International Scientific and Practical Conference "The Constitution and Electoral Process in Ukraine" was held on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine

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of CONSTITUTIONAL COURT of UKRAINE

 

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International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Constitution and Electoral Process in Ukraine” was held on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine

 

         On June 25, 2015 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, The KrzysztofSkubiszewski Foundation (Republic of Poland) and the Salkom Law Firm held an International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Constitution and Electoral Process in Ukraine” on the occasion of the 19^th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine.

         The forum, held at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, was attended by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor, Full Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine Yurii Baulin, judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Doctor of Law Petro Stetsiuk, Director of the Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor Yurii Shemshuchenko, First Vice-President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Full Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences Ukraine Oleksandr Petryshyn, Director of the Legislation Institute of theVerkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences Oleksandr Kopylenko, Academician-Secretary of the Department of History, Philosophy and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Valerii Smolii, former Chairman of the Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland Jerzy Stepien, Pro-Rector of the Lazarski Higher School, Deputy Head of theKrzysztof Skubiszewski Foundation, Doctor of Informatics Marcin Skubiszewski, other well-known domestic and foreign scholars.

         Welcoming the participants of the Conference, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine YuriiBaulin stressed the importance and urgency of the Conference that was held on the eve of the main National Day of the independent Ukraine – Constitution Day of Ukraine. Yurii Baulin noted that participation in free, universal and equal elections to the representative bodies and referendums on the urgent social and political issues is one of the universally recognised natural and inalienable human rights of modern democratic and legal state. He recalled that the Ukrainian nation historically has always strived to democracy, and its best representatives had made a significant contribution to the treasury of human achievements in the field of direct democracy.

         The Ukrainian democracy acquired most of its development in the days of the Cossacks, the characteristic feature of which was a special form of government – a democratic republic, the bearer of thesovereign power was the people, and all state institutions, without exception, were formed through elections.Under the Soviet authority, democracy in Ukraine had regressed as in the USSR as well as in the whole Soviet Union voters didn’t have a real choice.

         Ukrainian democracy gained a new powerful impulse with the acquisition of independence by our country and its proclamation at the constitutional level as the democratic, legal and social state. In particular, according to the requirements ofArticle 71 of the Constitution of Ukraine, elections to bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government are free and are held on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot. Voters are guaranteed free expression of their will.

         The actuality of the conference lays in the fact that today Ukraine is on the eve of the election to local representative bodies, and relevant amendments to the electoral legislation are being drafted. In this regard, Yurii Baulin expressed his hope that when adopting these amendments the legislator will take into account the proposals, elaborated by the participants of this distinguished international forum.

         Presentations of the participants concerned such issues as the science of the constitutional law and areas of improvement of theconstitutional process, electoral systems, ways of improving the national electoral legislation, specifics of organisation and holding of local elections, international electoral standards and their implementation in the legislation of Ukraine etc.

In particular, judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Doctor of Law Petro Stetsiukspoke on "Improvement of Electoral Legislation: the Problem of Constitutionality." The speaker outlined the features of the current situation, in particular that the electoral legislation of Ukraine is being changed directly before thelocal elections, and that changes of the electoral legislation are proposed to be implemented in conditions of actualamendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

         Summing up, Petro Stetsiuk concluded that it is necessary to follow as much as possible the logic of the appropriate actions when improving the electoral legislation in conditions of constitutional amendments: first, if possible, amendments and supplements to the Constitution of Ukraine, then – change of the electoral legislation; using the tool of the so-called "cleansing" of the electoral legislation from the provisions which do not conform the Constitution of Ukraine, it is worth avoiding artificially created gaps in the electoral legislation, especially on the eve of elections; the process of providing opinions by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine concerning the conformity of the draft law on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine to Articles 157 and 158 of the Constitution of Ukraine requires the extended official interpretation of the provision of Article 157.1 reading that the Constitution of Ukraine shall not be amended, if the amendments are oriented toward the liquidation of the independence of Ukraine.