Standing Committees of the Local Council: Formation, Organization of Work, and Powers

With this article, Intent continues its series of publications dedicated to the work of local self-government bodies. Today, we will focus on the standing committees of local councils.

One of the mandatory duties of local council members, as established by paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of Local Council Members,” is participation in the work of standing committees. The only individuals who may not serve on standing committees are the secretaries of village, settlement, and city councils, as well as the chairs of district and regional councils and their deputies.

The council forms standing committees for the duration of its term of office.

No later than its second session, the newly elected council must adopt its rules of procedure and regulations on standing committees, determine their membership, and assign council members to them. For example, the newly elected Odesa City Council of the 8th convocation approved the Council’s Rules of Procedure by Resolution No. 1, the regulations on standing committees by Resolution No. 2, and formed the standing committees and approved their membership by Resolution No. 4.

A council member’s appointment to or removal from a committee is carried out exclusively by a decision of the council.

A standing committee conducts its work through meetings, which are considered valid if more than half of the committee’s total membership participates.

Meetings of standing committees must be video-recorded, with the video recordings subsequently stored and made publicly available for a period of at least five years. Live online broadcasts of meetings will become mandatory 30 days after the termination or revocation of martial law. The agenda is published before the start of a committee meeting, and the minutes of the meeting are published after its conclusion.

Standing committees conduct preliminary reviews of draft programs for socioeconomic and cultural development, the local budget, and reports on their implementation; prepare conclusions and recommendations regarding them; examine issues related to the development of the relevant sectors; draft council resolutions; and prepare conclusions on matters submitted to the council for consideration. In addition, the committees present reports and co-reports at plenary sessions and review the activities of enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are accountable to and subject to the oversight of the council and its executive bodies.

Thus, the council’s standing committees serve as a kind of “filter” and expert forum that ensures:

A preliminary review function—preparing conclusions and recommendations on draft decisions that are subsequently brought to the session hall;

An expert function—analyzing the potential consequences of decisions in the relevant field;

A monitoring function—assessing the implementation of decisions made by the council and its executive committee.

Сергій Бондаренко