Author: Oleksandr Vrublevskyi, DESPRO project expert adviser on the activity starostas and cooperation of hromadas

If we ask the AH residents, who is in chief in the hromada, answers will differ. Some will say that the head is in charge, the others – that it is the council or the deputies of the local council. And everyone will have his/her own truth, based on at least one argument. Those who believe that the head is the chief, will say that the title of the position exactly implies “being principal” – and it proves everything. Those considering the council to be in chief will necessarily emphasise that it is the government body with the state flag flying above its premises. But those recognising deputies as the main power will point out that they are many and they are elected by the people.

Please, note!

The Law of Ukraine "On Local Self-Government in Ukraine" enshrines the powers of local self-government bodies in accordance with the principle of distribution of power functions, namely: the competence of the authorities themselves – village, settlement, city councils, their executive bodies, and separate officials of local self-government – village, settlement, city head – is defined separately.

Let's consider the powers of all candidates for the title of a chief in the hromada and try to find arguments for its definition. In terms of authority, it is understood to mean the total number of rights and obligations of a particular entity of powers that determine his/her legal status, degree of competence and location in the hierarchy of respective bodies. In determining the scope of authority, attention will be drawn not only to the number of competences themselves, but also to the number of areas (sectors) of public life to which they apply.

P.S. Additional questions to the author of the publication can be put at the Forum of Starostas http://forum.decentralization.ua

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