The Delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Took Part in the International Symposium and the 50th Anniversary Activities of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey
On April 25-28, 2012 upon the invitation of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey Mr. Haşim Kılıς the delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine headed by the Chairman Anatolii Holovin took part in the International Symposium and the 50th Anniversary Activities of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey.
Those events were attended by Presidents, Judges and members of the constitutional courts and equivalent bodies from nearly 60 countries.
During this Symposium the Turkish side held an oath-taking ceremony of new members recently appointed to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey. At this ceremony the opening speeches were made by top officials of the host State: the President or the Republic of Turkey Mr. Abdullah Gül, the Prime-minister of the Republic of Turkey Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey Mr. Haşim Kılıς. The opening speech was also made by the special honorable guest – the President of the European Court of Human Rights sir Nicolas Bratza.
In his address to the participants of the International Symposium the President Gül stated that the modern issues of the protection of human rights and freedoms are important worldwide. As he said, the most effective regional mechanisms to protect human rights are the Council of Europe (with the Republic of Turkey as one of its co-founders) and the European Court of Human Rights.
Furthermore, Mr. Gül emphasised that the above-mentioned organisations had contributed greatly to the protection of freedoms and justice within the Republic of Turkey, as well as at the global level.
In terms of the anniversary celebrations of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey, the International Symposium on “Movements of Rights and Freedoms in the 21st Century and the Role of Constitutional Courts” took place, in which the Chairman Holovin and the Judge Kampo participated on behalf of the Ukrainian side.
During the Symposium the participants have discussed and exchanged their opinions regarding the importance of implementation of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights by the European constitutional courts and equivalent bodies. Participants also analysed the role of the constitutional courts in the modern conditions and their co-operation.
On behalf of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Mr. Holovin congratulated Turkish colleagues on the 50th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey and delivered his presentation on “The Protection of the Constitutional Human an Citizen’s Rights and Freedoms in the Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: Modern Tendencies”.
In his speech Mr. Chairman mentioned that in protecting human rights and freedoms the sole body of the constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine applies the experience and legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights. He also informed that in 2011 the decisions upon the constitutional appeals of citizens consisted one third of all adopted decisions, which was unprecedented and happened for the first time since the Constitutional Court of Ukraine had began its activity in 1996. He emphasised on those Decisions, which examined and formulated necessary legal positions, notably cases concerning the right of citizens for the inviolability of apartments, right for freedom and personal immunity regarding abidance of terms of administrative arrest, specific characteristics of rights of certain categories of citizens for social security, taking into consideration objective economic factors etc.
During the bilateral meeting the Chairman Holovin and the President Kılıς talked over further implementation of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Co-operation between two Courts signed in 2009, practices and possible exchanges of delegations of the Judges and the Secretariats.
Besides, the delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine held meetings with their colleagues from Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Spain, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Morocco, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Tajikistan. During those meetings the issues of bilateral cooperation were discussed. Also the issues of taking part of the representatives of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the international conferences held by Albania, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Poland and Romania this year respectively were reviewed.
Chairman Holovin also met the President of the European Court of Human Rights sir Nicolas Bratza and the President of the Venice Commission Mr. Gianni Buquicchio, and exchanged his opinions over the last meetings in the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr. Holovin also discussed with the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Tajikistan Mr. Makhkam Makhmudov the fruitful cooperation and the positive developments between Constitutional Courts of Ukraine ant the Republic of Tajikistan after signing the Memorandum between the two parties last December.
During the meetings upon the initiative of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Evgeni Tanchev the two sides discussed the draft of the Memorandum on Co-operation and the possibilities of its signing in the nearest future.
