Legislative initiative is the official submission of a draft DPR law to the legislative body of public authority by a subject established by the DPR Constitution (Clause 5 of Part 1 of Art. 1 of the DPR Law “On the Law and Regulations”).
The right of legislative initiative in the People’s Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic belongs to the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, deputies of the People’s Council, its committees and commissions, the Government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, representative bodies of local authorities formed on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The right to initiate legislation also belongs to the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Prosecutor General of the Donetsk People’s Republic on issues of their jurisdiction (Part 1 of Art. 72 of the Constitution of the DPR).
Drafts of normative legal acts of local authorities can be submitted by deputies of the representative body of the municipality, the head of the municipality, other elected bodies of local self-government, the head of the local administration, initiative groups of citizens, as well as other subjects of lawmaking initiative established by the charter of the municipality (Part 2 of Art. 33 of the Law of the DPR “On the Law and Regulations”).
Citizens of the Donetsk People’s Republic also have the opportunity of legislative activity, implemented in the form of appeals to the subjects of the law of legislative initiative, with recommendations for improving laws and other regulatory legal acts, the activities of state bodies, local governments and officials, developing public relations, improving socio-economic and other spheres of activity of the state and society (Clause 2 of Art. 3 of the DPR Law “On citizens’ recourse”). A draft normative legal act, introduced in the course of implementing the lawmaking initiative of citizens, is subject to mandatory consideration by the lawmaking body, which is competent to adopt the relevant act, within three months from the date of its submission (Part 4 of Art. 33 of the Law of the DPR “On the Law and Regulations”).
