Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, has prepared a draft resolution that provides for the possibility of continuing plenary sessions of parliament in a shelter during air raid alarms or when information about increased danger is received. This is reported by Glavkom, referencing the draft.
As stated in the explanatory memorandum, due to the increased intensity, duration, and frequency of Russian air attacks, plenary sessions of the Verkhovna Rada have to be regularly interrupted. The authors of the document believe this creates a risk to the continuity of the lawmaking process.
Currently, when an air raid alarm is announced, members of parliament and staff of the Verkhovna Rada apparatus must move to a safe shelter, and the plenary session is interrupted.
The new draft provides a different procedure. After the announcement of an air raid alarm or the receipt of information about heightened danger, deputies will be allotted 10 minutes to move to the shelter. After the break, the plenary session will continue directly there.
For working in the shelter, the use of an electronic system is provided. Members of Parliament will need to register personally, queue for remarks, and vote. The system must be designed to prevent one person voting on behalf of another.
During such a session, MPs will be able to vote on items on the agenda only through the electronic system. The order of its use shall be approved by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
If the air raid alarm ends before the discussion of the agenda is completed, deputies may not return to the session hall. The draft allows continuing work in the shelter until all planned issues for that day are considered.
To implement the new mechanism, it is proposed to annul the norm of the Verkhovna Rada’s resolution from 7 February 2023 year, which provides for the mandatory interruption of the plenary session after the announcement of an air raid alarm.
In the explanatory note, the need for changes is linked to regular and prolonged air raid alarms in Kyiv, through which the parliament loses part of the time allotted for plenary work.
The document’s goal is to ensure the uninterrupted exercise of the Verkhovna Rada’s constitutional powers in conditions of martial law and a constant threat of Russian attacks.
No additional expenditures from the state budget are envisaged for implementing the proposed changes, according to the explanatory note.
As a reminder, earlier the Verkhovna Rada presented an alternative format for parliament work during air alarms. On the first basement floor of the parliament building, in the conference hall and adjacent rooms, workspaces for deputies were arranged. Additional screens were installed to monitor the consideration of draft laws, and a separate area for journalists was provided. According to Stefanchuk, this format was developed due to the increase in the number of air raids in Kyiv.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Робота Верховної Ради в укритті. Стефанчук підготував законопроєкт". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZmiOne.
