Project Summary:
In response to the growing legal uncertainty surrounding the activities of local self-organization bodies (organy samoorganizatsii naselennia – OSNs) in Ukraine during wartime, our organization is launching a research and advocacy project aimed at adapting the previously developed Draft Law “On Bodies of Self-Organization of the Population” to the realities of martial law and the post-occupation context.
This initiative builds on legal work initiated before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and recognizes the new and complex challenges faced by civic actors operating under duress, including in temporarily occupied territories.
Key Problem Addressed:
In many occupied communities, informal and semi-formal OSNs have played a crucial role in ensuring day-to-day survival: distributing aid, maintaining order, and coordinating with remaining municipal services. However, after de-occupation, such actions have at times been mischaracterized as “collaboration with the enemy” due to the absence of a legal framework that distinguishes between civic duty under occupation and actual complicity.
Objectives:
- Legal Analysis: Assess the existing legislative framework on OSNs, identify gaps related to martial law, occupation, and post-occupation realities.
- Draft Amendments: Develop legal amendments or guidelines to the Draft Law that clearly delineate the rights, obligations, and protections of OSNs under wartime conditions.
- Case Studies: Document lived experiences of OSNs in occupied and frontline regions, to provide an evidence-based foundation for reform.
- Policy Dialogue: Engage lawmakers, human rights defenders, and local officials in a structured dialogue on how to preserve civic resilience while ensuring legal clarity and justice.
- Advocacy: Promote the adoption of wartime-sensitive legislation protecting local self-organization efforts that act in the interest of the population under threat.
Impact:
This project aims to prevent unjust persecution of civilians and civic leaders who, under occupation, continued to serve their communities in good faith. It also seeks to reinforce Ukraine’s commitment to democratic governance by preserving and protecting grassroots institutions, even in times of war.
Project Manager: Dr. Natalia Mishyna
Dr. Natalia Mishyna brings over 25 years of expertise in the fields of human rights, local governance, and constitutional law. As the lead author of the original Draft Law “On Bodies of Self-Organization of the Population”, developed just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she is uniquely positioned to guide this project.
This original draft – built on democratic principles, participatory governance, and legal accountability – will serve as the foundational framework for the project’s core activity: adapting the legislation to wartime realities and the needs of post-occupation recovery.
Dr. Mishyna’s background includes academic research, legislative expertise, and field-based collaboration with local authorities and communities across Ukraine. She is also a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, currently completing a European-funded project on the role of local authorities in the implementation of ECtHR judgments.
Her leadership ensures that this initiative will be grounded in both theoretical integrity and practical insight – reflecting the voices of the communities most affected by war, and shaping a legal response that upholds justice, legitimacy, and resilience.