The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine doesn't fully attract citizens to the state governance. OPORA made such conclusions after investigation of committee and parliamentary hearings, which are the main instrument to advise with the people. Since the Verkhovna Rada started functioning, 59 events were held. According to the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada, 18 committees conducted only 30 meetings. 11 committees didn't attract the public to legislative process at all. The Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations, Committee on Entrepreneurship, Regulatory and Antimonopoly Policy, and Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety have conducted the biggest number of meetings. They have conducted 3 hearings each on different matters. The other 6 committees have conducted 2 hearings each. 9 committees – 1 hearing each.
Committee hearing is an important instrument in parliamentary activities, which helps to widely attract the public to the development of state policy. During such events, leading experts, representatives of NGOs and enterprises may express their opinions on issues under consideration.
On the legislative level, hearings are key instruments used to collect information on issues, governed by committees and the Parliament, as well as to attract interested parties. According to the article 13 of the Law of Ukraine on Committees of the Verkhovna of Ukraine, conduction of hearings is included into organizational responsibilities of committees, as well as planning activities, preparation of propositions to the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada's sittings, and promulgation of their activities. According to the article 28 and 29 of this Law, hearings are important component of Parliament's controlling functions.
Hearings are conducted to discuss draft laws with the public, and determine the efficiency of already adopted laws. Hearings may be conducted by the parliament of a committee. The first are held in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada, second – in premises of the committees. Although committee hearings are smaller, they are more efficient. It's the level of committees where key legislative activities are carried on, and the public should be attracted.
According to the article 29 of the Law of Ukraine on Committees of the Verkhovna, hearings may be ordered by the Parliament, or included into the working plans of committees. Having analyzed the subjects and matters of hearings, OPORA states that citizens are attracted to consideration of less important issues than it's announced For example, the Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations had planned three hearings on the following topics: "Today's problems in regulation of land relations", "Agrarian Economic Development Strategy till 2020", and "Current issues of the establishment and operation of industrial and agricultural service cooperatives in Ukraine (with consideration of international experience)". In fact, the Committee conducted hearings on the following topics: "State support to gardening, vinegrowing, and hop growing", "On development principles for the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Ukraine", and "Baby milk nutrition: situation and development prospects". The analysis of activities in most of the VRU committees revealed the discrepancy between announced topics and the factual ones, as well as between declared number of conducted meetings and the real one.
Only 11 VRU committees of 29 participated in preparation and conduction of Parliamentary hearings. The biggest number of them was conducted by the Committee on Science and Education, which have discussed 5 draft resolutions in the VRU. The Committee on Culture and Spirituality, Committee on Environmental Policy, Use of Natural Resources and Chornobyl Aftermath Mitigation, and Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations conducted 4 hearings each. The Committee on Family Matters, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism conducted three hearings. The Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information organized 2 parliamentary hearings. The other 7 committees conducted 1 hearing each. Overall, 29 draft resolutions have been considered on parliamentary hearings since the Verkhovna Rada started functioning. However, only 14 of them were resultative, and 7 were rejected and removed from consideration. 8 more documents are being waiting for the consideration or are processed by committees.