The round table on doctrinal issues of constitutional justice in Ukraine held at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

ПРЕС-СЛУЖБА

КОНСТИТУЦІЙНОГО СУДУ УКРАЇНИ

 

01033, Київ, Жилянська, 14

тел. 238-10-80, 238-11-38

факс 287-36-16

 

 

 

The round table on doctrinal issues of constitutional justice in Ukraine held at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

 

 

On June 19, 2015 on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine a round table on "Scientific and doctrinal provision of constitutional justice inUkraine" was held at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor, Full Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine Yurii Baulin, judges of the Constitutional Court of UkraineSerhii Vdovichenko, Doctor of Legal Sciences Mykhailo Hultai, Candidate of Legal Sciences Oleksandr Lytvynov, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor Mykola Melnyk, Candidate of Legal Sciences Serhii Sas, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher Ihor Slidenko, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Doctor of Law Petro Stetsiuk, Candidate of Legal Sciences Natalia Shaptala, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine Stanislav Shevchuk, Candidate of Legal Sciences Viktor Shyshkin, former judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine - Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor Mykola Koziubra and Candidate of Legal Sciences, Professor Mykola Savenko, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor, Director of the V. M. Koretskyi Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Yurii Shemshuchenko, Doctor of Law, Professor, judge of the US Court of Federal Claims Bohdan Futei and other prominent scholars.

For the first time, within the framework of the scientific and practical activities, a wide range of teaching staff from higher education institutions from all regions of Ukraine was invited to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – Heads of the Constitutional Law Departments of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Donetsk National University, Mariupol State Humanitarian University, Uzhhorod National University, National University "Odesa Academy of Law", Odessa I.I.Mechnikov National University, LesyaUkrayinka East European National University and other reputable institutions.

The event was opened by the moderator of the roundtable, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Yurii Baulin. He noted that scientific discussion of this kind was a timely event, since the working group within the framework of Constitutional Commission formed by the President of Ukraine has elaborated draft amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding constitutional justice. According to the Head of the Court, he made a report at the meeting of the working group with his suggestions on the feasibility amendments that would help to modernize the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and thus will take into account the demands of the present and the nearly 20-year practice of constitutional proceedings.

In particular, the proposals include introduction of a full constitutional complaint, with which both individuals and legal persons shall have the right to seize the Constitutional Court of Ukraine for verification of the constitutionality of laws applied by courts in particular cases. It is also advisable to change the order of appeal of courts of general jurisdiction to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, by giving such a right not only to the Supreme Court of Ukraine, but also to all courts of general jurisdiction, as well as to give the right to bodies of local government to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the constitutionality of certain acts.

In Yu.Baulin’s opinion, based on the experience of other countries, it would be expedient to envisage the power of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to address the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with annual message on the observance of the constitutional legality inUkraine.

Changes have been also suggested regarding greater transparency in the formation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, increasing the qualification requirements for candidates for judges, introducing additional guarantees of judicial independence, improving the internalorganisation of the Court.

In addition, Yurii Baulin emphasised the need of legislative regulation of the activities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The main provisions of constitutional proceedings should be fixed in a law, not in the rules of procedure of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, noted the Court’s Chairman.

Participants of the round table held a constructive exchange of views on the above issues, expressed their views on the future of the whole constitutional justice in Ukraine and discussed the implementation of the best models of cooperation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and scientific and higher educational establishments.

In summing up, Yu.Baulin thanked those present for the suggestions made, noting that this meeting will give impetus to deeper cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and scholars in terms of drafting expert opinions and so on. The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine supported the proposal of the judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Petro Stetsiuk to hold such events with participation of scholars and constitutionalists representing higher schools from all regions of Ukraine on a regular basis. “If we work so, our every meeting will enable us to determine the subject matter for the successive steps of such cooperation”, said Yurii Baulin.

The minutes of the round table and presentations of the participants will be published in one of the editions of the "Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine."