The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (in Ukrainian, Конституційний Суд України) is the only body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The main task of the Court is to guarantee the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine as the fundamental law of the land.
The Court initiated its activity on October 18, 1996. The first Court ruling was made on May 13, 1997.
Mission and authority
The Court:
- on the appeal of the President, no less than 45 members of the parliament, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the Ombudsman, or the Crimean parliament, assesses the constitutionality of:
- laws and other legal acts of the parliament
- acts of the President
- acts of the Cabinet
- legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Crimean parliament)
- officially interprets the Constitution and laws of Ukraine
- on the appeal of the President or the Cabinet, provides opinions on the conformity with the Constitution of international treaties
- on the appeal of the parliament, provides an opinion on the observance of the procedure of impeachment of the President
- provides an opinion on the compliance of a bill on introducing amendments to the Constitution with the restrictions imposed by the Constitution.
The Court's rulings are mandatory for execution in Ukraine, are final and cannot be appealed. Laws and other legal acts, or their separate provisions, that are deemed unconstitutional, lose legal force.
Structure
The Court is composed of 18 judges, appointed in equal shares by the President, the parliament, and the Congress of Judges.
A judge, who must be a citizen of Ukraine and must have:
- attained the age of 40
- a higher legal education and professional experience of no less than 10 years
- resided in Ukraine for the last 20 years
- command of the state language
is appointed for 9 years without the right of reappointment.
The Head of the Court is elected by secret ballot only for one 3-year term from the Court ranks.
External links
See also
