May 28, 2024
The delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine composed of the judges of the Court Viktor Gorodovenko and Galyna Yurovska took part in the XIX Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts on the topic “Forms and Limits of Judicial Deference: the Case of Constitutional Courts”, held on 21-24 May 2024 in Chisinau, Moldova.
The Conference of European Constitutional Courts (hereinafter the “CECC”) is an influential international organisation founded in Dubrovnik in 1972 and unites 40 representatives of European constitutional courts or bodies with similar jurisdiction exercising constitutional review.
The CECC promotes the exchange of information among its members on issues relating to the methods and practice of constitutional review, takes measures to strengthen the independence of constitutional courts as an important element in guaranteeing and implementing democracy and the rule of law, and pays particular attention to the protection of human rights.
The Congress is organised every three years and this year marks the end of the presidency of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova.
The Congress brought together representatives of constitutional review bodies, international organisations and foundations, linguistic and regional groups of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, diplomatic corps, governmental organisations, etc.
During the solemn ceremony of the XIX CECC Congress, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova Domnica Manole, President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, President of the European Court of Human Rights Siofra O'Leary and President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) Claire Bazy Malaurie delivered their opening addresses.
The participants of the CECC Congress held three plenary sessions to discuss the interaction of constitutional courts with supranational courts, political and legal issues within the jurisdiction of constitutional courts, and the protection of constitutional principles in a state of emergency.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Gorodovenko presented a report to the Congress on “Ensuring constitutional principles under martial law: the experience of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”.
Viktor Gorodovenko told the international partners about the work of the Constitutional Court in the condition of war. In his speech, he noted that the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, which began on 20 February 2014 and became full-scale on 24 February 2022, has been going on for eleven years. During all this time, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has been guarding the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine as the Fundamental Law of Ukraine and the observance of constitutional human and citizen’s rights and freedoms, never ceasing to exercise its jurisdictional powers to ensure constitutional principles and guarantees.
The jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine shows that even under martial law and Ukraine's derogation from a number of obligations under The European Convention on Human Rights and The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , it upholds the position that violations of the essence of constitutional rights and freedoms are inadmissible.
In his speech, Viktor Gorodovenko outlined a number of legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the criteria for assessing the admissibility of restrictions on human and civil rights and freedoms. The judge also noted that during the martial law in Ukraine, the subject of consideration of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was the protection of human dignity, property rights, the right to work, the right to housing, social guarantees, the right to judicial protection, individualisation of legal liability, etc. guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine.
Viktor Gorodovenko highlighted that when deciding on the issue of ensuring constitutional principles under martial law, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine takes into account acts of international law, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, decisions of the constitutional courts of European states, and the opinions of the Venice Commission, which, given Ukraine's strategic course towards full membership in the European Union, is important for bringing the national legal system closer to European and international standards.
When considering the constitutionality of restrictions on human and civil rights and freedoms, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine assesses in each case whether such restrictions meet the criteria of necessity, proportionality and temporality and takes into account the current situation in the country in order to prevent the essence of the relevant constitutional rights and freedoms from being levelled. In addition, even under martial law, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in its decisions upholds the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Ukraine as a triad of fundamental European values.
Christoph Grabenwarter, President of the Constitutional Court of Austria, Stephan Harbarth, President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, Pierre Nihoul and Luc Lavrysen, Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Belgium, Giovanni Amoroso, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Italy, Aldis Lavins, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, Josef Baxa, President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Laura-luliana Scantei, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Romania, Corinne Luquiens, Member of the Constitutional Council of the France, Jose João Abrantes, President of the Constitutional Court of the Portuguese Republic, Ivan Fiačan President of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic delivered their reports.
In addition, according to the tradition of the Conference Congress, the event's organiser, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, prepared a general report to the Congress “Forms and Limits of Judicial Deference: the Case of Constitutional Courts”, which was presented by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Domnica Manole.
During the closing session, Javier Cremades, President of the World Law Foundation and World Jurist Association, Egils Levits, Former judge at the European Court of Justice and former President of Latvia, and Rainer Arnold, Distinguished Prof. Dr. of Public Law at the University of Regensburg, summed up the results of the event.
During the CECC Congress, a meeting of the organisation's governing body, the Circle of Presidents, was held, in which Viktor Gorodovenko participated on behalf of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
During this meeting, the participants discussed, in particular, the reporting and other organisational aspects of the CECC Congress. In addition, they considered the application of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo for membership in the Conference of European Constitutional Courts. Following the discussion of the application, it was decided to establish a committee to study this issue and prepare a conclusion for consideration at the next preparatory meeting of the Circle of Presidents. The Circle of Presidents also considered and supported the proposal of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic to establish a Permanent Office of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts to administer the common website of the CECC and to store the archive of documents on the activities of the CECC.
As a result of the meeting of the Circle of Presidents, it was decided that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania will host the XX Congress of the CECC.
As part of the visit, the delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine held meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova Marko Shevchenko to discuss cooperation between the bodies of state power, the process of selecting judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, etc.
Furthermore, during the visit, the delegation held a working meeting with the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Domnica Manole, and judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Roșca, Serghei Țurcan and Vladimir Țurcan. The parties discussed current issues of constitutional justice and challenges faced by the courts. They exchanged views and experience on the functioning of the constitutional review bodies of Ukraine and Moldova, discussed further areas of cooperation, in particular in the context of the exchange of decisions, legal positions, and study visits. In addition, the parties agreed to update the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, signed on 5 June 2002 in Kyiv.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Galyna Yurovska noted the need to continue and expand bilateral cooperation between the constitutional courts of Ukraine and Moldova, which are long-standing partners. In addition, Galyna Yurovska emphasised that Ukraine and Moldova have chosen the democratic path of development and have already made significant progress towards membership in the European Union, so deepening the dialogue between the constitutional courts is extremely important.
The judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine noted that the cooperation between the constitutional courts of Ukraine and Moldova is based not only on support, but also on true friendship and stressed that such cooperation strengthens the institutional capacity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and noted the importance of sharing knowledge and experience between the countries in the field of human rights protection.
Final Declaration of the XIXth Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Galyna Yurovska
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Galyna Yurovska
