The human right to drinking water in Ukraine: some issues legal regulation

The article focuses on the analysis of legal regulation of the human right to drinking water in Ukraine, as well as to the justification of proposals for improving environmental and other legislation in the researched field at the national level considering the experience of the European Union. It has been determined that the ever-increasing shortage of drinking water and other urgent problems regarding protection and use of this natural resource, indispensable for humans, actualize the need to consider the issues of ensuring the human right to drinking water of normative quality and sufficient quantity to meet personal and household needs. Legislative norms ensuring water protection and the safety when using it for drinking water supply have been identified by conducting the environmental legislation analysis. They have been divided into groups, in particular those that establish: the priority of using water bodies for the drinking needs of the population; that limit the use of water bodies in order to ensure the priority of protecting human life and health; the one establishing a special legal regime for the protection and use of water bodies that are sources of drinking water supply; requirements for the quality of water used to meet the drinking and household needs of the population. Based on the analysis of the norms of the Water Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Drinking Water and Drinking Water Supply”, it was concluded that individuals who, in order to meet their needs, carry out general water use, namely, taking water from water bodies without the use of structures or technical devices or doing it from wells, are not consumers of drinking water. And therefore, the right to drinking water of normative quality and sufficient quantity to meet the personal and household needs of such water users, unfortunately, is not enshrined in the environmental legislation, which requires making appropriate additions to it. Particular attention is paid to the improvement of environmental and other legislation of Ukraine and the establishment of such provisions that reflect the life-sustaining function of water resources, as well as the direct impact of drinking water on human life and health. Based on this, it is proposed to make appropriate changes and additions to the Constitution of Ukraine, to the Law of Ukraine “Basics of the Legislation of Ukraine on Health Care”, to the future Medical Code of Ukraine.