November 18, 2025

Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Petryshyn (head of delegation) and judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Vodiannikov, Oksana Hryshchuk, Viktor Kychun, Serhiy Riznyk, and Galyna Yurovska took part in the 17th Ukrainian-German expert meeting on constitutional law and procedure, which took place on November 11-13, 2025.

The event, organized by the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), was a continuation of Ukrainian-German professional meetings dedicated to discussing topical issues of constitutional law and provided an opportunity for the exchange of scientific and practical experience between the constitutional control bodies of both states.

The professional meetings were attended by IRZ Director Stefan Hulshörster, retired judges of the German Federal Constitutional Court Reinhard Gaier and Udo Steiner, and IRZ Senior Project Manager Wolfram Gertig.

The focus was on the following issues:

•    the doctrine of the preliminary restrictive effect of the law as a constitutional problem in the practice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany;

•    the balance between private and public interests in constitutional court cases concerning the protection of social rights;

•    the constitutionality of sanctions in administrative, financial, and tax law;

•    the relationship between judicial restraint and judicial “activism” in the practice of constitutional courts.

The judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine discussed with their German colleagues the problems they encounter when resolving procedural issues of constitutional justice. Their German colleagues shared their own experience on the issues outlined, referring to the practice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, and answered questions from their Ukrainian colleagues.

The discussion covered issues such as the consequences of declaring a norm unconstitutional if it was applied by a court of specialized jurisdiction in its decision; the possibilities and limits of reopening a case and reviewing a decision of a specialized court; the consideration of the practice of the constitutional review body by administrative courts, as well as the possible disregard of such practice by administrative courts and the response of the constitutional court to this, Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Higher Administrative Court, took part.