Constitution of Ukraine

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The draft constitution of Ukraine was adopted on June 28, 1996 by the Verkhovna Rada , the parliament of Ukraine . This constitution replaced the constitution of the Ukrainian SSR , which was valid until 1995 . Since then, June 28 has been celebrated as Constitution Day.

A Ukrainian postage stamp from 1997 dedicated to the Constitution of Ukraine

Components

The Constitution of Ukraine is based on individual and inalienable human rights and contains the principles of a social constitutional state , a democracy based on the separation of powers and the sovereignty of the people .

With the property rights of the citizens, which it codifies, it also offers a guarantee that privatization will continue. It also provides for the linguistic and cultural promotion of all ethnic groups in the country.

The direct election of the president by the people gives the president a strong position. He appoints the prime minister and the rest of the cabinet , but has to have this confirmed by parliament.

Electoral laws

Inexperience in the first steps towards democratization resulted in a first electoral law that required an absolute majority of the electorate in each constituency. This led to a series of necessary by-elections and an ongoing understaffing of parliament.

Constitutional amendments

The experience of the vote on the constitution and that of the new parliamentary elections made changes necessary. In the second parliamentary election in spring 1998, the number of required ballots and the number of parties decreased. Before that, a 4 percent hurdle was introduced so that the number of parties was reduced to eight.

As part of the Orange Revolution , the constitution was amended in 2004 so that the prime minister is now appointed by parliament and no longer by the president. The constitutional amendment came into force on January 1, 2006. The Constitutional Court declared this change in 2010 - under controversial circumstances - invalid.

In the course of the Euromaidan protests, the Ukrainian parliament decided on February 21, 2014 to reinstate the 2004 version of the constitution.

On February 7, 2019, the parliament enshrined in the constitution with a majority of 334 of the 450 deputies a "strategic orientation for Ukraine towards full accession to the EU and NATO".

literature

  • Martina Helmerich: Ukraine between autocracy and democracy: institutions and actors. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11045-5 .

Web links

Commons : Constitution of Ukraine  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kyryl Savin, Andreas Stein, Alexander Vorbrugg: Forward to the Past: The Ukrainian constitutional reform of 2004 was withdrawn. Heinrich Böll Foundation , October 25, 2010, accessed on February 21, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Ukraine: Return to the old constitution sealed. Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , February 21, 2014, accessed on February 21, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Constitutional amendment: Ukraine continues to strive west . Deutsche Welle, February 7, 2019.