On March 31, 2023, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oksana Hryshchuk, Olha Sovhyria, Halyna Yurovska, former judge of the Court Mykhailo Kostytskyi and Head of the Court Secretariat Viktor Beschastnyi took part in the VI International Scientific and Practical Conference “Legal Fundamentals of the Organisation and Exercise of Public Power” dedicated to the memory of doctor of legal sciences, professor, full member and founder of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, the first Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Leonid Yuzkov.
The event was organised by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine together with the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Leonid Yuzkov Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law, V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Eurasian Association of Law Schools and Lawyers.
The main topics of discussion were: the role of the doctrine of Leonid Yuzkov in the development of the legal fundamentals of the organisation and exercise of public power in Ukraine, the peculiarities of the exercise of public power under martial law, problems and prospects of reforming the territorial organisation of public power in Ukraine, financial and legal aspects of the organisation and exercise of public power .
Halyna Yurovska, judge of Constitutional Court of Ukraine, candidate of legal sciences, honoured lawyer of Ukraine on behalf of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine addressed the participants of the event with a welcome speech. She spoke about the scholar’s significant contribution to the development of the Ukrainian state. “Leonid Yuzkov is an extraordinary and phenomenal personality. He stood at the origins of the Constitution of Ukraine, advocated the inclusion in the Constitution of such a category as the “Ukrainian People” and not “the People of Ukraine”, stressed Halyna Yurovska.
As a constitutional scholar, from the very beginning of his professional activity, he expressed views that were radically different from the then existing official legal doctrine of the USSR regarding the prevailing role of the state over its citizens: “A person in the civilised world has broad rights and freedoms not because they are declared by the Constitution. The Constitution proclaims these rights and freedoms because a person is endowed with them by nature”, said Leonid Yuzkov.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, doctor of legal sciences, professor Oksana Hryschuk delivered a report on “The Constitutional Values and Principles in the Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: Peculiarities in the Conditions of Martial Law and Threats to National Security”. She noted that the ideas of Leonid Yuzkov are extremely important and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in its legal positions fills them with new content that corresponds to modern realities.
In her speech, Oksana Hryshchuk emphasised that the constitution cannot be considered only as a written act, first of all, it is a system of principles and values “The constitution is a living organism that is replenished every day, and an important tool in this process is the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”.
The judge also spoke about the concept of “militant democracy” or “democracy capable of defending itself”. According to her, in the modern understanding, the concept of “militant democracy” is aimed at the fight against radical political parties, against abuses of democracy and as a preventive measure against terrorism.
In this aspect, she cited several decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which embodied the concept of “militant democracy” It was, in particular, about the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine condemning the communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine, as well as the Decision in the case regarding the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Television and Radio Broadcasting” and the Law of Ukraine “On Cinematography”. In the mentioned decisions, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine emphasised that Ukraine has the right to protect its independence, its state sovereignty and its territorial integrity, implementing such systemic measures and applying means that are proportionate, permissible and acceptable in view of the level of danger, threats and challenges facing it.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, doctor of legal sciences, professor Olha Sovhyria highlighted the current issues of the activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at the current stage. She noted that “currently, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in addition to fulfilling the direct powers defined by the Constitution of Ukraine, performs another important task - it forms a paradigm for the activity of European constitutional courts in conditions of emergency and martial law”.
Olha Sovhyria stressed that no constitutional court in the world had faced the challenges that faced the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 - since the beginning of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine.
The judge of the Court emphasised that the paradigm of the activity of constitutional courts under extraordinary conditions is formed in two areas: the first is the very format of the Court's activity. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the conditions of martial law did not stop its work and was focused on deliberating both constitutional petitions and constitutional complaints; the second area is the formation of a paradigm of the Court's activity in view of the martial law in terms of the content of the delivered decisions. Olha Sovhyria drew attention to the fact that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in separate decisions declaring the contested acts unconstitutional, determined the model of their loss of validity after a certain period after the termination or cancellation of martial law in Ukraine. In her opinion, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine forms advanced approaches that will be recognised by leading constitutional specialists in the future.
Mykhailo Kostytskyi, a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, doctor of legal sciences, professor, full member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, corresponding member of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, honoured lawyer of Ukraine, analysed the expected prospects for the development of public power in the context of technogenic civilisation. He revealed the essence and role of the state in society. According to him, only a strong state can ensure its own sovereignty, independence and identity of the people in the face of a “hybrid war” and its escalation. In his opinion, the key to the further recovery and reconstruction of the Ukrainian state is the strengthening of public power, provided that civil society trusts it.
During the event, a video story prepared by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine about the life path of Leonid Yuzkov was presented to the participants. We invite you to watch: youtube.
