Upon the invitation of the Constitutional Law Association of Peru, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Olha Sovhyria took part online in the 14th National Congress of Constitutional Law, co-organised by the Constitutional Court of Peru and the Ibero-American Institute for Constitutional Law (November 2-4, 2023, the city of Arequipa, Peru). The Congress brought together the constitutionalists from Spain, Italy, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia.
As an international speaker, Olha Sovhyria delivered a report “Rule of law in conditions of war: challenges for the constitutional judiciary of Ukraine”. “Despite the Russian Federation's daily attacks on universally recognised democratic values, which are the basis of our Constitution, Ukraine not only courageously repels the enemy on the battlefield, but also tries to effectively protect constitutional human rights”, the judge commenced her speech to foreign colleagues.
In her speech, Olha Sovhyria spoke in detail about the organisation peculiarities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine due to the introduction of martial law in Ukraine: deliberation of cases mainly in the manner of written proceedings, the tendency to postpone the invalidity of provisions of legal acts declared as unconstitutional, etc. Despite incessant air raids and rocket attacks, the Court not only did not stop its work, but also delivered 23 decisions.
The judge paid special attention to the introduction of a constitutional complaint form in the Court, which facilitates citizens’ access to the protection of their constitutional rights.
In her report, Olha Sovhyria emphasised the key legal positions of the Court, which to one degree or another relate to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine: as before a full-scale invasion (decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 9-r/2019 dated July 16, 2019, No. 3-r/2021 dated December 21, 2021), and after February 24, 2022 (decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 1-r(II)/2022 dated April 6, 2022, No. 7-r(II)/2022 dated October 12, 2022, No. 4-r/2022 dated December 27, 2022). The judge drew attention to the fact that one of the priority areas of activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the conditions of the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is the enhanced social protection of military personnel, who, with their courageous struggle, effectively protect the Ukrainian state and the Ukrainian people.
Finally, Olha Sovhyria thanked her foreign colleagues for their unwavering support, wished peaceful sky over their heads and that their states would never face war and its dire consequences.
