Constitution of Ukraine

Until 8 June 1995, Ukraine's supreme law was the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Ukrainian SSR (adopted in 1978, with numerous later amendments). On 8 June 1995, President Leonid Kuchma and Speaker Oleksandr Moroz (acting on behalf of the parliament) signed the Constitutional Agreement for the period until a new constitution could be drafted.^[5]

In 1994, Kuchma restarted the failed Constitutional Commission (which had been defunct since 1992), ensuring its composition represented not just the parliament but also the executive (himself). He proposed a stopgap constitution called the Law on State Power and Local Self-Government (a.k.a. “Law on Power” or “Small Constitution”), which allowed for a very strong executive.^[5]

In May of 1995 an amended version of the Law on Power (which weakened the presidency somewhat) was voted on and received a simple majority in the Verkhovna Rada, not the supermajority of two-thirds it needed to become law, given that it suspended parts of the 1978 constitution. The failure of this amended version of the Law on Power prompted Kuchma to decree a national referendum on the Ukrainian people’s confidence in both himself and the Rada, which the Rada immediately denounced as unconstitutional.^[5]

Given his popularity and the parliament’s relative unpopularity, Kuchma was able to compel the Rada to adopt a one-year provisional constitutional agreement, konstytutsinynyi dohovir, albeit again only with a simple majority, not enough to lend the dohovir constitutional legitimacy. The dohovir stipulated that Kuchma’s Law on Power would be the provisional constitution for a year and required that any new draft constitution be put to a national referendum after being agreed upon by the president and the parliament. It has been criticized as a “sketchy, hastily prepared piece of legislation” which “failed to clearly define the legislative–executive relations.”^[5]

A secret ad-hoc working group of representatives of the three branches of government began meeting in the summer of 1996 to draft a constitution. The group drafted a document that closely resembled the dohovir, featuring a strong presidency. After amendments, the draft was ratified in November 1995 by a majority of the Constitutional Commission and reached the Verkhovna Rada in March 1996.^[5]

As per the prevailing 1978 constitution, the Constitution could only be changed by the Verkhovna Rada with a supermajority. But the dohovir did not specify how many parliamentarians—one half or two thirds—would be needed to support a new draft constitution. Supporters of the draft began arguing that merely a simple majority in the Verkhovna Rada was necessary for the draft to be put to a referendum.^[5]

Within the parliament, a special commission headed by deputy Mykhailo Syrota produced an amended version of the draft that weakened the presidency somewhat. The Syrota draft attained the support of a simple majority of parliamentarians in its first reading. ^[5] When Kuchma announced that his preferred draft, rather than the Syrota draft favoured by the parliamentarians, would be submitted to a national referendum, the Rada moved to assert its authority over the constitutional process.^[5]

The Syrota draft 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 the Constitutional 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 the post-Soviet states to adopt its own constitution.^[2] On Constitution Day 2018, President Petro Poroshenko remarked that the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk is the predecessor of Ukraine's current constitution.^[6]

In February 2019 the constitution was amended to require governments to seek European Union and NATO membership.^[7]

The Constitution of Ukraine is divided into 15 chapters:^[8]

1. General Principles
2. Human and Citizens' Rights, Freedoms and Duties
3. Elections. Referendums
4. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
5. President of Ukraine
6. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Other Bodies of Executive Power
7. Prokuratura (Prosecutor's Office)
8. Justice
9. Territorial Structure of Ukraine
10. Autonomous Republic of Crimea
11. Local Self-Government
12. Constitutional Court of Ukraine
13. Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine
14. Final Provisions
15. Transitional Provisions

In accordance with Chapter 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 450 Ukrainian lawmakers) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.^[9][10] 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, President Viktor Yanukovych set up the Constitutional 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.^[11]