Aspekti Publìčnogo Upravlìnnâ (Nov 2019)

Holding public debates on draft regulatory acts as an effective mechanism for preventing corruption in local governments

  • Oksana Sokolovska,
  • Kostiantyn Somsikov

DOI
https://doi.org/10.15421/151941
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 8
pp. 60 – 68

Abstract

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The article explores the peculiarities of conducting public discussions on draft regulatory acts, the interaction of local self-government bodies and the public in implementing the principles of state regulatory policy. Attention is drawn to the problems that arise at the local level regarding the need for additional regulatory regulation of the procedure of documenting (registration, protocoling, fixing) the actions of regulatory bodies to comply with the key procedure of adoption and mandatory consideration of all public comments and proposals to the published draft regulatory acts argumentation and justification in case of rejection. The article defines the peculiarities of public discussion of draft regulatory acts by local governments in the context of the fight against corruption. As practice shows, public consultation with stakeholders should be conducted at the earliest stage ofthe rulemaking process to increase efficiency. If the draft legal act is actually prepared and its concept is formed, the results of stakeholder analysis will not matter to the developer. In turn, the draft acts prepared in the light of the results of the analysis of the public discussion were more transparent and objective. Thus, public discussion and further analysis of the benefits and costs, as well as the risks associated with established regulation, increase the likelihood that in the course of an open public discussion the draft regulatory act will be met without imposing unnecessary administrative constraints on activities of business entities and possible reduction of corruption manifestations in local government decision making. Thus, in our opinion, public discussion is an effective and effective tool for preventing and combating corruption, establishing an open dialogue between business and government in the matter of prompt collection of expert opinions.

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