19 February, 2024
Today, on 19 February, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oksana Hryshchuk delivered an online presentation on the "Principle of the Rule of Law in the Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine" at a training event for judges of district administrative courts and judicial assistants of district and appellate administrative courts organised by the National School of Judges of Ukraine.
In her report, the CCU judge spoke about the peculiarities of the Ukrainian rule of law formula and the components of the rule of law principle. Oksana Hryshchuk gave examples of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in which it develops the concept of the rule of law and expressed her belief that these decisions will be important for judges of the judicial system. In particular, in its Decision No. 1-r/2020 of 23 January 2020, the Court identified the following components of the rule of law: legality, separation of state power, people's sovereignty, democracy, legal certainty, and fair trial. The judge also focused on the components identified by the Venice Commission, which are mandatory elements of the rule of law.
The judge revealed the Ukrainian formula of the rule of law, which is a two-part formula: according to the first component, "the rule of law in Ukraine is recognised", according to the second - "the rule of law in Ukraine is in force". In this context, the speaker noted that the second component of the "rule of law" puts forward the imperative of its effectiveness, i.e. efficiency, which ensures its practical significance; a set of national institutions, mechanisms and procedures that are appropriate for a person to be able to enjoy human dignity and protect themselves from arbitrary actions of the state (its authorities and officials).
Oksana Hryshchuk also focused on the content of the concept of human dignity. In particular, she drew attention to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, where human dignity is interpreted as a right guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of Ukraine and as a constitutional value.
