Oleksandr Petryshyn Assumed the Powers of a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

 

September 21, 2022

On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, during a special plenary session of the Court, Oleksandr Petryshyn took the oath of a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and certified its text with his personal signature.

Oleksandr Petryshyn was appointed a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine in accordance with the Decree No. 597/2021.

The chairperson of the session, Serhiy Holovaty, handed him in with a judge's robe, a badge and an identity card of a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and congratulated him on acquiring the powers of a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

“Dear Oleksandr Vitaliiovych, you assume the powers of a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine from the moment of taking the oath. Thus, a few minutes ago you received a new status, according to which you are authorised to administer constitutional proceedings. The Constitutional Court is replenished with judges, and in your person in particular, those who, perhaps, have an even more important mission than their predecessors in view of the new status of Ukraine as a candidate state for membership in the European Union. In addition, this means that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has a special role in this matter. Congratulating you on taking office, swearing-in and acquiring powers, I wish you success, especially in the performance of your professional duties in this position, serving the Constitution and the Ukrainian state as a candidate for membership in the European Union. After all, thanks to this, the implementation of European standards in Ukraine regarding European values - legal democracy, human rights and the rule of law, should not be illusory, not fake, but real, and effective,” said Serhiy Holovaty.

 

Video speech of Mr.Holovaty is available here

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk attended the special plenary session and noted, “Today, for the third time since the beginning of the war, we have the opportunity to congratulate the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on a new judge. And this shows that Ukraine is not just fighting back at the front, but proceeds with building an independent, sovereign, democratic state, where there are institutions, where the law is effective, where all state authorities work. Undoubtedly, one of such institutions is the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which is established to balance all branches of government, preventing excessive concentration of power in one of them. That is why it is extremely important that in this extremely difficult time the Constitutional Court of Ukraine continues to work and perform its part of state work. He congratulated Oleksandr Petryshyn on acquiring the powers of a Judge, noting that he is a person who patriotically cheers for Ukraine and who will qualitatively strengthen the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. “Therefore, congratulating Mr Petryshyn on his entering into the office, I wish him to always remember the oath he has taken today, to always protect the Constitution of Ukraine and to do everything so that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, as a body of constitutional jurisdiction, does everything to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine,” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasised.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also pointed out the importance of supplementing the composition of the Constitutional Court to ensure its maximally effective activity. ”I want to note that there are still positions in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine that will need to be filled. However, the next judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, I already hope, will probably be elected and appointed according to the updated constitutional procedure. The introduction of such innovations is one of the recommendations of the European Commission and their implementation is necessary for the continuation of the European integration of Ukraine,” he said. According to him, the appointment of highly qualified professionals to the Constitutional Court will contribute to the further activity and development of the Ukrainian constitutional judiciary.

Video speech of Mr.Stefanchuk is available here

The Chairman of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniazev, who also took part in the solemn swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed judge of the Constitutional Court, noted that the words of the oath acquired special significance during the military aggression of the Russian Federation, during the full-scale war that our country faced. “And while our soldiers successfully repulse the invaders on the front line, we - lawyers, judges - have to defend our country from violations of the citizens’ rights and freedoms at our front. At the same time, the judges of the constitutional jurisdiction are entrusted with an even more important task, i.e. to protect our Constitution,” the Chairman of the Supreme Court emphasised.

The Representative of the President of Ukraine at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhii Dembovskyi, the Chairman of the Association of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Ivan Dombrovskyi, staff of the Court Secretariat and representatives of the mass media also attended the special plenary session of the Court.

The video of the special plenary session is available at the following link: http://sv1.ccu.gov.ua.