The purpose of the draft law No.2535 is legislative regulation of the implementation of an absolute right of the Ukrainian people as the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power to independently initiate nationwide or local referendums for free expression of will and realization of inalienable and inviolable rights concerning ensuring guarantees to determinacy of the content and directionality of State's activities, the main duty of which is to affirm and ensure human rights and freedoms.
The draft law proposes to define basic principles, initiating, organization and procedure of holding nationwide and local referendums at popular initiative, legal effects of the decisions taken at such referendums.
According to people's deputies, the actual volume of questions that can be subject of in particular nationwide referendum - pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution - is much smaller than the draft law envisages. Thus, from the content of the draft law logically follows that to a nationwide referendum at popular initiative can be put personnel questions, including election or appointment of persons to positions in state government bodies, their dismissal, extension of the term of office of representative government bodies and local self-government, scheduling of elections, issues within the competence of law enforcement agencies, the issue of administration of justice, which is executed exclusively by courts, or local-level issues settling of which is in the competence of local self-government bodies, etc.
The Committee members noted that the Constitution of Ukraine in the Chapter III does not contain an exhaustive list of clearly formulated restrictions concerning holding a nationwide referendum, and their full volume can be defined only through systematic interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine.
People's deputies stressed that according to European standards in the field of referendums "The use of referendums must comply with the legal system as a whole, and especially the procedural rules. In particular, referendums cannot be held if the Constitution or a statute in conformity with the Constitution does not provide for them, for example where the text submitted to a referendum is a matter for Parliament’s exclusive jurisdiction."
The Committee members separately focused on certain types of nationwide referendums, and drew attention to the definition of a subject of local referendum at popular initiative, and to the non-compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of some other provisions of the draft law.
The Committee also pointed to bad combination in some provisions of the draft law of issues of legal regulation of both nationwide and local referendums.