OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine supports Constitutional Court to establish mechanism for direct complaints

KYIV, 23 April 2010 - Judges and heads of the Constitutional Courts of Ukraine and the Russian Federation participated today in an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion supporting Ukraine to establish a mechanism for complaints to be filed directly to the Constitutional Court.

During the event, supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, judges from the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation shared their experiences of direct constitutional complaint.

"We support the right of any person to refer a case directly to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to protect his or her constitutional rights," said Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. "An institute of direct constitutional complaint would strengthen independent national institutions working in the area of human rights and the rule of law and provide an effective legal mechanism to protect individual constitutional rights and freedoms."

The Head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Andriy Stryzhak, said that the experience of Russian Federation in this field was particularly relevant for Ukraine.

"The judicial systems of our two countries are similar, as we share a legal heritage," he added.

The discussion was organized jointly by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as part of an OSCE PCU project on constitutional complaints.