President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the Law "On All-Ukrainian Referendum", adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on January 26, 2021. It was developed in close cooperation with international organizations, representatives of civil society and educational community. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Justice Oleksandr Banchuk.

"This law will enable us to involve more people in decision-making at all levels, starting with statist decisions - and this requires a referendum tool. The relevant law is aimed, first of all, at implementing the constitutional norms on the all-Ukrainian referendum and providing people with a real opportunity to get rid of the monopoly of politicians on solving issues of national importance," said the Deputy Minister of Justice.

According to him, the Law stipulates that a referendum can be announced by the President or Parliament of Ukraine in cases specified by the Constitution. The subject of the all-Ukrainian referendum can be the following issues:

• approval of the Law on Amendments to Sections I, III, XIII of the Constitution of Ukraine;
• of national importance;
• on the repeal of the Law of Ukraine or some of its provisions.

The following issues cannot be the subject of an all-Ukrainian referendum:

• contravening the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, universally recognized principles and norms of international law, enshrined primarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, its protocols;
• abolishing or restricting the constitutional rights and freedoms of person and citizen and guarantees of their implementation;
• aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, violation of state sovereignty, territorial integrity of Ukraine, creating a threat to the national security of Ukraine, incitement of interethnic, racial, religious hatred;
• regarding taxes, budget, amnesty;
• referred by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine to the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors or courts.

An all-Ukrainian referendum shall be considered to have taken place if at least 50% of the voters included in the State Register of Voters take part in the voting.

In addition, the Law stipulates that a decision made in an all-Ukrainian referendum can be changed only by holding another referendum not earlier than three years after its adoption. A new referendum on issues not previously supported in such a vote may be held no earlier than one year after the announcement of its results.

"It is important to understand that the referendum will not replace the work of the Verkhovna Rada. It is up to Parliament to pass laws and regulate public relations. But citizens will have an instrument of influence on the state to ensure that such regulations are not distinct from the interests of the people as the only source of power and sovereignty," said Olexandr Banchuk.