The constitution as a (non) fundamental law for the authorities and society (on the specifics of Ukraine's newest constitutional process)

Abstract

Despite the fact that the Ukrainian state since of June 28, 1996 has been living by its own Constitution, there is still a scientific discussion about optimal model of the Basic Law of Ukraine. In particular, one of the key problems is that specialists, scholars and constitutionalists are not involved in the process of discussing amendments to the Constitution and the creation of laws that would comply with the Constitution of Ukraine. It should also be noted that the Basic Law was usually changed not in the process of legislative evolution, but after the election of a new president. That can be attributed to the fact that the legal society has not formed from the very beginning due to respect for the Constitution and the need for full adaptation of legislation to it. Thus, to date, there are no constitutional laws, which are directly referred to in the Basic Law of the country. So far, there are no laws, "On the All-Ukrainian Referendum", "On the Local Referendum", "On the Imperative Mandate", "On the Procedure for Forming and Repaying Public Debt" and laws regulating the activities of the parliamentary coalition and opposition.
The approval at the level of the Constitution also requires the Great State Emblem of Ukraine. It is also necessary to amend the Constitution, which will clearly regulate the procedure for entry into force of decisions adopted in all-Ukrainian and local referendums.
The article states that in the process of Constitutional reform the Basic Law needs certain terminological clarifications, such as "indigenous peoples".
The purpose of the article is to determinate at least three directions of the modern constitutional debate – conservative, evolutionary and revolutionary ways.
It is proved that the revolutionary initiatives of the authorities in the matter of radical change of the Con\stitution have no professional justification and social legitimacy.
Conservative and evolutionary approaches have been proposed and taken as their basis, which presupose, on the one hand, the importance of promoting respect for the Constitution and the need for its implementation, and, on the other, a professional and socially sensitive approach to amendments to the Constitution.