On February 11, 2025, an interesting development occurred in the Verkhovna Rada. MPs debated Bill No. 12260 on credit histories but struggled to decide on the next steps. There were not enough votes to send it for revision or to reject it outright, so they came up with a solution: asking the people.
Parliament has decided to use the public consultation mechanism under Article 114 of the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada for the first time in many years. Previously, this procedure was applied to proposed amendments to the Constitution in 2003 and 2009 and to the Tax Code in 2010. The process involves making the draft law publicly available, allowing anyone to submit comments or suggestions. MPs are then required to review all feedback before putting the bill to a vote again.
MP Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk drafted the bill that lawmakers proposed for public discussion. It introduces a new version of the Credit History Law, which has been in effect since 2005. The bill considers modern realities— from online loans to fraud protection during wartime.
What is a credit history? A credit history is a record of all your loans—when and how much you borrowed, whether you made payments on time, and whether you restructured the loan. This information is stored by specialized institutions called credit history bureaus. Banks and financial companies review your credit history when deciding whether to approve a new loan.
According to the draft law, banks, credit unions, and stores offering installment plans must report all issued loans to at least one credit history bureau. Separate consumer consent will not be required—every borrower will automatically agree to this when taking out a loan. Each loan will receive a unique identification number, allowing it to be tracked from issuance to complete repayment. Credit bureaus will automatically verify whether a loan applicant is deceased, missing, or legally incapacitated. This measure aims to prevent fraudsters from taking out loans in the names of deceased or absent individuals.
Relatives of missing persons during the war will have the right to check their credit histories to detect possible fraudulent loans. Similarly, heirs can review the credit history of deceased relatives to identify any outstanding debts transferred through inheritance.
For more details on the bill, read our full article.
How will the discussion take place? On February 17, 2025, the bill was published on the Verkhovna Rada’s website in the “Public Discussion of Bills” section. Until March 14, anyone can review the bill’s text, rate it, and submit proposals or comments–either on the bill as a whole or on specific articles. To participate, users must log in using an electronic signature, the same one used in Diia or for tax documents. All collected feedback will be forwarded to the relevant parliamentary committee, which will review the comments, consider some suggestions, and then bring the bill back for a vote (a second first reading).
Currently, no legal provisions define how proposals should be selected or what criteria should be used to evaluate them. However, introducing public discussions on bills is a major step forward—it is one of the key tools of e-democracy. The case of Bill No. 12260 serves as an important test of whether the Verkhovna Rada can genuinely engage with citizens and consider their input. If people actively participate and lawmakers truly consider their proposals, this will mark progress toward a more transparent and fair legislative process. However, if the discussion turns out to be merely a formality, it will highlight that the public consultation mechanism in Ukraine exists only on paper.
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