Legal Techniques in EU Legislative Drafting: A Model for Ukraine’s Law-making Reform

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18523/2414-9942.11.2025.16-35

Keywords:

Legislative Drafting, Legislation Quality, Legal and Linguistic Expert Opinion, Impact Assessment, European Union, Harmonization of Laws, Regulatory Policies

Abstract

This article examines the European Union’s approach to legal act drafting through a system of principles, methods, and procedures that ensure the proper quality of legislation. It identifies key guidelines for drafting, including clarity and precision in the formulation of provisions, structural coherence of legal acts, adaptation of content to target audiences, and adherence to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality, and legality. Particular focus is given to the legal techniques used to implement these principles in practice, such as necessity assessments, structural standards, codification, recasting, implementation monitoring, and multilevel legal and linguistic editing. Applying the EU approach to the Ukrainian context, the study overviews recent statutory reforms aimed at improving legislative drafting. The analysis shows that, while Ukrainian legislation has partially incorporated many EU legislative drafting concepts, their practical application depends on strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing expert support, and improving public participation mechanisms. The adoption of a uniform legislative drafting manual is proposed as a step toward harmonizing quality safeguards for enactments. The findings confirm the potential of EU standards to increase the efficiency and legitimacy of Ukraine’s national law-making process.

Author Biographies

Tetiana Hudima, State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”

Doctor of Law, Professor
State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine

Volodymyr Ustymenko, State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine

Doctor of Law, Professor, Corresponding Member of NAS of Ukraine
State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine

Ruslan Dzhabrailov, State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”

Doctor of Law, Professor
State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine

Oleh Zahnitko, State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”

PhD, Doctorate Fellow
State Organization “V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine

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Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Hudima, T., Ustymenko, V., Dzhabrailov, R., & Zahnitko, O. (2025). Legal Techniques in EU Legislative Drafting: A Model for Ukraine’s Law-making Reform. Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal, (11), 16–35. https://doi.org/10.18523/2414-9942.11.2025.16-35

Issue

No. 11 (2025): Kyiv-Mohyla Law & Politics Journal

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Tetiana Hudima, Volodymyr Ustymenko, Ruslan Dzhabrailov, Oleh Zahnitko

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