As part of the Constitutional Week, another event took place in the Court. Online seminar with representatives of two displaced legal universities was held on the basis of the Constitutional Law Training Center (video)
An online seminar "Constitutional Judiciary: New Opportunities and Peculiarities of Their Implementation" was held at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the basis of the Training Center within the discussion platform "Constitutionalism in Ukraine: Historical Achievements and Further Prospects".
The co-organizers of the event were two higher education institutions displaced from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, namely the Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Luhansk State University of Internal Affairs named after Eduard Didorenko.
Opening the seminar, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi briefed the participants on the activities of the Constitutional Court, its role and place in the system of higher state authorities. In particular, he reminded that in 2016, amendments were made to the Constitution of Ukraine in the area of justice, which affected the activities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. According to Oleksandr Tupytskyi, one of the key innovations of the reform was the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the summer of 2017 of a new version of the Law “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine” and the introduction of the institute of constitutional complaint. Since then, citizens have been able to apply to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine for protection of rights violated as a result of the unconstitutionality of laws passed by parliament. Oleksandr Tupytskyi stressed that the main task of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was and remains to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and to protect the constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
The participants of the online conference were also greeted by the Head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court Viktor Beschastnyi, Acting Rector of Luhansk State University of Internal Affairs named after Eduard Didorenko Mykola Karchevskyi and Rector of Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Serhiy Vitvitskyi.
The event was continued by Volodymyr Kampo, a retired Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, who spoke about the formation and development of constitutional justice in Ukraine. He emphasized the importance of historical experience as a component of the culture of constitutional justice, noting that the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is an inexhaustible source for scientific, pedagogical and practical activities. Volodymyr Kampo stressed the need to respect the Constitution of Ukraine, as it ensures the unity of the state, trust and interaction between the state and the citizen, the state and civil society.
Vitaliy Zaporozhets, Head of the Department for Preliminary Examination of Constitutional Complaints of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, spoke about the importance of the institute of a constitutional complaint as a national means of legal protection of human rights. The introduction of such an institute, the speaker said, is a necessary and progressive step to ensure the protection of human rights. He stressed that Ukraine has a normative model of a constitutional complaint, according to which only the law of Ukraine is subject to appeal, and if a decision on its unconstitutionality is made, a person has the opportunity to review a specific court decision in his case in exceptional circumstances. According to him, this can become an effective mechanism on the way to improving the legislation of Ukraine, bringing it into line with constitutional principles and guarantees.
During the second module of the online conference, the Head of the Department of State and Legal Disciplines of Luhansk State University of Internal Affairs named after Eduard Didorenko Volodymyr Nesterovych touched upon the issue of realization of subjective suffrage in Ukraine. The participants of the seminar were interested in its presentation, conducted in the format of an interactive survey. In particular, the issues raised concerned electronic voting in the elections and voter turnout.
Viktor Trepak, Candidate of Legal Sciences, spoke about the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on combating corruption. He noted that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, exercising constitutional control over normative legal acts for their constitutionality, has made a number of important decisions for anti-corruption activities. In particular, he welcomed the Court's decision on criminal liability for illicit enrichment, noting that the disputed article did have some conceptual shortcomings, and in reaching that decision, the Court showed courage to run counter to public opinion. At the same time, he added that the legislator took into account the Court's decision and re-formulated the rule on illegal enrichment.
Olha Peresada, Associate Professor of the Department of Legal Disciplines of the Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, made a report entitled “Constitutional and Legal Principles of Ensuring the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: Municipal Aspect”. The scientist focused on national and international regulations that define the fundamental rights and freedoms of such a vulnerable category of people as internally displaced persons. She identified critical areas in which local authorities play a key role and named a number of tasks currently facing local authorities, including removing administrative barriers related to documentation, property rights, ensuring access to employment opportunities etc.
The practical and discussion modules, moderated by Vitaliy Zaporozhets, Head of the Department for Preliminary Examination of Constitutional Complaints of the Court Secretariat, and Serhiy Solotkyi, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Court Secretariat also raised the conditions and criteria for the admissibility of a constitutional complaint, defined by law, as well as the practical implementation of the institute of constitutional complaint in the legal system of the country. The issue of reviewing court decisions after the decision of the Constitutional Court, in cases where the decision has already been executed, provoked a brisk discussion; on compensation of material and moral damage in case the Constitutional Court declares the norm unconstitutional, if the decision is executed and revision is impossible; on liability due to non-compliance with the decisions of the CCU, etc.
It is worth noting that an online quiz "Constitution in my life" was held as part of the discussion platform. The winners of this quiz were law students of Luhansk State University of Internal Affairs named after Eduard Didorenko - Anastasiia Anokhina, who won first place, Yevhen Stupchenko and Maryna Yuvchenko - second place, Danylo Sosnin and Yaroslava Kryvenko took third place.
We remind you that the "Constitutional Week" started in the Constitutional Court the day before. Within the framework of its implementation and within the framework of the joint project of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, a Constitutional Law Training Center was opened in the Court (http://ccu.gov.ua/en/novina/constitutional-law-training-center-was-opened-constitutional-court-ukraine).
Video of the online seminar is available through the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TNfYre74ZKRYhNsRLAnmwJ8EfE9k7gAe/view
