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The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Constitutional Court really doesn’t want to know

04.04.2013   
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has, for the fourth time, refused to consider submissions asking about the constitutionality of the Law on the Principles of State Language Policy

Party of the Regions MPs Kolesnichenko and Kivalov whose enormously controversial language law was signed into law by President Yanukovych in August 2012 despite huge protest

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has, for the fourth time, refused to consider submissions asking about the constitutionality of the Law on the Principles of State Language Policy.  The law which elicited enormous protest last year significantly increases the role of the Russian language.  Many of those protesting referred to the quite unequivocal norm of the Constitution stating that Ukraine has one State language – Ukrainian.  The Constitutional Court would appear to be avoiding having to judge on this issue, by rejecting the submissions outright. 

51 MPs had asked the Court to find the law unconstitutional in connection with the violations of procedure during the review and adoption of the law.  The law was “voted for” by a large number of MPs who were not in parliament, for example,   There were other objections as well.

The Constitutional Court asserted that it was not empowered to check observance of the Verkhovna Rada regulations during the adoption of laws.

The law officially submitted by two Party of the Regions MPs – Serhiy Kivalov and Vadim Kolesnychenko effectively gives Russian equal status in much of the country.  

More information about those who objected to the language law, many condemning it as unconstitutional, can be found in Yanukovych’s record-breaking legislative feat and in the links below.

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