OSCE supports discussions on use of constitutional justice tools to defend human rights in Ukraine in times of war

Ukrainian and international legal professionals, civic activists, experts and youth join a series of events under the Constitution Week initiative to discuss how to better use constitutional justice for defending human rights in times of war. The initiative, organised by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine in partnership with the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, culminated on 28 June 2023, the country’s Constitution Day with the International Conference “The Constitution of Ukraine and the Triad of European Values: A Eurointegration Perspective”. The event enabled Ukrainian and foreign constitutional judges, practitioners, academics and international experts to review the importance of the triad of European values – democracy, human rights, and the rule of law - to play their role  during the armed conflict.

“We commend the resilience of our Ukrainian partners, of your institution, to continue to uphold the values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law – our common values, enshrined in international legal instruments, in the Helsinki Final Act. They have inspired and guided us for nearly 50 years. We stand by these principles even as in minds of many people this war has placed a big question mark near them”, said Pierre Baussand, the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme Manager welcoming participants of the Conference.

The discussions during the conference will also help to further align Ukraine’s constitutional justice with European constitutional tradition and international law.

In a separate occasion, on 27 June a joint effort with the Aspen Institute Kyiv engaged leaders of legal profession in dialogue café “Constitutionalism under Extreme Conditions: Dialogues on Justice during the Times of War”. 30 judges, lawyers, MPs, top government officials, human rights activists, journalists, opinion leaders discussed the challenges and shared future visions of Ukrainian constitutionalism.

“War against Ukraine poses extreme challenges to the constitutional order, Ukrainian society and democratic institutions. At the same time, it is an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to the constitutional values and democratic future of Ukraine,» – said Vitalii Gatseliuk, member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine – This dialogue, in my opinion, is key ingredient in forging nation-wide consensus on Ukraine’s post-war future.” 

On 26 June 2023 the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine offered the youth - future lawyers - an opportunity to explore challenges and discuss prospects for constitutional justice reform, with special focus on the use of constitutional complaint. The Youth Constitutional Café engaged law students in dialogue with peers and leading constitutional experts and Constitutional and Supreme court judges on access to justice on practicalities of constitutional justice under current conditions; national and international remedies in human rights protection. 

These project efforts are part of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine, implemented with financial contributions from participating states and partners, full list of donors is available here.