Visit of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Žalimas to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
On May 28, 2018 Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Vasyl Lemak and Viktor Kolisnyk held a meeting with the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Žalimas at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The interlocutors discussed the practice of considering constitutional complaints, the arguments in the decisions of the constitutional courts of Ukraine and Lithuania, the application of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and that of bodies of constitutional jurisdiction of foreign countries.
J
udge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Kolisnyk dwelt upon the problem of interpretation, and noted that after the introduction of the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine in 2016, the competence of the body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine to interpret laws was excluded, but in practice, he added, within the framework of constitutional proceedings, it is necessary. "The one who applies the laws cannot but interpret them," the judge pointed out.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Vasyl Lemak 
drew the guest's attention to the recent decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in particular, to the decision on the referendum law. At the same time, he noted the gradual formation of the doctrine of understanding by the Court of "violations of the constitutional procedure" as a ground for the declaration of an act unconstitutional. In his opinion, the conditions of the armed aggression by the Russian Federation and the occupation of the part of the territory of Ukraine, the corresponding goals of the state authorities to counter aggression and de-occupation of the territory create a legal context that the Court must take into account in assessing the constitutionality of certain acts in the field of defense and national security.
The President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Žalimas gave a detailed account of Lithuania's experience in lustration, impeachment, application of international judicial practice, etc. He stressed the importance of the continuous rotation of judges of constitutional courts. "It's impossible to bring the country out of constitutional control, that is to paralyse the work of courts by not appointing judges", Dainius Žalimas pointed out. The speaker shared the experience of Lithuania on this issue. In particular, he noted that the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, whose tenure has ended, continue to work until the appointment of new judges.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed other relevant issues of constitutional justice.
