The political system of modern Ukraine

The political system of modern Ukraine

The effectiveness of the political system is measured by the ability of the authorities to ensure state sovereignty, national security and national interests, to establish freedom, justice, human dignity, and to guarantee constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. The rule of law, efficiency of the government and its decentralization, self-sufficiency of communities and guarantees of local self-government, and position in the modern world characterize the power of the state.

Main characteristics and features of the political system of Ukraine. The current political system of Ukraine can be called post-Soviet. It is characterized by a gradual transition from a command system to a socially conciliatory system, combining features of each. On the one hand, we have a highly developed state bureaucracy, lack of effective public control over the government, weak civil society, “merger” of government and business, etc. On the other hand, there is a democratic electoral process, multi-party system, conditions for the development of a modern state governed by the rule of law, competitive relations between the government and the opposition, etc.

On July 16, 1990, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine. The Declaration- affirmed the modern name of the state - Ukraine;- introduced the category of “nation-state” into official legitimate circulation;- emphasized the affiliation of citizens of all nationalities with the Ukrainian people, the sole source of state power;- stated the supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the republic on its territory;- divided power into legislative, executive and judicial branches;- guaranteed citizens equality before the law, rights and freedoms provided for by both the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR and international law;- territorial supremacy and inviolability of borders;- economic independence and protection of all forms of property;- economic security and national and cultural revival of the Ukrainian people.

Proclaiming its intention to become a neutral state in the future, Ukraine declared its right to its own armed forces, internal troops and state security agencies, direct and equal relations with other participants - subjects of international law, and recognized the priorities of universal human values and international law over the domestic legal field. On August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the ACT Implementing the provisions of the Declaration of State Sovereignty, the Verkhovna Rada solemnly proclaimed Ukraine's independence and the creation of an independent Ukrainian state.

In one clause, the Act of Independence of Ukraine repeated the provisions of the Declaration on the indivisibility and inviolability of the territory of Ukraine, while in another clause it recorded significant changes: The Declaration only affirmed the supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the Ukrainian SSR on its territory, while the Act emphasized that only the Constitution and laws of Ukraine are valid on the territory of Ukraine. The first all-Ukrainian referendum, held on December 1, 1991, confirmed the legitimacy and gave the highest legal force to the Act of Independence of Ukraine adopted by the Parliament. This referendum proved the real ability of the Ukrainian people to independently resolve the most important issues of public and state life.

On June 28, 1996, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Constitution of Ukraine, which is a key political and legal document of long-term effect, the foundation of not only current but also future transformations in society, and the basis for its consolidation. The Law of Ukraine of December 8, 2004, amended the Constitution, but in 2010, the Constitutional Court ruled that they were adopted in violation of the procedure. In this regard, the Constitution as amended in 1996 was restored to full force and effect. The Ukrainian society is building its own sovereign, independent, democratic, social, legal state in which human rights are recognized as the highest social value.

FORM OF GOVERNANCE: Ukraine is a republic, namely, a presidential-parliamentary republic. First of all, this is evidenced by the mechanism of government formation. According to the Constitution, the Cabinet of Ministers is formed by the President. At the same time, the President needs the consent of the Parliament to appoint the head of the Government - the Prime Minister. The President also appoints the Prosecutor General, the Head of the State Property Fund, the Head of the Antimonopoly Committee and the Head of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada. In addition, the President and the Verkhovna Rada appoint half of the members of the National Bank and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

The Verkhovna Rada can pass a resolution of no confidence in the Cabinet of Ministers by a majority of its constitutional membership. The President, in turn, has the right to veto laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada and then return them to the Parliament for reconsideration. The President also has the right to terminate the powers of the Verkhovna Rada ahead of schedule if the plenary sessions of the Parliament have not started within 30 days of the regular session. The Cabinet of Ministers is responsible to the President and the Verkhovna Rada, and is controlled and accountable to the Parliament. These and other powers of state bodies form the basis of the system of checks and balances in the political system of modern Ukraine.

FORM OF STATE ORGANIZATION: Ukraine is a unitary state (but with an element of federalism in the form of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea). The system of its administrative and territorial structure consists of: The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), regions, districts, cities, districts within cities, towns and villages. The cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol have a special status determined by the laws of Ukraine. 

  The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine and, within the powers defined by the Constitution of Ukraine, resolves issues within its jurisdiction. The ARC has its own Constitution, which is adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC and approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Regulatory legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC and decisions of the Council of Ministers of the ARC may not contradict the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and are adopted in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine, acts of the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and for their implementation.

  UKRAINE'S POLITICAL REGIME remains mixed, namely post-totalitarian - in transition from totalitarian to democratic. The main problems that significantly impede the process of democratization of the political regime, cause low efficiency of the branches of power and require prompt resolution are as follows: Lack of clear constitutional delineation of powers of the branches of power and supreme authorities. This primarily concerns the procedure for forming and terminating the parliamentary coalition, the grounds for dismissal of the Cabinet of Ministers, the procedure for making certain appointments, etc.

  The lack of legislative regulation of these issues, especially those affecting the interests of different government institutions, creates constant political tension and the possibility of abuse of power by certain authorities and officials. Politicization of the constitutional process. The point is that political reform or constitutional amendments are perceived by various political actors mainly through the prism of their own, mostly short-term political interests and depending on their current status (being in power or in opposition). This situation makes strategic planning of social development impossible, including the development and implementation of a model of political system that would best meet Ukraine's national interests in the long term.

 The inability of the judiciary to play the role of an impartial arbitrator in conflicts between other branches of power. The objective reasons for this are the incompleteness of the judicial reform in the country and the lack of real independence of the judiciary from other branches of power. Political forces often consider judicial institutions as a means of resolving political disputes, contrary to the principles of the rule of law and impartiality of judicial proceedings. High level of paternalism. The state continues to interfere excessively in all spheres of public life, trying to regulate not only socio-economic relations, but also the development of civil society elements. This leads to limited participation of citizens in government, and thus to a weakening of public trust in the government.

  Lack of a common understanding by political forces of the content of Ukraine's national interests and a common vision of ways to realize them. Unfortunately, the ideology of state-building is often replaced by opportunistic political slogans that are unable to produce a national idea and consolidate the country. In view of this, the prospects for the development of Ukraine's political system lie in the further improvement of all its elements, in particular through the implementation of a new stage of constitutional reform.