanded the list of entities in respect of which scheduled and unscheduled state supervision (control) measures are permitted during the period of martial law. This Resolution shall enter into force on 1 January 2025.

On 1 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1262 “On amendments to Paragraph 2 of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1137 dated 31 October 2023”. According to this Resolution, until 9 April 2025, the validity period of declarations submitted by business entities on the conduct of business activities in relation to waste treatment operations (except for hazardous waste management activities) has been extended. To continue their activities, business entities must obtain the relevant permits in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions stipulated by the Law “On waste management”.

On 1 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1254 “Some issues of ensuring the functioning of the national database of energy and performance characteristics of buildings”. The database ensures the creation, collection, accumulation, processing, protection, and accounting of information on the main technical indicators of construction objects, technical characteristics of engineering systems, and energy consumption of buildings of: public authorities; enterprises, institutions, and organisations belonging to the sphere of management of public authorities; executive bodies of village, town, and city councils; local state administrations; buildings of territorial communities belonging to the communal property of village, town, and city territorial communities.

The Resolution approved the Procedure for maintaining the National Database of Energy and Performance Characteristics of Buildings. It also amended CMU Resolutions No. 681 of 23 June 2021 “Some issues of ensuring the functioning of the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction” and No. 1460 of 23 December 2021 “On the introduction of energy management systems”.

Local self-governments are recommended to enter information into the national database of energy and performance characteristics of buildings: specified in paragraphs 1 and 5 of Annex 1 to the Procedure by 31 July 2025; specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Annex 1 to the Procedure by 31 December 2025; specified in paragraph 4 of Annex 1 to the Procedure by 31 March 2026; specified in paragraphs 1, 2 and 5 of Annex 2 to the Procedure by 31 October 2025; specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Annex 2 to the Procedure by 30 April 2026.

On 1 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1246 “On amendments to the Regulation on volunteer formations of municipalities”. This Resolution updates the grounds for disbanding such volunteer formations. From the moment it is disbanded (in accordance with the updated grounds), contracts with territorial defence volunteers will be considered terminated, which will result in the termination of their membership in the volunteer formation.

On 1 November, the CMU adopted Resolution No. 1245 “On the implementation of a pilot project to enhance the security of the educational environment in general secondary education institutions under the legal regime of martial law”. The Resolution approved the Procedure for implementing the experiment for the period of martial law, but not longer than 2 years. The heads of general secondary education institutions, together with their founders, in cooperation with the State Emergency Service and the National Police, are to take a set of measures aimed at preventing and/or preventing or stopping harm to participants in the educational process. The experimental set of measures include:

• providing shelter for participants in the educational process;
• ensuring fire and industrial safety of educational institutions;
• determining the rules of stay of persons on the territory and premises of an educational institution;
• equipping educational institutions with technical security equipment;
• provision of security for educational institutions, in particular with the involvement of the police;
• fencing the territory of the educational institution;
• installation of stationary metal detectors in the premises of educational institutions;
• equipping the premises and territory of educational institutions with technical means of video surveillance;
• ensuring road safety in the areas adjacent to educational institutions;
• bringing police patrol routes closer to educational institutions;
• control over compliance with the established restrictions on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products in the areas adjacent to educational institutions;
• lighting the routes of the participants of the educational process;
• conducting measures to ensure life safety and prevent offences among students;
• drawing up and updating the safety passport of the educational institution;
• providing educational institutions with alternative sources of electricity and equipment for its storage.

The participants of the experiment are local self-government bodies and general secondary education institutions (in accordance with the decision of their founders) that enrol more than 200 students and organise the educational process in full-time and/or mixed (by combining full-time and distance forms of education). Funding to implement the pilot project is carried out by the founders of general secondary education institutions at the expense and within the limits of funds included in the relevant budgets, funds of business entities, other legal entities, international technical assistance and other sources not prohibited by law.

Local self-governments are recommended to ensure the implementation of the pilot project.

On 22 November, the CMU issued Resolution № 1158-r “On approval of the allocation of additional subsidies from the state budget to local budgets in 2024 for the exercise of powers of local self-government bodies in the de-occupied, temporarily occupied and other territories of Ukraine affected by the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation”. In accordance with this Resolution, almost UAH 600 million of the aforementioned additional subsidy was distributed among the budgets of individual communities in all regions of Ukraine.

On 15 November, the CMU issued Resolution № 1133-r “On approval of the state targeted economic programme for energy modernisation of state-owned or communal water supply and wastewater treatment companies for the period up to 2030”. This Resolution approves the above-mentioned Programme, its passport (Annex 1) and expected results from its implementation (Annex 3). The purpose of this state targeted economic programme is to improve the energy efficiency of centralised water supply and centralised wastewater disposal systems by stimulating the modernisation of the material and technical base, increasing their resource efficiency and ensuring energy saving, implementing innovative technical solutions and creating economically attractive conditions for the implementation of investment projects. The selection of enterprises to participate in the Programme will be carried out on a competitive basis, in accordance with the Procedure to be approved by an order of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development.

On 15 November, the CMU issued Resolution №1110-r “On the allocation of funds from the reserve fund of the state budget to cover additional expenses for March 2022 - June 2024 for state, communal and private property”. More than UAH 14 million was allocated to cover the additional costs incurred by accommodating internally displaced persons free of charge in municipal property during the above period between the budgets of all regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv.

On 8 November, the CMU issued Resolution № 1105-r “On the allocation of funds from the reserve fund of the state budget to cover expenses for July 2024 of state, communal and private property”. To compensate for the costs of providing free accommodation for internally displaced persons, more than UAH 16 million was allocated to the budgets of all regions of Ukraine for further distribution among local budgets.

On 8 November, the CMU issued Resolution № 1102-r “On redistribution of subventions from the state budget to local budgets for design, construction and repair works, purchase of housing and premises for the development of family and other forms of upbringing close to family, support of small group homes and provision of housing for orphans, children deprived of parental care and persons from among them in 2024”. This Resolution allocated more than UAH 50 million to the oblast budgets of all oblasts of Ukraine.

On 1 November, the CMU issued Resolution № 1091-r “On approval of the Action Plan for implementation of the Strategy of Demographic Development of Ukraine until 2040 in 2024-2027”. This Action Plan was adopted to ensure the implementation of the above Strategy, which was approved by CMU Resolution No. 922-r dated 30 September and which identifies the main demographic challenges and threats to Ukraine's development, aggravated by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as strategic goals and objectives to overcome demographic challenges and address social and humanitarian problems. Local self-government bodies (with their consent) are responsible for the implementation of certain tasks specified in the approved Action Plan.

On 19 November, the Ministry of Education and Science (MESU) published Order № 1634 “On approval of the model professional development programme for teachers of preschool education institutions on mine risk management”. This Order approves the abovementioned training programme, taking into account the state policy in the field of education, legal requirements and Ukraine's international commitments on mine action. The programme provides in-depth training for teachers on the main aspects of mine risk and methods of working with children in wartime.

On 13 November, the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development issued Order № 1319 approving the “Model form of agreement on international territorial cooperation”. The approved Model Agreement is aimed at regulating legal, organisational, economic and other relations within the framework of international territorial cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign municipalities. The approved terms and conditions of the Model Agreement are intended to be of a recommendatory nature for local self-government bodies, and in accordance with Article 179 of the Commercial Code of Ukraine, the parties to an international territorial cooperation agreement have the right to mutually agree to change certain terms and conditions provided for in the Model Agreement or to supplement its content.

On 11 November, the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS) issued Order № 154-24 approving the professional standard “Chief Administrative Officer of the Executive Office (Committee)”. The approved professional standard defines the qualification requirements, and describes the main labour functions, competences, knowledge, skills and abilities required of a person holding the above position.

On 14 November 2024, the Supreme Court published the Digest of Case Law of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court for October 2024. The Digest reflects the legal positions of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court,
in particular, regarding: the powers of the prosecutor to apply to the court in the interests of the state; the proper way to protect the violated right of the owner of a land plot on which temporary structures that do not belong to real estate are located; jurisdiction of a dispute over a resolution of a state enforcement officer on determining the amount of additional costs; and the application of a conditional claim to things defined by both individual and generic characteristics, as well as subsidiarily after a court decision on vindication.

On 21 November, the NAUCS published clarification No. 191 on the certification and annual evaluation of deputy village, settlement, city mayors on the activities of executive bodies of the council, and the manager (secretary) of the executive committee. The abovementioned local self-government officials hold elected positions in the local self-government body, they are ex officio members of the executive committee of the local council and exercise their powers therein, and they work in the local self-government body on the terms of a fixed-term employment contract. Therefore, deputy village, settlement, city mayors and the secretary (manager) of the executive committee are not subject to certification and annual assessment of the performance of tasks and duties by local self-government officials.

On 21 November, the NAUCS issued clarification No. 190 on the certification and annual evaluation of local government officials during martial law. Local self-government officials appointed in accordance with Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the legal regime of martial law” work in local self-government bodies on the basis of fixed-term employment contracts, and therefore may undergo annual evaluation and/or certification at their own request. If they undergo an annual evaluation and/or appraisal, their results must be recorded in the personnel file of the local self-government official. If, based on the results of the appraisal, such a person is found to be incompetent for the position held, he/she is subject to dismissal under Article 40(2) of the Labour Code of Ukraine.

On 18 November, the State Tax Service published an information notice for land taxpayers and local governments on the specificities of setting rental rates for communal land plots on which an industrial park is being created/established. An industrial park may be created on a leased land plot at the initiative of the tenants only after the relevant amendments to the lease agreement are made and the industrial park concept is approved by the lessor.

If the tenant is selected on a competitive basis, the annual rent may exceed 12% of the normative monetary value of the land plot. At the same time, pursuant to clause 284.6 of Article 284 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, local authorities may set land tax rates and rent in an amount less than the land tax or, by their decision, exempt the tenant from paying land tax. However, the prerequisites for the application of the above provision are: amendments to the lease agreement and a statement in it that the land plot was provided for the purpose of creating an industrial park; approval of the park concept by the local government; inclusion of the park in the Register of Industrial Parks; and the land plot lessee becoming an initiator, management company or participant in the park.

The amount of payment for a municipally owned land plot leased out at a land auction cannot be reduced by agreement of the parties during the term of the lease agreement. If there is a winner of an electronic auction for the right to lease a land plot, the amount of payment for its use is determined by the results of the auction, and not by the decision of the local government. Therefore, the above provision of the Tax Code of Ukraine does not apply to such a lease agreement.