The Verkhovna Rada has asked the Ukrainian Constitutional Court to verify the constitutionality of presidential bill (No. 9037) adjusting the Constitution with a pledge of Ukraine’s strategic course towards its membership in the European Union and NATO.
“On September 27, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court received a constitutional inquiry from the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, which asked for verifying the compliance of the bill adjusting the Ukrainian constitution [with the pledge of the strategic course towards Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] with Articles 157 and 158 of the Ukrainian Constitution,” the Constitutional Court said in a statement posted on its website on September 28.
On September 20, the Verkhovna Rada directed to the Constitutional Court presidential bill (No. 9037) adjusting the Constitution with Ukraine’s strategic course towards membership in the European Union and NATO.
According to the procedure, the Verkhovna Rada can consider a bill modifying the Ukrainian Constitution only if the Constitutional Court confirms its compliance with Articles 157 and 158 of the fundamental law.
Once the Constitutional Court speaks its mind, the parliament may pass the bill in the first reading with at least 226 votes. It may pass the bill as a whole at the next session with at least 300 votes, i.e. the constitutional majority. The procedure is established by the Ukrainian constitution.
The bill vests the Verkhovna Rada with the power “to pursue the country’s strategic course towards Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Ukrainian president would be the guarantor of the implementation of the strategic course towards Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO, while the government will ensure the implementation of the strategic course in those organizations.
The presidential bill was registered in parliament on September 3.
