Projekt nowelizacji konstytucji Ukrainy z grudnia 2019 roku a perspektywy dokończenia reformy samorządowej
Draft amendment to the constitution of Ukraine from December 2019 and prospects of completion of the local government reform

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to analyze the draft amendment to the constitution of Ukraine from December 2019, in the context of completion of the local government reform. The basic research question is: do Ukrainian political leaders have a real will to decentralize the public authority, or is it forced by external factors, mainly by the Minsk agreements? Sources include official documents and press releases, which were subject to institutional and legal analysis. The comparative approach was applied, referring to Polish experience. It was established, that a draft amendment to the constitution from December 2019, consists of two documents: dated on 13 and 27 December. Both drafts were proposed by the Office of the President of Ukraine in a nontransparent way. It caused protests of local government and expert communities, together with Western partners. Eventually, on 16 January 2020, president Volodymyr Zelensky gave in to pressure and withdrew the proposal. The fate of the prolonged local government reform proves that Ukrainian political agenda is created largely not by internal environment, but by external actors.

• Details
• Contents