ARTICLE 12. Calling of Referenda.
All-Ukrainian referenda shall be called by
the Verkhovna Rada of Peoples' deputies.
ARTICLE 13. Calling of Referenda on Citizens
of Ukraine and People Deputies' demand.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall call All-Ukrainian
referendum
1) on questions of approval or abolition of
the Constitution of Ukraine as well as on
questions of pre-termination of the Verkhovna
Rada and the President of Ukraine, in case
it shall be demanded by not less than three
million of citizens of Ukraine, who have the
right to participate in a referendum;
2) on questions of approval or abolishing
of the Constitution of Ukraine or other legislative
acts of Ukraine, which, according to this
Law may be submitted to All-Ukrainian referendum,
except questions on the pre-term termination
of the authorities of the Verkhovna Rada and
the President of Ukraine, if this shall be
demanded by not less that one-half of peoples'
deputies of Ukraine.
The local council of the peoples' deputies
shall also call a local referendum if not
less than one-half of the total number of
Council peoples' deputies demand or if the
demand is signed by ten percent of the citizens
of Ukraine, who permanently reside in the
territory of appropriate administrative and
territorial unit, and who have the right to
participate in the referendum.
ARTICLE 14. Realization of Peoples' Deputies
Right to Demand Referendum.
The demand of no less than one-half of all
peoples' deputies of Ukraine, or peoples'
deputies of a local council to call a referendum
shall be realized by a role-call at a plenary
meeting of the appropriate council or by the
collection of peoples' deputies signatures.
Collected signatures of peoples' deputies
of Ukraine shall be certified by the signature
of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and collective
signatures of local council deputies - by
the Chairperson of an appropriate local council
of peoples' deputies.
ARTICLE 15. Realization of Citizens' of
Ukraine Right to Demand Referenda.
The right to initiate the collection of the
signatures in favor of demand to conduct an
All-Ukrainian referendum shall belong to the
citizens of Ukraine, eligible to participate
in a referendum, and the demand to call a
local referendum - shall belong to the citizens
of Ukraine, who permanently reside in the
territory of an appropriate administrative
and territorial unit, and who are eligible
to participate in a referendum. The collection
of signatures shall be organized and conducted
by the initiative groups of the referendum,
formed according to this Law.
ARTICLE 16. Formation of Referenda Initiative
Groups.
The All-Ukrainian referendum initiative group
shall be formed by citizens of Ukraine meeting,
if no less than 200 persons, with the right
to take part in a referendum, participate
in it.
The region (oblast), city (cities of republican
or oblast subordination), rayon and city rayon
referendum initiative group shall be formed
by citizens of Ukraine meeting, if no less
than 200 citizens, and the city (cities of
rayon subordination), settlement, and village
referendum initiative group - by meetings,
if no less than 50 citizens of Ukraine, eligible
to participate in a referendum, and who permanently
reside in the appropriate territory.
The initiators of an All-Ukrainian referendum
meeting must inform in written form a Chairperson
of rayon, city (cities of republican or oblast
subordination) Council of peoples' deputies,
on which the territory the meeting shall take
place, and the initiators of a local referendum
meeting - a Chairperson of a local Council
of peoples' deputies, on which the territory
the local referendum is proposed to be conducted,
about the time, place, and purpose of the
meeting no later than 10 days before the meeting
shall take place.
Before the beginning of the meeting its participants
shall be registered, and the list of the participants,
which includes then surname, patronymic, and
address shall be compiled.
A Chairperson and a Secretary of the meeting
shall be elected by its participants. The
further agenda of the meeting must contain
a discussion of both the advisability to conduct
a referendum, and a draft of the question
proposed to be submitted to it.
In case the proposal to conduct a referendum,
and a wording of the question proposed to
be submitted to this referendum, shall be
supported, the initiative group entrusted
with collection of citizens signatures, shall
be elected.
The All-Ukrainian referendum initiative group
shall consist of no less than 20 citizens
of Ukraine, who have the right to participate
in a referendum. The local referendum initiative
group shall consist of no less than 10 citizens
of Ukraine, who have the right to participate
in a referendum and permanently reside in
the territory of an appropriate administrative
and territorial unit.
Minutes of the meeting shall be compiled which
must include information on results of voting
of all agenda items.
Meeting documents - participants list, minutes
of the meeting, and the exact wording of the
question proposed to be submitted to a referendum,
as well as the list of an initiative group,
which includes dates of documents to establish
their identities, shall be certified be the
signatures of the Chairperson and the Secretary
of the meeting.
ARTICLE 17. Registration of Initiative Groups.
The all-Ukrainian referendum initiative groups
shall be registered by the Central Commission
of all-Ukrainian referendum upon the submission
of Chairperson of rayon, city (cities of republican
and oblast subordination) Councils of peoples'
deputies on which the territory citizens meeting
were held and initiative groups elected.
The local referendum initiative groups shall
be registered by the Chairperson of the local
Council of peoples' deputies within which
the territory the conduct of local referendum
is proposed.
To register the initiative group, the documents
of the citizens meeting, foreseen by Article
16 of this Law, as well as the obligation,
certified by the signatures of initiative
group members, to observe the law of Ukraine
on Referenda, shall be submitted to the Chairperson
of the appropriate Council of peoples' deputies.
If the submitted documents meet the requirements
of this Law, the Chairperson of the appropriate
local Council of peoples' deputies, within
10 days term, shall submit the all-Ukrainian
referendum initiative group documents to the
Central Commission on all-Ukrainian referendum
or shall register the local referendum initiative
group. After that, he or she, within three
days term, shall give the local referendum
initiative group the required registration
certificate and the accreditation of initiative
group members, on a form established by the
Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The certificate on registration of the local
referendum initiative group shall indicate
the exact number of citizens' signatures (based
upon list of citizens participated in the
latest referendum or upon the list of voters
of the latest elections) necessary to support
the demand to conduct the local referendum,
and the terms for signature collection.
If the submitted documents on all-Ukrainian
referendum initiative group meet the requirements
of this Law, the Central Commission on all-Ukrainian
referendum shall register the All- Ukrainian
referendum initiative group within 15 days,
and after that, within three days, shall give
the all-Ukrainian referendum initiative group
the certificate on registration and the accreditation
of initiative group members of a form established
by the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine. The term for signature collection
shall be indicated on the certificate of registration.
When all-Ukrainian referendum initiative groups
are being registered, ordinal numbers shall
be given to them, as for local referendum
initiative groups, in addition to ordinal
numbers, they shall also be given with names
corresponding to the names of the appropriate
Council of peoples' deputies.
Information on registered all-Ukrainian referendum
initiative groups shall be submitted to the
Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Information on registration of initiative
groups shall be published in the press.
The central number of initiative groups on
such referendum is not limited.
The registration number of initiative groups
shall not be charged. The organization and
activity of initiative groups shall not be
paid by Council of peoples' deputies or other
state bodies and institutions of Ukraine.
A denial of registration of the initiative
group or absence of a decision on registration
may be appealed by members of the initiative
group to the rayon (city) court located within
the territory of the Central Commission on
all-Ukrainian referendum or the appropriate
Council of peoples' deputies.
ARTICLE 18. Procedures and terms for collection
of signatures by initiative groups.
The day the initiative group has received
the certificate of registration, it has the
right to organize and unrestrictedly collect
the signatures on forms for citizens signatures
demanding the conduct of the referendum (petition
forms).
The total term for collection of signatures
on the question of all-Ukrainian referendum
conduct, should not exceed three months, as
for local referendum - one month from the
day the first initiative group on an appropriate
referendum was certified on registration.
Every petition form must have a name, the
ordinal number of the initiative group, the
ordinal number of the petition form, as well
as the wording of the question, suggested
to submit to referendum. A sample of the petition
forms of all-Ukrainian and local referenda
shall be approved by the Central Commission
on all-Ukrainian referendum.
Members of the initiative group must notify
the citizens of Ukraine that they may sign
only one petition form with a given demand
to conduct the referendum.
The citizen of Ukraine, who supports the demand
to conduct the referendum, shall place his
signature on the petition form, indicating
at the same time his surname, name, patronymic
and the date of the signature. According to
documents of the citizen, the member of the
initiative group shall indicate in the petition
form the date of his birth and place of permanent
residence.
If a document to establish the identity of
a citizen is absent, his signature is deemed
void and shall not be counted. When the petition
form is completed, the total number of citizens'
signatures shall be counted. The correctness
of information in the petition form shall
be certified by signatures of two members
of the initiative group.
During 10 days after the last day the citizens'
signatures were placed in the petition form,
and no later than the fixed term designated
to collect signatures under the given demand
to conduct a referendum, the signatures of
the members of the initiative group in the
petition form must be certified by a signature
of an official person specially authorized
for that by the Chairperson of rayon, city
(cities of republican and oblast subordination)
Council of peoples' deputies which registered
the local referendum initiative group. The
petition form may be copied.
ARTICLE 19. Responsibility for Violation
of Signatures Collecting Procedures.
During the collection of signatures, the Chairperson
of an appropriate Council of peoples' deputies,
where signatures of the initiative group members
are certified, shall organize the checking
of the authenticity of records on petition
forms. In case of violations of signature
collecting procedures and petition forms execution
are revealed, the Chairperson of rayon, city
(cities of republican and oblast subordination)
Councils of people deputies, in the territory
which the all-Ukrainian referendum initiative
group carries out its activity, shall submit
a presentation to the Central Commission on
all- Ukrainian referendum.
Within 10 days after the filing of the presentation,
the Central Commission on all-Ukrainian referendum
may adopt a resolution on suspension of the
activity of the initiative group members who
committed the violation, on recognition of
their accreditation, as well as petition forms
or signatures of the separate citizens, placed
on the petition form with violation of procedure
foreseen by this Law, as void.
If a violation is committed during the collection
of signatures for conducting the referendum,
the decision on suspension the activity of
the initiative group members, who committed
the violation, on recognition of their accreditation,
as well as petition forms or signatures of
the separate citizen, placed on the petition
form with violation of procedure, foreseen
by this Law, as void, shall be adopted during
10 days term by the Chairperson of that local
Council of peoples' deputies where the local
referendum initiative group is registered.
In case the violation of signature collecting
procedure shall be repeated by the initiative
group, the Central Commission on all- Ukrainian
referendum or the Chairperson of local Council
of peoples' deputies, where the local referendum
initiative group is registered, may adopt
the appropriate resolutions on halting the
initiative group's activity, and recognize
the certificate of its registration, the members'
group accreditation and a petition form, as
invalid. In so doing, the all-Ukrainian referendum
initiative group's documents and collected
petition forms shall be submitted to the Central
Commission on all-Ukrainian referendum.
Local referendum initiative group's documents
and collected petition forms shall be submitted
to the appropriate Council of peoples' deputies.
Citizens' signatures on the submitted petition
forms, excluding those recognized as void,
shall be taken into account, when final tabulation
of a total number of Ukrainian citizens' signatures,
demanding the conduct of the referendum, shall
be executed.
ARTICLE 20. Tabulation of signatures of
Ukrainian Citizens, who demand to conduct
the Referendum
When the collection of signatures is ended,
the initiative group within three days shall
compile a protocol, containing the information
on the total number of citizens' signatures
collected on the territory of an appropriate
Council of peoples' deputies, as well as the
date of initiative group registration, and
the date when collection of signatures is
completed.
Petition forms on all-Ukrainian referendum
shall be officially handed over for safe-keeping
to the Chairperson of rayon, city (cities
of the republican and oblast subordination)
Council of peoples' deputies, on the territory
which the collection of signatures was conducted.
Petition forms on local referendum in the
same manner shall be handed over to the Chairperson
of the local Council of peoples' deputies,
within the territory where the referendum
is proposed. Petition forms shall be preserved
for two months after the referendum. The total
number of petition forms and signatures of
citizens shall be indicated in the record.
Three copies of the record shall be certified
by the signatures of no less than three members
of the initiative group, as well as by the
Chairperson of an appropriate Council of peoples'
deputies, or by the Deputy Chairperson.
After the signing of the record, the all-Ukrainian
referendum group within one week, shall hand
over the final protocol, as well as a record,
together with a demand to conduct a referendum,
to the Central Commission on all-Ukrainian
referenda.
The Central Commission on all-Ukrainian referenda
shall ensure the registration of the documents
submitted by all the all-Ukrainian referendum
initiative groups; during one month after
the day the appropriate documents were submitted,
the Central Commission shall partially or
fully check the authenticity of submitted
documents; the Commission shall sum up the
general results of signatures' collection
throughout Ukraine and compile a protocol.
If two or more signatures of one and the same
citizen are revealed in petition forms, his
signatures shall not be counted.
The protocol and documents on verification,
shall be handed over within one week by the
Central Commission on all-Ukrainian referenda
to the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine, and shall be examined by the Presidium
within two weeks term from the day of their
submission.
The Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
may commission the peoples' deputies of Ukraine
as well as local Councils of peoples' deputies
to partially or fully check the submitted
documents. After that, the Presidium of the
Verkhovna Rada shall pose a question on all-Ukrainian
referendum for consideration by the Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine session.
The Chairperson of the local Council of peoples'
deputies, within which territory which the
local referendum is proposed, shall secure
the registration of the documents on the given
question submitted by all local referendum
initiative groups; during 15 days after the
day the appropriate documents were submitted,
he or she, with the participation of all local
referendum initiative groups, shall organize
the partial or full check of the authenticity
of these documents, as well as the tabulation
of the general results of signature collection.
The protocol shall be certified by the Chairperson
of the Council of peoples' deputies and by
the representatives of initiative groups.
After that, the question on local referendum
shall be submitted to discussion at the session
of the appropriate Council of peoples' deputies.
In case the required number of signatures
of citizens of Ukraine in support of the referendum
is not collected in terms defined by this
Law, the all-Ukrainian or local referendum
shall not be conducted. The appropriate resolution
shall be adopted accordingly by the Presidium
of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or by the
Chairperson of the local Council of peoples'
deputies, on the territory which the referendum
was proposed.
ARTICLE 21. Adoption of Resolution on question
to Conduct the Referendum.
Having received the properly validated proposal,
the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or the appropriate
local Council of peoples' deputies at its
session, within one month, shall adopt one
of the following resolutions:
1.On calling the referendum;
2.On rejection of the proposal to conduct
a referendum, if considerable violations of
this Law, which substantially influence the
grounds to call the referendum, were revealed;
3.On adoption of the resolution, which is
proposed in demand to call a referendum, without
conducting the referendum itself.
If the question on the pre-term termination
of the authority the President of Ukraine
shall be submitted to the all-Ukrainian referendum,
an appropriate resolution shall be adopted
by a majority of no less than 2/3 of all peoples'
deputies of Ukraine.
ARTICLE 22. The Content of the Resolution
on calling the Referendum.
On the resolution on calling the referendum
the following shall be defined: date of the
referendum; the title of the draft of the
Law or resolution; the content of the question
for referendum.
The date for the all-Ukrainian referendum
shall be appointed no earlier than 3 and no
later than 4 months before its conduct.
The local referendum shall be appointed no
earlier than one month and no later than two
months from the day the resolution on its
conduct was adopted.
The information on the appointment of the
referendum, the content of the draft of the
Law, resolution and other questions submitted
to the referendum shall be announced correspondingly
through republican and local mass media during
10 days term after the decision on its calling
was adopted.
