01 December 2015, 16:19
The draft law (No.1277) offers to empower village, town and city councils to transfer into ownership or use agricultural land and land designated for fishery needs (including fish farming (aquaculture)), located within the administrative boundaries of the corresponding communities.
Current version of Article 122 of the Land Code of Ukraine defines the powers of the executive authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local self-government bodies on the transfer of land into ownership or use for all purposes.
The legislative provision will contradict the current Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine, touching delimitation of lands in State and municipal ownership," which clearly specifies that in the State ownership is "all other land located outside the settlements, except land in private ownership... ....," which is the very it manages. This inconsistency between the laws leads to abuses.
Corruption risks are in the provision of Paragraph 3, Section 1 of Article 122, which proposes to authorize village, town and city councils to transfer land plots in state ownership located within the administrative boundaries of the corresponding communities into ownership or use for fishery needs (including fish farming (aquaculture)).
The authorities of the executive power and local self-government bodies concerning assignation of land plots from lands of the water fund for fish farming have not been separately defined by the land legislation.
The legislative provision should be harmonized with the current legislation in the field of aquaculture (fish farming) and relevant auxiliary laws and regulations.
Current provisions of Article 122 of the Land Code of Ukraine strictly regulate powers of local authorities and executive power bodies on the grounds of municipal or state ownership for land.
The Committee believes that any changes and improvements of the legislation in this field should be made in complex with simultaneous carrying out of deep reforms in land legislation and distribution of powers of all branches of self-government and public authorities.