Constitutional Court bins Law on Impeachment

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has found unconstitutional the law on temporary investigative commissions which sets out procedure for impeachment of the President. The judgment issued on 10 September is based on the fact that the document was made public without President Yushchenko’s signature, and with the date of the first time it was passed, not of its repeat consideration. The Court has recently concluded that a law which is considered for a second time and passed should carry the date of the second adoption, as well as the signature of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, confirming that the content of the Law corresponds to the decision passed in parliament.

The decision to declare the Law unconstitutional is thus linked with procedural issues, and the Court did not consider its substance.

The said law stipulates the legal status of special parliamentary structures – temporary investigative commissions, special temporary investigative commissions and temporary special commissions, as well as their powers and organizational base. These commissions would be capable of carrying out impeachment procedure.

The Law was passed by the Verkhovna Rada on 15 January 2009 and vetoed by the President. In March parliament was able to override the President’s veto, however the document was published in the official press with Speaker Lytvyn’s signature, but with the first date that it was passed, i.e. 15 January.

From information at http://news.liga.net/ukr/news/NU095996.html