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	Constitution of Ukraine
	; Verkhovna Rada deputes signing Ukraine's current constitution on June 28, 1996.
Ratified	June 28, 1996
Signers	Verkhovna Rada deputes

The Constitution of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Конституція України) is the act of parliament (Statute) of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada of the second convocation on June 28, 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes out of 450 votes possible (300 ayes minimum).

Other laws and other normative legal acts of Ukraine must conform to the constitution. The right to amend the Constitution through a special legislative procedure is vested exclusively with the parliament. The only body that may interpret the constitution and determine whether legislation conforms to it is the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

[edit] History

Until June 8, 1995, Ukraine's supreme law was the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Ukrainian SSR (adopted in 1978, with numerous later amendments). On June 8, 1995, President Leonid Kuchma and Speaker Oleksandr Moroz (acting on behalf of the parliament) signed the Constitutional Agreement for the period until a new constitution could be drafted.

The first constitution since independence was adopted during an overnight parliamentary session of June 27-June 28, 1996, un-officially known as "the constitutional night of 1996." The Law No. 254/96-BP ratifying the constitution, nullifying previous constitutions and the Agreement was ceremonially signed and promulgated in mid-July 1996. However, according to a ruling of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the constitution took force at the moment when the results of the parliamentary vote were announced on June 28, 1996 at approx. 9 a.m. Kiev local time.

[edit] Structure

The Constitution of Ukraine is divided into 15 chapters:

[edit] Amendments

President Kuchma has signed the amendments on December 8, 2004.

In accordance with Chapter XIII: Ukraine's Constitution can only be amended with the consent of no less than two-thirds of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

In addition amendments to Chapter I — "General Principles," Chapter III — "Elections. Referendum," and Chapter XIII — "Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine," can only be amended by the parliament of Ukraine on the condition that it is also approved by an All-Ukrainian referendum designated by the President of Ukraine.

On December 8, 2004, the parliament passed Law No. 2222-IV amending the constitution. The law was approved with a 90 percent majority (402 ayes, 21 nays, and 19 abstentions; 300 ayes required for passage) simultaneously with other legislative measures aimed at resolving the 2004 presidential election crisis. It was signed almost immediately in the parliamentary chamber by the outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and promulgated on the same day.

Most of the amendments were scheduled to take force on September 1, 2005, conditionally on passing a set of amendments reforming local self-government by that date. Since the reform of the self-government was not implemented, the amendments took force unconditionally on January 1, 2006. The remaining amendments took force on May 25, 2006, when the new parliament assembled after the 2006 elections.

[edit] See also

Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, a 1710 constitutional document written by Hetman Pylyp Orlyk.
Constitution of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Constitution of Crimea

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Official text of Constitution — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)
"Constitution of Ukraine (with 2004 amendments)" (PDF). UNHCR. 2004-12-08. http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDLEGAL/44a280124.pdf.
English translation of Constitution of 1996 — without changes from 2004
Amendments (Law No. 2222-IV) — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)
Constitution of 1978 — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)
Constitutional Agreement of 1995 — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)
Declaration on the State Sovereignty of July 16, 1990 — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)
Independence Act of August 24, 1991 — site of the parliament (Ukrainian)

Note: The English publication of Ukraine's constitution on the Official Rada and President's web sites are outdated. For a copy of the current version (dated 25 May 2006) see the collection of documents on the Venice Commission's web site copy also available on Wikisource.

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