10 interesting facts about the Constitution of Ukraine

Exactly 25 years ago, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament) adopted the Constitution of Ukraine – the Basic Law of our state, which is still considered one of the most democratic in the world.

Let us remember that the first Constitution of Ukraine was adopted in 1710 – Pacts and Constitutions of Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhian Army (Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk).

That is, Ukrainian constitutional idea is not 25 years old, but more than 300 years old.

Later, the Constitution of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (April 29, 1918), the Small Constitution of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic (November 13, 1918) and the Provisional Constitution of Carpathian Ukraine (March 15, 1939) were adopted.

We have collected for you 10 interesting facts about the Constitution of Ukraine:

1. The process of preparation of the Ukrainian Constitution lasted for 6 years – from 1990 to 1996.

2. 15 drafts of the Constitution of Ukraine were developed. They were developed by scholars, political parties and, of course, the Constitutional Commission. Representatives of the Communist Party wanted to keep the name “USSR” and preserve the Soviet form of government, as well as enter the new Union, restricting rights. At the same time, Crimea could be deprived of the status of autonomy.

3. Despite 6 long years of preparation, the active period of work on the Constitution lasted only three months. In March 1996, the draft document was submitted to the Constitutional Commission for discussion and recommended for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada. Already on April 2, the draft Constitution of Ukraine was included in the agenda of the sittings, and after two months of revision it was adopted in the first reading.

4. In preparation for the second reading, about six thousand amendments were made to the document.

5. The meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, at which the draft Constitution of Ukraine was considered, lasted 24 hours. Voting was conducted both for each article separately and in whole sections. Voting for the Constitution of Ukraine as a whole took place at 9:20 am on June 28, 1996.

6. There are 15 sections and 161 articles in the Constitution.

7. The only state language enshrined in the Constitution is Ukrainian.

8. The strategic course of Ukraine, defined in the Constitution – accession to NATO and the EU.

9. On 21 June 1996, Alexander Moroz’s amendment on the exclusive right of the people to determine and change the constitutional order and that this right could not be usurped by the state, its bodies or officials was adopted.

10. The international community has approved the Constitution of Ukraine, calling it one of the most democratic in the world.

Happy holiday to you!