6 November 2025
The fourth session of the VI Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (hereinafter, the “WCCJ”) took place on 30 October 2025 and was dedicated to the issue of the independence of constitutional courts.
The session was chaired by Cándido Conde-Pompidó Tourón, President of the Constitutional Court of Spain. During the meeting, the judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine actively participated in the discussion regarding the aforementioned issues. In particular, Judge Serhiy Riznyk of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine began his speech by stating that “just a few hours ago, Russia carried out one of the largest combined attacks on Ukraine. The enemy once again used strike drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as the aviation. Once again, critical infrastructure was damaged, residential buildings were torn down, and people got hurt. But I also want to report one more thing: from early morning, repair and rescue services began to eliminate the consequences of the attack, Ukrainian citizens went to their workplaces, students went to universities, and children went to schools. Judges continued to administer justice. This is further confirmation that Ukraine will not retreat, because the truth is on our side.”
Regarding the immediate topic of the meeting, “The Independence of Constitutional Courts”, Serhiy Riznyk drew the attention of Congress participants to the fact that discussion of ethical rules of conduct for constitutional court judges is an important component of the modern understanding of judicial independence and, among other things, announced the adoption by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in July 2025 of the Rules of Professional Ethics for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The final session of the Congress was moderated by Inmaculada Montalbán, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Spain. The President of the Constitutional Court of Angola, Laurinda Jacinto Prazeres, judges of the Constitutional Court of Chile, Héctor Mery, the Constitutional Court of South Korea, Hyung-doo Kim, and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, Miriam Meßling, summarised the information based on the results of all the sessions.
The General Assembly of the WCCJ confirmed the importance of cooperation between constitutional courts and discussed further steps for the integration of courts into the international system of constitutional justice. Following the meeting of the General Assembly, the Madrid Communiqué was adopted, to which the proposal of the delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was added.
The official closing of the WCCJ Congress was presided over by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. In his speech, His Majesty quoted from Miguel de Cervantes' book “Don Quixote”: “Freedom is the most precious gift that heaven has bestowed upon mankind”. Closing remarks were also delivered by Claire Bazy-Malory, President of the Venice Commission, and Cándido Conde-Pompidó Tourón, President of the Constitutional Court of Spain.
The VI Congress of the WCCJ confirmed its status as a global platform for sharing experiences, strengthening cooperation between constitutional courts and discussing the most pressing challenges of contemporary constitutional justice.
The Ukrainian delegation expressed its gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this important event, as the discussions with colleagues from different countries provided a unique opportunity to exchange experiences, learn about international practices and deepen cooperation in the field of constitutional justice. The judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine noted that participation in the event was an important step in strengthening partnerships and contributed to the development of dialogue and knowledge exchange between constitutional courts around the world. They also thanked the participants of the Congress for their support and for taking into account the proposal of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the final communiqué.
