PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS OF THE LEGAL REGULATION OF THE PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING AND ADOPTING DECISIONS BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF UKRAINE BASED ON A CONSTITUTIONAL COMPLAINT

Abstract

The article analyzes problematic aspects of the legal regulation governing the procedure for the review and adjudication of constitutional complaints by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. It clearly outlines the key stages of the review and decision-making process undertaken by the national constitutional justice body regarding individual constitutional complaints. The study establishes an urgent need to amend current legislation by introducing additional screening mechanisms for constitutional complaints submitted to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, extending the filing deadline, and refining this relatively new legal instrument — an interim order as an act of a domestic constitutional justice body that possesses the legal nature of an enforceable document. Specific proposals are put forward to improve the Law of Ukraine "On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine" regarding the legal regulation of the procedure for reviewing and deciding on constitutional complaints–specifically, by introducing additional screening mechanisms for individual constitutional complaints. It is proposed to establish a panel of three Constitutional Court judges whose authority would be limited exclusively to determining the compliance and admissibility of a constitutional complaint for the purpose of referring it to a Panel, the Senate, or the Grand Chamber. The advisability of issuing an interim order at the stage of deciding whether to initiate constitutional proceedings based on a constitutional complaint has been substantiated. The interpretative nature of an interim order−signifying its ancillary character−has been established; consequently, such an order can only be applied in conjunction with the application of the relevant legal provision whose constitutionality (or unconstitutionality) is being reviewed by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. However, this rather complex nature of the interim order is not reflected in the legislation governing the Court’s activities and the enforcement of its acts; therefore, we propose amending the Law of Ukraine "On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine" accordingly.