VRU committees – "blank spaces" of the internet

According to the results of sociological researches of the companies Gemius and GfK, the month audience of Ukrainian internet in 2012 is around 15 million citizens. 33% of the population, what is 13 million Ukrainians, use internet every day.  Internet became the main source if information, and had substituted even newspapers, radio, and television for almost 79% of users in the age of 20-49 years.  Its fast development makes it convenient and cheap place for information exchange. It's paradoxical, Ukrainian authorities, which are obliged to inform citizens about their activities, don't actively use all the possibilities that internet offers. Promulgation of activities of parliamentary committees is a bright example of such passivity.

The article 9 (2) of the Law on Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine provides that information about current activities in committees shall be published on the official web page of the Parliament. However, it's not implemented in practice, Instead of materials about meetings and taken decisions, web site of the Verkhovna Rada contains basic information about membership of committees, grounds for their creation, and contact information of the secretariats.

However, sites of the committees contain some more information. According to the web-portal of the VR, internet pages were created for 22 committees of 29. However, due to the absence of typical requirements to their content, the level of promulgation differs. Citizens have restricted access to the information about current activities of 7 committees which don't have their own sites. These committees are: Committee on Economic Policy, Committee on Health Care, Committee on Social Policy and Labour, Committee on Transport and Communications, Committee on Finance and Banking, Committee on Foreign Affairs. It's paradoxical, that Committee on Informatization and Information Technologies, which is responsible for the development of internet space in Ukraine, doesn't have its own site.

Rating of VRU Committees

In accordance with international standards and regulations of the Law on Access to Public Information, OPORA has created a rating of websites of VRU Committees based on the availability of socially important data on them. The organization has researched the presence of information published during previous convocations of the Committee, as well as about the effective one and its current activities. Special attention was paid to activities of MPs during consideration of bills. In general, OPORA has analyzed websites of Committees and checked their conformity to 31 criteria. Sites received 1 point for publication of information in every category, 0.5 point for partial publication or link to the other resource, and 0 points if the information is absent.

As of June 21, 2013 the Organized Crime Control and Anti-Corruption Committee was the best in promulgation of activities. Website of the Committee has received 19.5 points of 31 possible. The site of the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information has received 17 points. The Committee on State Building and Local Self-Government is on the third place. It has received 16 points. Content of the Committee on the Rule of Law and Justice is the poorest. This web-resource provides only the list of Committee members, news, and working plan of the MPs. Therefore, it has received 4.5 points of 31 possible. The other sites of VRU committees contain from 18 to 46% of necessary information.

Which information is not available on sites of committees

OPORA's rating has proved that the amount of information required for publishing on websites of VRU committees considerably differs. A little more than a half of socially important information is published on 3 sites of 22 existing.

The smallest attention on websites of the VRU committees is paid to the current law-making activities of MPs. In order to qualitatively assess such activities, we should have information about: the list of bills, which shall be elaborated by a committee, and draft initiatives, to which a committee shall submit propositions; division of draft laws among sub committees; dates and stages of documents' consideration; list and content of recommendations, expert opinions and decisions on them. However, such information is absent on the majority of websites. Only the site of the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information contains 5 of 8 answers about the current law-making activities of MPs. None of the sites contains information about the dates when bills are under consideration. There is almost no information about recommendations and expert opinions on draft legislative acts, as well as about their consideration on meetings of committees.

There is also little information about current activities of committees. For example, information about attendance on meetings is published only on sites of the Organized Crime Control and Anti-Corruption Committee and the Committee on European Integration. The agenda is published only on 9 sites of 22 existing. Verbatim records of sessions are available only on 3 websites.

The analysis of published information has shown that 14 of 22 existing sites do not contain information about the previous membership and considered draft laws. Such information is fully published on only 6 sites of committees. These committees are: Organized Crime Control and Anti-Corruption Committee; Committee on European Integration; Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement; Committee on Science and Education; Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety; Committee on Environmental Policy, Use of Natural Resources and Chornobyl Aftermath Mitigation. Some information about activities of MPs during past convocations is published on site of the Committee on State Building and Local Self-Government and Committee on Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, Ethics and Support to Work of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The absence of information about accreditation and the procedure of access to meetings of committees results in an unlawful limitation of the rights of journalists and civic organizations.

A problem is not solved.

The analysis of information published on sites of committees and the VR showed that MPs are hardly using internet resources for providing citizens with information about their activities. The formal reason is legislation. The real one - is unwillingness of officials to work transparently.

First of all, we are talking about the absence of any measures taken to remove hindrances to access information. Site of the Verkhovna Rada doesn't contain full information about activities in committees. Technically, it's not difficult to bring the site in correspondence to legislative requirements. However, it never happens. Simultaneously, the corresponding law doesn't oblige committees to publish information on their own sites, but only gives them such a possibility. There is also no list of mandatory data for publication. Therefore, the Law allows committees to publish some materials and restrict access to the other.

The insufficient publishing of information about activities of committees in the internet is only a part of a global problem of limited access to socially important information for citizens. Besides that, the Parliament limits access of journalists to meetings of committees. Despite 1.5 million UAH was spent in 2012 on verbatim records of meetings, they are not published. A number of committees don't publish information about their future plans and activities. As a result, the public doesn't have full information about activities of an authority, which prepares bills to their further consideration in the Parliament.

Roman Martyn

Full list of criteria:

History of a committee

1. Membership of previous convocations
2. Considered draft laws

Information about a committee

1. References to laws and principles which regulate activities of a committee
2. Membership of a committee
3. Membership of subcommittees
4. Authorities of subcommittees
5. Authorities of committee members
6. Contact information of committee members
7. Authorities of committee apparatus
8. Membership of committee apparatus
9. Contact information of committee apparatus
10. Committee's accreditation
11. Access to committee meetings (for the media, CSIs, citizens)
12. Public council under a committee
13. Membership of the public council

Activities of a committee

1. Committee news
2. Dates of previous meetings
3. Hearings of previous meetings
4. Shorthands of meetings
5. Dates of future meetings
6. Agenda for the future meetings
7. Attendance of MPs on the Committee sittings
8. Work plan of a committee

Draft laws

1. List of bills, which shall be elaborated by a committed
2. Draft laws, to which a committee shall submit propositions
3. Stages of consideration of bills
4. Recommendations from the subjects of recommendations
5. Approved and rejected recommendations
6. Expert opinions on bills
7. Division of bills among subcommittees
8. Dates of consideration of bills on committee meetings