Considering the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine in decision-making by local courts

Abstract

Purpose. Determining the role and significance of the Constitution of Ukraine, based on the analysis of the provisions from different branches of law and judicial practice of Ukraine, to justify the decisions of local courts and provide proposals for optimizing the enforcement of constitutional provisions by the courts. Research methods. A system of general and special scientific methods developed by humankind was used to achieve the purpose set in the paper. The authors used the following methods: analysis and synthesis, comparative legal one, the ascent from the abstract to the concrete, and others. They were used to systematize the existing knowledge about constitutional law enforcement in the activities of local courts, obtain the results of this systematization, and provide recommendations to law enforcement participants in the courts. Results. The paper defines the role of the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine in substantiating the decisions of the local courts as the most stable and essential provisions that act as a kind of foundation of the legal system; it suggests optimizing the use by the courts of constitutional provisions through 1) increasing the role and importance of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine through the partial or complete transfer of its work to a professional level with funding envisaging hourly wages; 2) study and permanent discussion of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at events within the framework of local courts, in which constitutional provisions are interpreted; 3) predominantly indirect reference by judges of local courts to the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine (references to decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Ukraine, in which the constitutional provisions are explained or such provisions are used as arguments). Conclusions. It is concluded that the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine are characterized by greater constancy, balance, and more coherent content than the provisions of laws and bylaws. The provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine define the general principles of the state and political structure in the state, various human rights, and freedoms. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine clarifies and officially interprets constitutional provisions. Other local courts do not interpret the provisions of the Constitution but refer to them (sometimes with comments) as a weighty argument in justifying a particular decision. The role of the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine is their highest significance compared with the provisions of other acts. They act as a kind of “arbitrator” during the conflict of provisions of other lower-level regulatory legal acts. Judges of local courts should resolve disputes in cases of conflicting legal provisions by applying constitutional provisions correctly. References by judges of local courts to constitutional provisions can often be indirect. There are widespread references to court decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, clarifications of their plenums, which already contain references to constitutional provisions, and even their interpretation. The presence in decisions and other acts of local courts of a reference to decisions and explanations of the highest courts of the state and/or their bodies contributes to the unambiguous interpretation of the provisions of different acts of Ukraine by Ukrainian judges and uniformity in law enforcement based on constitutional provisions.