On December 22, 2023, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine hosted the seminar “Problematic Issues of the Institute of Constitutional Complaint”, organised within the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine.
During the event, employees of the Court, who are directly involved in processing constitutional complaints, studied modern academic opinions and world experience regarding the application of the constitutional complaint.
The seminar was attended by judge of the Constitutional court of Ukraine Viktor Gorodovenko, head of the Secretariat of the Court Viktor Beschastnyi, first deputy head of the Secretariat - head of the Department of Organizational Work Larysa Biriuk, head of the department for preliminary review of constitutional complaints Vitalii Zaporozhets, employees of the Court involved in processing constitutional complaints, leading domestic and international scientists and experts.
Viktor Beschastny, head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, addressed the participants of the event with a welcome speech and expressed his gratitude to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the support of which the event took place.
Viktor Beschastnyi emphasised the important role of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution of our state. He also noted that one of the mechanisms that allows the Court to ensure constitutional law and order is its competence to review whether laws and other normative legal acts comply with the Constitution of Ukraine. In the context of this issue, as the head of the Court Secretariat noted, the institute of a constitutional complaint is important. It helps individuals and legal entities appeal to the body of constitutional jurisdiction for the protection of constitutional rights.
He also expressed his belief that this seminar, which is a unique opportunity for employees of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to study modern academic opinion and world experience, will contribute to the improvement of processing constitutional complaints.
Oleksandr Vodiannikov, senior project officer of the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine, assured the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of its support, noting that the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine remains a reliable partner for the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in general and the Court Secretariat in particular. This support will increase, Oleksandr Vodiannikov said, since the role of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is extremely important in the development of a democratic state.
Oleksandr Vodiannikov noted that the issues brought up for discussion are thorough and important, and thanked the experts who shared their knowledge and experience.
The associate professor, professor of the Department of Constitutional Law of the Ivan Franko National University of Ukraine Olena Boryslavska, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova (2011-2017), key GIZ expert in the EU Rule of Law Program (ROLPRO 2), special advisor to the Constitutional of the Court of Ukraine Alexandru Tănase, Professor of Constitutional Law at Cardinal Stanislaw Wyszyński University in Warsaw and a former judge of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (2007-2016), special advisor to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Mirosław Granat, senior project officer of the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine Oleksandr Vodiannikov were speakers of the event and presented thematic reports.
During the seminar, the participants discussed a number of important and relevant issues related to the practical implementation of the constitutional complaint institute. It was about evaluating the constitutionality of laws that have lost their validity, but continue to be applied to legal relations that arose during their validity; state responsibility and compensation for damage caused by the unconstitutionality of the law; certain aspects of execution by courts of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on constitutional complaints; peculiarities of access to public information regarding the activities of the body of constitutional jurisdiction.
Those present also analysed the issue of legislative gaps or legislative lacunas. The judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Gorodovenko joined the discussion of this topic and emphasised the understanding of the legislative lacuna in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
At the end of the event, Viktor Gorodovenko thanked the representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and international experts - well-known scholars in the field of constitutional law, who shared their academic and practical experience with the employees of the Court. The Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine stressed the importance of amicus curiae briefs. These are the opinions provided by special advisors of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as an expert assistance in constitutional proceedings upon constitutional complaints.
