Unconstitutional formation of coalition would place its legitimacy in doubt

According to constitutional law specialists, the amendments supported at first reading on 4 March which make it possible to form a coalition not only from factions, but from individual deputies, if passed into law, could be successfully appealed against.

The authors of the amendments to the Law on the Parliamentary Regulations among Deputies from the Party of the Regions have stated that their aim was to “render harmless the mines planted in the Constitution”. However the Head of the Board of the Centre for Political and Legal Reform, Ihor Koliushko does not understand how this can be reconciled with Article 83 of the Constitution: “The majority of factions have to take the decision to form a coalition. The Constitution envisages no other means of creating a coalition”.

At the same time Mr Koliushko says that no Constitution of any European country contains such requirements as in the Ukrainian one for forming a governing coalition. Nonetheless he advises decommissioning this “mine” through amendments to the Constitution, and not by creating legislation in breach of it. Members of the BYuT faction and some of the deputies from Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defence have called the proposed amendments unlawful.

Oleksiy Haran, Academic Director of the NaUKMA School of Political Analysis is convinced that if the amendments are adopted, BYuT will have every chance of successfully challenging them in the Constitutional Court or administrative courts. He is convinced that the formation of a new coalition by unconstitutional means immediately places in question its legitimacy.  He cannot exclude the possibility that as a result of the proposed amendments to legislation, political corruption could flourish with deputies being bribed to support this or that political project.

Oleksandr Savytsky