On Monday, October 3, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Serhiy Holovaty, sent an appeal to the members of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) and the participants of the 5th WCCJ Congress with a call to terminate the membership of the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation in this global organization.
As is known, the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation once again grossly violated the principles on which the WCCJ is based, by approving once again the attempt to annex Ukrainian territories.
Below is the full text of the letter:
„To the Members of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice
To the Participants of the 5th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice
Kyiv, 3 October 2022
It is just on the eve of the 5th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, which will work under the theme “Constitutional Justice and Peace”, one of the members of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) once again resorted to actions that are completely incompatible with the goals of the WCCJ.
On 2 October 2022, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in the same manner as it did with regard to the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by Russia in 2014, officially recognized to be legal Putin’s declared annexation of some other parts of Ukraine, in particular Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts (regions).
By its act, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation further promotes Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine bringing multiple deaths, atrocities, justifies military aggression, genocide of the Ukrainian nation and other crimes under international law helping Putin to erase the Ukrainian national identity and to fight to the last Ukrainian.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation can no longer be perceived as a body of Justice adherent to respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law domestically and globally. This Russian institution has transformed itself into the servant of the Putin’s imperialistic regime, which bears all the features of the classical notion of tyranny and the modern concept of fascism.
On behalf of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and myself, I appeal to all of you to take all possible measures so that the Russian Constitutional Court, which by its actions officially supports Putin’s criminal government and makes decisions contrary to the generally recognized principles of international law, ceases to be a member of the WCCJ.
Acting Chief Justice Serhiy HOLOVATY“
On 30 September, Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhiy Holovaty sent a letter to the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia Mr Anwar Usman who is the host of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) and the WCCJ Secretary General Schnutz Rudolf Dȕrr, informing that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will not participate in the 5th WCCJ Congress given that the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus still remain the members of this global organisation.
Earlier, on 4 March, Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhiy Holovaty appealed to the WCCJ Bureau and the Secretariat with an open letter proposing to consider the issue on suspending membership of the Constitutional Courts of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the WCCJ given that these institutions are elements of the system of public authorities of the states, whose decisions, acts and inaction in violation of the universally accepted principles of international law have realised the aggression against Ukraine. The constitutional jurisdictions of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus have directly or indirectly taken part in legitimisation of the aggressive acts of the governments of these states.
