Law of Ukraine "To ensure the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the State language"

The law of Ukraine "To ensure the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language" (in Ukrainian : Закон України «Про забезпечення функціонування української мови як державної») is a law approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 25, 2019, and which took full effect on July 16 of the same year.

Approval[change | change source]

The law was passed by 278 votes of the People's Deputies. 38 voted against, 7 abstained, 25 didn't vote. It was signed by Parliament President (speaker) Andriy Parubiy and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.^[1]

Background[change | change source]

Before this law, Ukrainian language was regulated by the "On Principles of State Language Policy" (so-called "Kivalov-Kolesnichenko Law"). After the Maidan's Revolution (in Ukrainian : Революції Гідності, "Dignity Revolution" or "Revolution of Dignity"), an attempt was made to repeal it, but the then President of Parliament did not sign the Council's decision, citing the need to draft a new law first. The Kivalov-Kolesnichenko law was declared unconstitutional and, to replace it, the bill 5670-d was prepared and approved in the first reading in Autumn 2018.^[2] Public activists and experts participated in drafting the law. The new law awards the status of the Ukrainian language as the only state language in Ukraine.

Criticism[change | change source]

According to some, the end of the Kivalov-Kolesnichenko law caused a crackdown on Russian-speaking regions (Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, Luhansk and Donetsk ) that led to attacks to the Russian population.^[3]^[4]

New institutions[change | change source]

The law provides for the creation of the following institutions:

State Language Protection Commissioner - To check compliance with the law. This official can file a complaint about the violation of the law. The Office of the Commissioner shall examine and respond to the complaint within 10 days of its submission. On November 27, 2019, Tatiana Monakhova became the Commissioner for State Language Protection.
National Commission on State Language Standards - The central executive body will make and approve the standards of the Ukrainian language as the state language.