Address for filing citizens’ appeals:

Procedure for filing citizens’ appeals

Citizens’ appeals shall be examined by the Ministry for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine according to the requirements of the Law of Ukraine On Citizens’ Appeals and the Instruction on registration of citizens’ appeals with state and local self-government authorities, civil associations, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, mass media, as approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 348 dated 14.04.1997.

Article 1. Citizens’ appeals

Citizens of Ukraine have a right to apply to state and local self-government authorities, civil associations, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, mass media, officials according to their areas of responsibility with comments, complaints and proposals concerning their statutory activity, as well as with application or pleas to exercise their social-economic, political and personal rights and legitimate interests and with claims against violation thereof.

Article 5. Requirements to an appeal

Appeals shall be addressed to state and local self-government authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, civil associations or officials whose authority covers the issues raised in the appeals.

An appeal may be filed by a single person (individual) or by a group of people (collective).

An appeal can be in oral or written form.

An oral appeal shall be recited by a citizen during personal reception or using telephone communication means through the established contact centers, “hot lines” and recorded (registered) by an official.

A written appeal shall be sent by post or submitted by a citizen to a respective body, institution either in person or by a representative, who is dully authorized according to the procedure established by the law. A written appeal can also be sent through internet, by means of electronic communication (electronic appeal).

An appeal shall specify surname, name, patronymic name, address of residence, essence of the issue raised, comments, proposals, applications or complaints, requests or claims. A written appeal shall be signed by the applicant(s) and the date must be indicated. An electronic appeal shall also contain an e-mail address, to which an applicant can get a response or information about other means of communication with an applicant. The use of digital signature is not required for sending of an electronic appeal.

An appeal which does not correspond to the stated requirements shall be returned to the applicant with respective explanation no later than ten days upon receipt thereof, except for the cases stipulated by part one of Article7 of this Law.

Article 6. Language of appeals or decisions and responses thereto

Citizens have a right to apply to state and local self-government authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, civil associations, officials in the Ukrainian or any other language acceptable for the parties.

Article 7. Prohibition of the refusal to accept and examine an appeal

Appeals which were dully compiled and filed according to the established procedure shall be accepted and examined without fail.

If the issues raised in the appeal received by state and local self-government authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, civil associations or officials do not fall within the scope of their responsibility, the appeal shall be forwarded by them to the respective body or official no later than in five-day term, and a citizen who filed the appeal shall be informed thereof. In case an appeal does not contain data, necessary to take reasonable decision by a body or an official, it shall be returned to a citizen with corresponding clarifications within the same term.

Article 8. Appeals which are not subject to examination and making decision

A written appeal without indication of address of residence, not signed by the applicant(s), and such where the applicant cannot be identified, shall be deemed as anonymous and is not subject to examination.

The repeated appeals from the same citizen concerning the same issue shall not be examined by the same body, if the first appeal was resolved on the merits and so do the appeals which term of examination is established by Article 17 of this Law as well as appeals from persons recognized as legally incompetent by the court.

Article 12. Scope of application of this Law

This Law shall not be applied to the procedure for examination of citizen’s applications and complaints, established by the criminal procedural, civil procedural, labor legislation, legislation on protection of economic competition, the laws of Ukraine On Judicial System and Status of Judges and On Access to Court Decisions, the Administrative Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine On Principles of Prevention and Counteraction to Corruption.

Article 18. Rights of citizens during examination of an application or a complaint

A citizen who filed an application or a complaint to state or local self-government authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, civil associations, mass media, officials has a right:

to present the arguments in person to an official who checked the application or the complaint, and to take part in checking filed complaint or application;

to familiarize himself/herself with the materials of checking;

to submit additional materials or insist that the body examining the application or the complaint shall inquire such materials;

to be present during examination of the application or the complaint;

to enjoy services of a lawyer or a representative of workers' association, organization engaged in human rights protection, authorizing them according to the procedure established by the law;

to receive a written response about the results of examination of the application or the complaint;

to express orally or in writing a claim to adhere to confidentiality of the application or the complaint which is examined;

to demand reimbursement of losses, if incurred as a result of violation of the established procedure for examination of appeals.

Article 20. Time period for examination of citizens’ appeals

Appeals shall be examined and satisfied within the greatest one-month period as from the day of receipt thereof, and those which do not require any further examination shall be processed immediately, however no later than fifteen days upon receipt thereof. If it is not possible to resolve the issues raised in the appeal within a one-month period, the head of the respective body, enterprise, institution, organization or his/her deputy shall identify necessary period for processing thereof and notify the applicant about it. However, the total time period for resolving the issues raised in the appeal shall not exceed forty-five days.

Article 21. Free of charge examination of appeals

State and local self-government authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations irrespective of their ownership form, civil associations, officials shall examine appeals of citizens on a free of charge basis.

Article 26. Liability of citizens for filing unlawful appeals

Filing an appeal by a citizen, containing slander and abuse, discrediting state and local self-government authorities, civil associations and their officials, heads, other officials of enterprises, institutions and organizations, irrespective of their ownership form, incitement of national, racial, religious conflicts and other actions, entails liability provided by the applicable law.