The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi met with the
representatives of the Council of Europe
On June 10, 2020 Oleksandr Tupytskyi, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and Serhiy Holovaty, Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court, participated in an online meeting with Pavlo Pushkar, Head of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights of the Directorate General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe.
At the beginning of the meeting, Oleksandr Tupytskyi, on behalf of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, thanked the leadership of the Council of Europe for their continued support and positive assessment of the recent decisions of the Constitutional Court on judicial reform. He stressed that the main purpose of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine remains to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine and respect for human and civil rights and freedoms.
In turn, Pavlo Pushkar assured that the Council of Europe positively assesses the work of the Constitutional Court and its decisions, thus considering it a solid foundation of the rule of law in Ukraine.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Court briefed foreign partners on the work of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and on pending cases.
During the meeting, the parties had the opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of issues, including the solution of systemic problems related to the implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, special attention was paid to the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, which are under the supervision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
According to Pavlo Pushkar, the main purpose of implementing the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights is not only to pay monetary compensation to victims, but also to resolve problems in the country that have led to violations of the rights of its citizens. As an example, they discussed the state of implementation of the judgment in the case of Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, which became final under Article 44.2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
In this context, Pavlo Pushkar stressed the important role of the Constitutional Court in the implementation and enforcement of ECHR decisions in Ukraine.
In addition, during the meeting the interlocutors discussed possible forms of further cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the ECHR, as well as identified areas for further cooperation with the Council of Europe in the field of constitutional justice.
In particular, representatives of the Directorate General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe proposed to hold a number of joint events by videoconference, including trainings for scientific advisers of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and employees of the Court’s Secretariat. A delegation of the Constitutional Court was also invited to pay a working visit to the office of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
At the end of the meeting, the parties proposed to hold such dialogues on a regular basis, to exchange experiences and information on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which will be useful in decision-making by both the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the ECHR.
The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Beschastnyi and lawyers of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights of the Directorate General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe Olga Dubinska and Nadiia Zadorozhna.
