information and analytical sector
of CONSTITUTIONAL COURT of UKRAINE
01033, Kyiv, Zhilyanska, 14
tel. 238-10-80, 238-10-25
fax. 287-36-16
Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine met with the delegation of the European Commission for Democracy through Law
On November 16, 2016 Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Kryvenko met with the delegation of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), headed by the Honorary President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) Hanna Suchocka.
The meeting was attended by judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhii Vdovychenko, Mykhailo Hultai, Oleksandr Kasminin, Viktor Kolisnyk, Oleksandr Lytvynov, Volodymyr Moisyk, Serhii Sas, Oleksandr Tupytskyi, Stanislav Shevchuk, representatives of the European Commission for Democracy through Law – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem (Germany), Osman Can (Turkey), Head of the Commission’s Constitutional Justice Division Schnutz Rudolf Dürr, Head of Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine Мårten Ehnberg, Project Manager of the Council of Europe Project “Support to Judicial Reform in Ukraine” Andrii Kavakin, Head and administration of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The interlocutors discussed a number of issues related to the draft law “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”, in particularly competitive basis of selection of candidates for the office of judge of the Constitutional Court, requirements for the candidates, the Court’s composition, its structure, distribution of cases, terms for constitutional proceedings, constitutional complaint.
Viktor Kryvenko told the experts that in 2016 amendments had been introduced to the Constitution of Ukraine on justice concerning the organisation of the activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. He noted that according to the relevant amendments, the Constitution of Ukraine provides for a constitutional complaint, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is deprived of the opportunity to interpret laws of Ukraine, and added that the Constitution of Ukraine envisages that the order of activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the procedure for the consideration of cases should be determined by the law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Yet, Acting Chairman stressed that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is deprived of the opportunity of legislative initiative. He informed that there was a draft law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and another draft law developed by the Public Council on Justice.
In answering the questions of the Commission’s experts, judges of the Court expressed a number of reservations on some of the draft law provisions.
During the meeting, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Kryvenko noted that the substantive law should enable judges to administer justice without any pressure on them. Distrust to the Court ruins the very idea of justice. He stressed that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has great potential, but the Constitutional Court itself is completely defenseless, given the possibility to cause informational, financial pressure etc., therefore substantive law shall be such as not to allow the pressure on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and the rules of procedural law shall allow to consider a particular case. In addition, the Acting Chairman expressed his reservations regarding time limits specified in the draft law.
At the end of the meeting, Honorary President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) Hanna Suchocka expressed the hope that the amended law of Ukraine on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine would create a good basis for the judges of the Constitutional Court to guarantee all human rights.
