The draft law on the Ukrainian Ombudsman does not comply with international standards — ZMINA analysis

Experts from the Human Rights Centre ZMINA have prepared a detailed analysis of the draft law “On the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights” (reg. No. 13181 of 17 April 2025) and three related draft laws registered in Parliament in May 2025.

Photo credit: Ombudsman’s Office

The documents aim to improve the effectiveness of the Commissioner’s work, expand his powers and strengthen his influence on the human rights situation in Ukraine. In particular, they provide for lowering the age requirement for candidates, introducing a clear appointment procedure, and expanding powers in the area of documenting war crimes and monitoring the observance of rights and freedoms.

At the same time, as stated in the analysis, Draft Law No. 13181 does not ensure full compliance of legislation with international standards and best practices of national human rights institutions. Among the key observations:

• A non-transparent and non-inclusive procedure for appointing the Commissioner, which does not provide for a public competition or the participation of civil society;
• Non-compliance with the Venice and Paris Principles and the Council of Europe Recommendations on Ombudsman Institutions;
• The unjustified expansion of the range of entities under the Commissioner’s control, including civil society organisations, which contradicts the essence of his mandate.

Adoption of the Draft Law without amendments will entrench the existing practice, which is vulnerable to political influence, and will not fulfil the tasks set out in the Rule of Law Roadmap, approved by the Government in May 2025. That is why Draft Law No. 13181, after its adoption by the Verkhovna Rada at first reading, should be revised to take into account the comments made.

The full text of the analysis is available here.

It should be noted that amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights” were among the recommendations of the Shadow Report presented by ZMINA and partners in 2024 on Ukraine’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The document is available here.

These materials are developed with the support of the project “Strengthening Ukraine’s EU Accession in the Rule of Law” (3*E4U), implemented on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The opinions and views expressed in the documents do not necessarily reflect the position of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.