Ukrainian authorities are to dissolve existing constitutional committee and create a new one, with representatives of various political forces making up one third of it and community leaders and scientists making up two thirds of it. It was the declaration chairman of the board of the Center of political and legal reforms Ihor Koliushko during his media briefing in Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
The expert reminded that Verkhovna Rada created temporary special committee for the projected law as early as on March 4, and at first it was to complete their work by April 15, but later this period was extended to May 15. «This committee did not fulfil their duty and it would make sense for Verkhovna Rada to consider the issue of its competence. I would suggest liquidating the temporary special committee which failed to fulfil their assigned task, and create a new one from among representatives of political forces, scientific sphere and the public», – noted Ihor Koliushko.
The lawyer is confident that failure to conduct constitutional reform is the biggest threat now. Mr. Koliushko believes that a new committee would be able to create the most efficient version of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, and community leaders together with scientists would optimize this process to the benefit of the whole country, not only separate political groups. At the same time Ihor Koliushko remarked that the risk of constitutional reform implementation in behalf of any party is low. «Our political spectrum is too fragmented to assume that someone might arrange for 300 votes in the parliament to carry on a political reform specially designated for anyone. I believe that the reciprocal mistrust of politicians to one another will not let it happen», – the expert explained his assumptions.
Besides, Mr. Koliushko stated that a self-organized group of scientists and community leaders was working simultaneously with the parliamentary committee. «Three working groups have been created, preparing proposals for the constitutional reform. The first one pertained to decentralization and local self-governing in particular. Close cooperation on this issue was conducted with the Ministry of regional development, construction and housing and communal services of Ukraine. The second working group was acting within the scope of Resuscitation package of reforms and prepared materials on judicial administration and public prosecution organization. The third group prepared proposals on distribution of authority between the President, Verkhovna Rada, Cabinet of Ministers and other central authorities. In our opinion, these three groups embraced the list of issues calling for immediate change».
In Ihor Koliushko’s opinion, election of the new president will provide opportunity to put the process of constitutional amendments preparation in order. Nevertheless, one fear remains: «The President is entitled to file a project of amendments of the Constitution on his own. In this case, it would be possible to structure a dialogue with the parliament on its enactment. One thing is important – the president must not overstep the mark and move the situation round in favour of his own political interests».
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