Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Members of Parliament may expand the list of officials who are required to be proficient in the Ukrainian language. They included the relevant norms in the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine to Ensure the Use of Ukrainian as the State Language."
Language legislation may be updated soon
Members of Parliament, in cooperation with representatives of central executive bodies, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, and experts, were able to agree on a draft law on the mandatory use of the Ukrainian language by officials and education workers. Such legislative and administrative decisions should be adopted in accordance with the interests of the state and the future of the Ukrainian people. This was reported by the Office of the Verkhovna Rada.
Thus, during the performance of their duties, officials and education workers must speak in Ukrainian. This will strengthen the improvement of state control and the review of complaints about violations. Accordingly, changes are being made to legislative norms in the fields of education, culture, local self-government, election law, and others. The Chair of the Subcommittee on Culture, Mykola Kniazhytsky, says that the proposed changes should be actually implemented in practice.
Draft law No. 15412 provides for the use of the Ukrainian language in educational and children’s health and recreation institutions. Also, only the state language should be spoken among members of election commissions.
What specific changes do the deputies propose
Local councils must create conditions for the development and promotion of the Ukrainian language. Diplomatic services should carry out the same work abroad.
Proficiency in the state language will become mandatory after the adoption of the changes for:
members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
heads of state scientific institutions and state cultural institutions;
private executors, arbitration managers, auditors.
Lawmakers also propose clear requirements for textual and visual information intended for general familiarization. The font size of text in another language must not be larger than the font size of text in the state language.
In the explanatory note, the authors of the draft wrote about strengthening sanctions for violations of the Law on the mandatory use of the state language. The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language will have the right to fine citizens from 400 – 1 000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, or to issue a warning if the violation was committed for the first time. If another complaint about a violation of language legislation is received within a year, sanctions may increase from 1 200 to 1 500 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
Members of the Committee on Humanitarian Policy emphasized that international partners will be informed that the changes to the law do not narrow the rights of national minorities, comply with European standards, and are consistent with Ukraine’s European integration commitments.
We must be one step ahead and explain to our partners in advance what exactly this draft law changes in order to avoid any manipulation,
— clarified the deputy chair of the Committee, Yevheniia Kravchuk.
A moratorium on the Russian language is being introduced in Ukraine
Recall, the Law on the State Language provides for the use of Ukrainian in the cultural sphere but allows the use of other languages in certain cases. As attorney Nazar Chornyi told 24 Channel in a comment, local councils do not have the authority to independently establish restrictions on the use of the Russian language, since language policy issues fall within the competence of the Verkhovna Rada.
Decisions of local self-government bodies can be challenged in court. At the same time, the moratoria adopted currently remain in force in several cities until they are repealed by the Rada itself or by a court. The expert believes that such decisions are more political and declarative in nature.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Зобов'яжуть говорити виключно українською: Рада готує зміни до мовного закону". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
