Rules for reintroducing lockdown restrictions and policies on higher education: new decisions by Government and President

Decision-maker: the Government.

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens, entrepreneurs, people over 60, local government, government bodies, and the Cabinet.

What does it change:

• lockdown restrictions may be reintroduced if an oblast does not meet the requirements for easing the lockdown three days in a row
• the power to decide how and which restrictions to reintroduce belongs with the regional committee on emergency situations
• a new intermediate reopening phase is included:

  ? no mandatory self-isolation for people over 60
  
  ? no ban on passenger flights for city airports
  
  ? restaurants can serve clients indoors (conditional on keeping pandemic safety measures). 

What is right: Ukraine started to get more COVID-19 cases after lifting some of the restrictions, so it could become necessary to at least partially reimpose the lockdown. The pandemic is not over, so it is important to have a legal instrument to do that.

What is wrong:

• the Government has no authority to restrict human rights the way it has done in its resolution on declaring the lockdown
• lockdown restrictions introduced by the Government are characteristic of the emergency state rather than emergency situation, and the latter can be declared only via a presidential decree approved by the Parliament.

Decision-maker: the President.

Who is affected: students, university teachers, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Government, and the Office of the President.

What does it change:

• creates a Council on higher education development (an advisory and consultative body under the President);

• sets for the Cabinet the following goals:

  ? to approve a strategy on higher education development in Ukraine for 2021—2031
  
  ? to approve state programs on research infrastructure development, renewal and expansion of dormitory network for students
  
  ? create an action plan to promote natural sciences and mathematics
  
  ? create and approve an action plan to promote Ukrainian higher education for foreign students.

What is wrong:

• the President has no authority to influence state policies on education. The Cabinet is the only authority responsible for their implementation;
• the President has no authority to set goals for the Cabinet. The Cabinet is the highest body of executive power and the President has no direct authority over it.
• such presidential decrees may not be compatible with the educational reform implemented by the Government.

Decision–maker: the Government.

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens, energy industry enterprises, the Ministry of Energy, the Government.

What does it change: Olga Buslavets is still the Acting Minister of Energy.

What is wrong:

• acting ministers have no authority to vote on Cabinet decisions and thus have no real decision-making power (the Cabinet is a collegial body). They act just as temporarily appointed Ministry Heads
• the Prime Minister should have already proposed a candidate for the Minister of Energy to be appointed by the Verkhovna Rada
• positions of the Minister of Energy and the Minister of Education in Denys Shmygal’s Cabinet are still vacant.