| Constitution of Ukraine | |
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| Overview | |
| Original title | Конституція України |
| Jurisdiction | Ukraine |
| Created | 28 June 1996 |
| System | Unitarysemi-presidential republic |
| Government structure | |
| Branches | 3 |
| Head of state | President |
| Chambers | Unicameral (Verkhovna Rada) |
| Executive | Cabinet of Ministers |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court Constitutional Court andothers |
| First legislature | 12 May 1998 |
| Supersedes | 1978 Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR |
| Full text | |
 Constitution of Ukraine atWikisource | |
| Footnote | |
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 Ukraine portal |
TheConstitution of Ukraine (Ukrainian:Конституція України,romanized: Konstytutsiia Ukrainy,pronounced[konstɪˈtuts⁽ʲ⁾ijɐʊkrɐˈjinɪ]) is thefundamental law ofUkraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of theVerkhovna Rada, the parliament ofUkraine, on 28 June 1996.[2] The constitution was passed with 315 ayes out of 450 votes possible (300 ayes minimum).[2] All other laws and other normative legal acts of Ukraine must conform to the constitution. The right to amend the constitution through a special legislative procedure is vested exclusively in the parliament. The only body that may interpret the constitution and determine whether legislation conforms to it is theConstitutional Court of Ukraine. Since 1996, thepublic holidayConstitution Day is celebrated on 28 June.[3][4]
In 2004, amendments were adopted that significantly changed Ukraine's political system; these changes are sometimes referred to as the 2004 Constitution. In 2010, then-President of UkraineViktor Yanukovych reverted these changes on the basis of a ruling made by theConstitutional Court of Ukraine. Following the events ofEuromaidan (2013–2014), the 2004 amendments were reinstated.
Until 8 June 1995, Ukraine's supreme law was theConstitution (Fundamental Law) of theUkrainian SSR (adopted in 1978, with numerous later amendments). On 8 June 1995, PresidentLeonid Kuchma and SpeakerOleksandr Moroz (acting on behalf of the parliament) signed the Constitutional Agreement for the period until a new constitution could be drafted.
The first constitution since independence was adopted during an overnight parliamentary session after almost 24 hours of debate of 27–28 June 1996, unofficially known as "the constitutional night of 1996." The Law No. 254/96-BP ratifying the constitution, nullifying previous constitutions and the Agreement was ceremonially signed and promulgated in mid-July 1996. According to a ruling of theConstitutional Court of Ukraine, the constitution took force at the moment when the results of the parliamentary vote were announced on 28 June 1996 at approx. 9 a.m.Kyiv Time. Ukraine was the last of thepost-Soviet states to adopt its own constitution.[2] On Constitution Day 2018, PresidentPetro Poroshenko remarked that the 1710Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk is the predecessor of Ukraine's current constitution.[5]
In February 2019 the constitution was amended to require governments to seekEuropean Union andNATO membership.
TheConstitution of Ukraine is divided into 15 chapters:
In accordance withChapter XIII: Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, the constitution can only be amended with the consent of no less than two-thirds of the constitutional composition (the 450Ukrainian lawmakers) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.[6][7] In addition, amendments to Chapter I — "General Principles," Chapter III — "Elections. Referendum", and Chapter XIII — "Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine" can only be amended by the parliament of Ukraine on the condition that it is also approved by an All-Ukrainian referendum designated by the President of Ukraine. In May 2012,PresidentViktor Yanukovych set up theConstitutional Assembly of Ukraine; a special auxiliary agency under the President for drawing up bills of amendments to the Constitution, the president then will introduce them in parliament.[8]
On 8 December 2004, the parliament passed Law No. 2222-IV amending the constitution.[9] The law was approved with a 90 percent majority (402 voted in favour and 21 against, with 19 abstentions; 300 in favour required for passage) simultaneously with other legislative measures aimed at resolving the2004 presidential election crisis. It was signed almost immediately in the parliamentary chamber by the outgoing PresidentLeonid Kuchma and promulgated on the same day. These amendments weakened the power of thePresident of Ukraine, who lost the power to nominate thePrime Minister of Ukraine, which became the task of the parliament solely. The President could only appoint theMinister of Defence andForeign Minister. The President also lost the right to dismiss members of theCabinet of Ukraine, but gained the right to dissolve Parliament.[10] If no coalition in parliament could be formed to appoint a Prime Minister, the President would have no choice but to call newparliamentary elections.[11] The 2004 constitutional amendments were passed in the Parliament only with limited consultation and discussion between political forces, in the context of theOrange Revolution. They therefore attracted criticism from several internal (Ukrainian political parties) and external bodies (theCouncil of Europe, theEuropean Parliament and theVenice Commission).[12]
The amendments took force unconditionally on 1 January 2006.[11] The remaining[clarification needed] amendments took force on 25 May 2006, when the new parliament assembled after the2006 elections. On 1 October 2010, theConstitutional Court of Ukraine overturned the 2004 amendments, considering them unconstitutional.[13][14] The Court had started to consider the case on the political reform in 2004 under a motion from 252coalition lawmakers regarding the constitutionality of this reform of 14 July 2010.[15][16][17] The 2010 nullification decision was highly controversial. The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner received several reports alleging that the resignation of four judges in the run-up to the decision occurred as a result of extensive pressure by the executive.[18] On 18 November 2010, theVenice Commission published its report titledThe Opinion of the Constitutional Situation in Ukraine in Review of the Judgement of Ukraine's Constitutional Court, in which it stated: "It also considers highly unusual that far-reaching constitutional amendments, including the change of the political system of the country – from a parliamentary system to a parliamentary presidential one – are declared unconstitutional by a decision of the Constitutional Court after a period of 6 years. ... As Constitutional Courts are bound by the Constitution and do not stand above it, such decisions raise important questions of democratic legitimacy and the rule of law".[19]
On 21 February 2014, the parliament passed a law that reinstated the 8 December 2004 amendments of the constitution. This was passed under a simplified procedure, without any decision ofthe relevant committee[clarify], and was passed in the first and the second reading in one vote by 386 deputies. The law was approved by 140 MPs of theParty of Regions, 89 MPs ofBatkivshchyna, 40 MPs ofUDAR, 32 of theCommunist Party, and 50 independent lawmakers.[20] According toRadio Free Europe, the measure was not signed by the then-PresidentViktor Yanukovych, who was subsequently removed from office.[21] The reinstatement of these amendments was adopted according to the 2014Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine. This was followed shortly thereafter by theannexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
On 7 February 2019, theVerkhovna Rada voted 334 to 17 to amend the constitution to state Ukraine's strategic objectives as joining theEuropean Union andNATO.[22]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Yanukovych, however, failed to sign the measure.
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