Vasyl Lemak, judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: “Society should unite for consensus — this is the way to development”

The Constitution of a modern state should be perceived as a formalized social contract marked by the highest level of legitimacy. Therefore, society hopes that our Constitution, its values, and norms are binding on the state, which will not only not violate them but will also develop them.

This is the opinion of Vasyl Lemak, judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. During the dialogue “The Social Contract of Ukraine: A Vision of the Future,” Mr. Lemak focused on the current challenges with the constitutional order of Ukraine. He also spoke about the following: 

• The content of the social contract has now changed and is significantly different from what it was at the beginning of introducing this concept into use.
• Society should unite for consensus – this is the way to development.
• When amending the Constitution to consider EU integration, it is generally possible if it needs to be more timely and occur within the framework of the Basic Law.

Denis Poltavets, Director of Program Development at The Aspen Institute Kyiv, moderated the conversation.

We remind you to apply for the seminar “Social Contract for Ukraine” until November 10 at the following link.

The “Social Contract for Ukraine” project is implemented with the support of NED (National Endowment for Democracy).