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Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Yurii Baulin met with the Head of Office of the Council of Europe, Representative of the Secretary General in charge of the co-ordination of the co-operation programmes in Ukraine Mr. Мårten Ehnberg
On February 3, 2017 Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Yurii Baulin met with the Head of Office of the Council of Europe, Representative of the Secretary General in charge of the co-ordination of the co-operation programmes in Ukraine Mr. Мårten Ehnberg.
The meeting was attended by judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Stanislav Shevchuk, “Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine” Project manager Andrii Kavakin, “Promoting of reform of electoral law and constitutional reform in Ukraine” Project manager Serhii Tkachenko.
At the beginning of the meeting Yurii Baulin emphasised the long-term cooperation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with the Council of Europe and expressed hope for its continuation in future.
During the meeting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine dwelt upon the constitutional reform in Ukraine, the efficiency of the national judicial system and human rights protection, as well as interaction of the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine with the Council of Europe. In this regard, it is extremely important for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”, which will contribute to the efficiency of the national judicial system. Yurii Baulin noted that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has already received 45 constitutional complaints, but they are not considered because the procedure of their review will be enshrined in the new law.
Yurii Baulin spoke about participation in the solemn opening of the Judicial Year, which recently took place in Strasbourg. In the frames of the visit cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Council of Europe was discussed, including the activities of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine in the coming years.
Chairman of the Constitutional Court informed the interlocutors that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a member of the Association of Constitutional Justice of the Countries of the Baltic and Black Sea Regions (BBCJ), which was launched in October 2015 in Vilnius. Presidency of the Association shall be held by the President of each member of the Association for a one year term. From January 1, 2017 Ukraine undertook the presidency of the Association.
Yurii Baulin said that this May the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is planning to hold the Second Congress of the Association in Kharkiv on “The role of constitutional courts in developing the provisions of national constitutions in the context of the generally recognised principles and norms of international law and EU law, judgments of international courts” and invited guests to take part in this event.
In his turn, Head of Office of the Council of Europe, Representative of the Secretary General in charge of the co-ordination of the co-operation programmes in Ukraine Mr. Мårten Ehnberg thanked Yurii Baulin for warm words, noting that the dialogue between the Council of Europe and Ukraine recently intensified significantly. He also stressed that the proposals made for the further cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Council of Europe are very appropriate and timely, and will be submitted to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe for further inclusion in the next Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine.
In this connection Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine expressed hope for assistance from the Council of Europe, particularly with regard to the study visits of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to the European Court of Human Rights, as well as conducting scientific forums, roundtables with judges of the ECHR and Council of Europe experts.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Stanislav Shevchuk noted that for today the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has managed to form the foundations of the doctrine of friendly attitude to international law in making decisions and opinions. “The cooperation with the Council of Europe is necessary for us because this is our practical need”, emphasised the judge.
Summing up, the parties thanked each other for a meaningful meeting and stressed on the need to continue the comprehensive dialogue between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.
