About UGS

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Pursuant to Article 13 of the Constitution of Ukraine, land, its subsoil, atmospheric air, water and other natural resources located within the territory of Ukraine, natural resources of its continental shelf, exclusive (maritime) economic zone are the objects of property rights of the Ukrainian people. On behalf of the Ukrainian people, the rights of the owner are exercised by state authorities and local self-government bodies within the limits defined by the Constitution.

The state administration in the field of geological study, use and protection of subsoil is carried out by: the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the central executive body that ensures the formulation of the state policy in the field of environmental protection, the central executive body that implements the state policy in the field of geological study and rational use of subsoil, the central executive body that implements the state policy in the field of labour protection, the authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local executive bodies, and others.

The main central executive authority, whose activities are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine through the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and which implements the state policy in the field of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil, is the SSGSU.

The powers of the SSGSU are defined by the Regulation on the SSGSU, which was approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1174 “On Approval of the Regulation on the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine” of December 30, 2015.

While the SSGSU is the principal body in the system of governmental entities of the subsoil industry, it is highlighted in the next chapter that other bodies also perform certain functions in this field.

The main tasks of the SSGSU are:

1.     Implementation of the state policy in the field of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil;
2.     Submitting proposals to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources to ensure the formation of state policy in the field of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil.

The maximum number of full-time employees of the SSGSU is set at 139.

The functions of the SSGSU could be divided into several areas – general functions and special functions.

General functions are inherent in central executive authorities and are those that are performed by each state body in accordance with the law. General functions include:

●      Regulatory and legal activities – covers the implementation of regulatory and legal regulation in the relevant areas of public and state life; includes the preparation of proposals for improving legislation, drafting regulatory and legal acts in accordance with the powers.
●      Consideration of citizens’ appeals on issues – considers citizens’ appeals on issues related to the activities of the SSGSU and its subordinate enterprises, institutions and organisations.
●      International cooperation – in the process of performing the tasks assigned to the SSGSU, the authority interacts in accordance with the established procedure with the relevant authorities of foreign states and international organisations, trade unions and employers’ organisations, local governments, relevant authorities of foreign states and international organisations, enterprises, institutions and organisations.
●      Management of state-owned property – within the scope of this general function, the SSGSU carries out the tasks with regards to its subordinate enterprises, institutions and organisations: manages state-owned property, organises planning and financial work, selects personnel for senior positions in accordance with the established procedure, establishes, liquidates, and reorganises them, approves their regulations (charters), appoints and dismisses their heads in accordance with the established procedure, and performs other functions within the powers provided by law.
●      Personnel management – in accordance with the established procedure, selects personnel for the SSGSU and for senior positions of enterprises, institutions and organisations that belong to the sphere of management of the SSGSU.
●      Anti-corruption activities – these are geared at preventing and minimising violations of legislation by employees of the SSGSU; reviewing and improving the relevant regulations and internal documents of the SSGSU in the case of unregulated or insufficiently regulated administrative procedures; implementing an effective system of anti-corruption measures and monitoring their implementation in the SSGSU; further applying and improving mechanisms of transparency, integrity, reduction of bribery and other forms of corruption in the SSGSU.
●      Internal audit – the object of internal audit is the activity of a state body, its territorial bodies, enterprises (including business entities, the state share in the authorised capital of which exceeds 50 percent or is the amount that provides the state with the right to decisively influence the economic activity of such business entities), institutions and organisations belonging to its management, in full or on certain issues (at certain stages), and measures taken by the heads of such bodies, enterprises, institutions.
●      State control – under this function, the SSGSU ensures the effective implementation of state policy and respect for the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Special functions characterise the peculiarities of a particular subject or object of management, in this case, the sphere of geological exploration and rational use of subsoil. Special functions include:

●      Policy-making functions – cover the determination of the state’s policy course on a particular issue, area of activity, industry or market and include the creation of appropriate programs for its implementation.
●      Policy implementation functions – cover the regulatory instruments and methods by which the policy will be implemented, and include the following components: organisational and managerial, regulatory, financial and economic components.
●      Control and supervision functions include detecting and preventing violations of legal requirements by business entities and ensuring the interests of society, including the proper quality of products, works and services, and the acceptable level of danger to the public and the environment.
●      Licensing functions are a set of relations regulated by law to control the state’s handling of the objects of the permitting system by creating an effective system for issuing relevant permits and monitoring their implementation.
●      Budget-forming functions – cover the activities of a state executive body related to the effective planning of revenues and expenditures, filling and using state and local budgets.
●      Information and accounting functions – ensuring equal access to information, the possibility of obtaining timely and relevant information related to the activities of a central executive body or an enterprise, institution or organisation.
●      Geological exploration and rational use of subsoil – covers prospecting, exploration and special works and studies carried out to obtain information on the geological structure of subsoil, identify and assess mineral reserves, characteristics of processes occurring in the geological environment, etc.
●      Economic functions – cover functions related to the effective management of state-owned enterprises, institutions and organisations.