Online discussion “The role of general courts in constitutional proceedings: how to ensure the direct effect of the Constitution in court”

On December 22, The Aspen Institute Kyiv held an online discussion on the role of general courts in constitutional proceedings: how to ensure the direct effect of the Constitution in court. The online discussion was a part of the Justice, Law and Society Program.

The event was dedicated to identifying cases in which the court of first instance can ensure the direct effect of the Constitution of Ukraine, not applying the law, which in the opinion of the court is unconstitutional. Besides, the participants of the event included analysis of relevant case law.

Representatives of the legal community of The Aspen Institute in Kyiv discussed the following issues:

How do law and justice relate in such cases? Doesn’t such a legal institution destroy the existing public order, which is based on the law? Or, on the contrary, does it make the Constitution of Ukraine closer to the people?

In the format of a moderated dialogue, the participants discussed practical situations in which the court applied the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, appealing to the Plenum of the Supreme Court to submit a corresponding constitutional petition to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

The online discussion was moderated by Rasim Babanly, Head of the Analytical and Legal Department of the Supreme Court, Doctor of Laws.

We are grateful to the participants of the dialogue for a fruitful dialogue!

The event was supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.