The NAAU Committee on Lobbying has initiated the publication of information about lobbyists on the “Diya” portal

Certain provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Lobbying” contain a number of gaps and inaccuracies that not only significantly hinder the day-to-day work of lobbyists but also jeopardize the effective implementation of the law’s provisions.

This conclusion was reached by members of the Lobbying Committee of the National Bar Association of Ukraine at a regular meeting chaired by Oleksiy Shevchuk. Committee members—attorneys Iryna Shapovalova, Bohdan Horban, Yulia Kopiyko, Kyrylo Fedorchuk, Denys Keshkentiy, and Olena Hadzuk—also participated in the analysis of the legislation.

“It is important not only to identify specific legal ambiguities but also to develop ways to overcome them, with the aim of ensuring that the Law ‘On Lobbying’ functions effectively. Such steps require a deep understanding of the legislation and coordination of efforts with government agencies, and it is precisely attorneys, who possess the relevant expertise, who are the driving force behind these changes,” emphasized Oleksiy Shevchuk.

Currently, the Committee is actively working to discuss and systematize the provisions of the law that require refinement, as well as to formulate specific proposals from the legal community. However, given the length of the legislative amendment process, committee members are initiating measures that can be implemented in practice right away.

One of the primary challenges in lobbying is the legislative uncertainty regarding how a lobbying entity can confirm its status while conducting such activities. The law contains no specific provisions on this matter, nor does it provide for the issuance or presentation of relevant certificates, licenses, or other documents.

“The lack of clear regulations governing the procedure for confirming a lobbyist’s status may lead to a number of practical problems. For example, it remains unclear how to implement lobbyists’ right to enter administrative buildings without presenting the relevant documents, or how to distinguish between an appeal by a citizen and one by a lobbyist. While the Law “On Lobbying” grants lobbyists a number of rights, there are very real risks that these rights will exist only on paper,” noted Olena Hadyuk.

Following the discussion, committee members decided to thoroughly examine the possibility of introducing an ID card, certificate, or other document that could confirm the status of a lobbyist. At the same time, a decision was made to approach the Ministry of Digital Transformation with a proposal to integrate the relevant information into the “Diya” portal.

“Diya” is a convenient, innovative app that displays information from several government registries. Generating an extract from the Transparency Registry will significantly facilitate the work of the app’s users—lobbying entities—since its functionality is intuitive and efficient for all parties,” concluded Oleksiy Shevchuk.

To date, the committee has sent a letter to Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov requesting that he consider the possibility of integrating information contained in the Transparency Registry—which allows for the identification of specific individuals as lobbyists— into the data of the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services (the “Diya” portal). The committee believes that this step will create the conditions for lobbying to be conducted in strict accordance with the letter of the law and will help establish the most effective and transparent dialogue between business and the state.