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Vision of Ukraine – 2030. What should be the Constitution of Ukraine?


In the summer of 2022, the CPLR team, as part of the public coalition «Ukraine after Victory», formulated a vision «Vision of Ukraine – 2030». The document offers key conditions for the reconstruction and development of Ukraine after the Victory. Here we share how we see the Constitution of Ukraine after the Victory.


How do we imagine Ukraine in 2030?

Ukraine continues to live by the 1996 Constitution, but numerous amendments have been introduced to it:

  • the post-Soviet myths about human rights have been cleared, it has been supplemented with new recognised international acts in the field of human rights on equality, ecology, digital technologies, etc.,
  • the mistakes and contradictions in the state power regulation have been corrected, the independence of the Government and its responsibility for shaping the country’s development policy have been strengthened,
  • the administrative-territorial system has been changed, the regulation of local self-government and the Crimean autonomy have been improved, the regional self-government has been introduced,
  • selective clarifying improvements have been made in Sections I, III, XIII.

The form of government remains a mixed republic, but after the war of 2022, all the presidents strictly adhere to the constitutional limits of their powers as the head of state, reduced to the issues of external representation of the state, defence and security, awards, citizenship, and pardons. This is guaranteed, in addition to constitutional norms, by the legislative limitation of the number of the presidential staff to 100 people and the functioning of an independent Constitutional Court.

Citizens of Ukraine know and understand the basic principles of democracy and the rule of law, and demand from politicians their strict observance. The internationally recognised human rights are not only declared by law, but are strictly adhered to at all levels of social organisation.

Local referendums in the communities function reliably as an instrument of democracy. And an all-Ukrainian referendum can be held only in one of three cases:

  • the cases determined by the Constitution — approval of amendments to the Constitution and approval of changes in the territory of Ukraine,
  • on the people’s initiative with a complicated procedure on the only one issue — the abolition of the adopted Law or part thereof,
  • by a decision of the Parliament adopted on the proposal of the Government and with the consent of the President — a consultative referendum on the most important issues of social development (Proposal: to keep the possibility to hold such referendums also on the people’s initiative).

The Constitutional Court consists of 15 judges appointed by the Parliament and the President on the proposal of a qualification commission, which independently develops the criteria for the formation of a fair and professional composition of judges. Being completely independent, the Constitutional Court acts as an actual guarantor of the Constitution and an arbiter between the highest bodies of state power.

What key changes need to be made to achieve this goal?

Immediately after the victory, a political-scientific-public constitutional commission is formed; it prepares 4 bills on amendments to the Constitution. (Proposal: prepares a new version of the Constitution). They are widely discussed, finalised, approved by the Parliament and ratified by referendum, when provided by the Constitution.
The laws on the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) and central executive bodies (CEBs), on the all-Ukrainian referendum, on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and all others are brought into line with the new provisions of the Constitution.

What red lines cannot be crossed in this area?
  • The collapse of democracy and the attempt to establish an authoritarian regime of power, while anti-state activities must be defined by law and stopped legitimately, not by voluntaristic decisions.
  • Transition to a presidential form of government (a parliamentary one is also not desirable, but if presidents do not learn to refrain from authoritarianism, then, in the long run, there will be no alternative to a parliamentary republic).
  • Organising and carrying out constitutional changes “behind closed doors”, under external pressure, contrary to the procedure defined by the Constitution itself.
  • Use of all-Ukrainian referendums for manipulative adoption of illegitimate decisions.
  • Narrowing the guarantees of observance of constitutional human rights.
  • Liquidation or restriction of the powers of the Constitutional Court, appointing dishonest and unprofessional judges to it.