Department on Citizenship and Migration to stay with the MIA

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has found unconstitutional the liquidation by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs [MIA] Department on Citizenship, Registration and Migration and the transfer of its powers to the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

The constitutional submission was lodged by President Yushchenko who, as reported at the time, asked for a judgment as to the constitutionality of a number of provisions of the Cabinet of Ministers Resolutions from 17 and 29 July 2009 regarding the State Migration Service.

The President argued that only laws could stipulate the principles for regulating migration processes, as well as the law on the overall structure and numbers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Through the changes planned, the Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution would, he claimed, lead to a change in the overall number of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  Any such changes must be made by law, not through a Cabinet of Ministers resolution which constitutes subordinate legislation.

The Constitutional Court appears to have found unconstitutional particular norms of the Regulations on the State Migration Service of Ukraine, confirmed by CMU Resolution No. 750 from 17 July 2009; amendments approved by Item 1 of CMU Resolution No. 810 from 29 July 2009, as well as Item 2 of CMU Resolution on Issues of the State Migration Service of Ukraine, affirmed by the same Resolution.

The Judgment has yet to be placed on the official website, and none of the media outlets that report this judgment or the brief note on the CCU site explain the reasons.