Авторы публикации
On March 27, 2022, in an interview with Russian media, President V. Zelensky stated that he agreed to the neutral status of Ukraine, subject to security guarantees. V.Zelensky: “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point. This was the first point of principle for the Russian Federation, as far as I remember. And as far as I remember, they started a war because of this. It is now that they have begun to add clauses to ultimatums…” According to the President, Ukraine is ready for a settlement formula: “security guarantees-neutrality-non-nuclear status”. This formula can be implemented in stages (in order of priority):
1. Signing of the agreement by the presidents of the Russian Federation and Ukraine;
2. Withdrawal of Russian and "LDNR" troops to the borders as of February 24, 2022;
3. Signing of an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine and guarantor countries (formerly called the United States, Britain, Turkey, Germany, France, Poland and others);
4. Ratification of treaties in the Parliament of Ukraine and the parliaments of other countries;
5. Holding a referendum in Ukraine and, based on its results, amending the Constitution of Ukraine.
That is, V. Zelensky proposes to withdraw Russian troops even before the neutral status is approved in the Constitution, since, according to the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum (Article 20, Clause 1), a referendum cannot be held during wartime. That is, a referendum is impossible when there is the presence of Russian troops in the country. No one will count his results. In addition, during wartime, changes to the Constitution are prohibited, according to the Constitution of Ukraine (Article 157).
If we imagine that a compromise on peace agreements has been reached, and their implementation requires amendments to the Constitution regarding non-alignment and NATO. It is first necessary to adopt a relevant law in Parliament. At the same time, according to the procedure described in Art. 147 of the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, the relevant bill must be sent to the Constitutional Court for consideration. Also, according to Art. 159 of the Constitution of Ukraine, A bill on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine is considered by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine if there is a conclusion of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the compliance of the bill with the requirements of Articles 157 and 158 of this Constitution. In turn, the CCU has 30 days to consider the appeal. After that, the bill is included in the agenda of the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada not earlier than seven days after the provision of the relevant conclusion to the people's deputies (Article 147, clause 11 of the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada). A bill on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine or on changes to the territory of Ukraine, previously approved by a majority of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is considered adopted if at the next ordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, at least two-thirds of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for it (300 People's Deputies) (Article 155 of the Constitution). Taking into account the fact that the session is already underway and will continue until mid-July, and the next one is due to begin in September, it is impossible to adopt a law before September.
After that, the relevant law is sent for signature to the President, who signs it within 15 days, in accordance with the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum (Article 26, paragraph 2). And determines the date of the all-Ukrainian referendum - the last Sunday of the 60th day from the date of publication of the relevant decree, and the formulated question that is submitted to the referendum, in accordance with the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum (Article 26, paragraph 3). Taking into account the counting of votes and the official announcement of the voting results - another 20 days, according to the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum (Art. 118 and Art. 119). The decision taken at the referendum comes into force 10 days after its official promulgation, in accordance with the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum (Article 120).
Thus, hypothetically, if the relevant law is adopted in mid-September, the decision made in the referendum will not enter into force until the second half of December 2022.
Thus, in order to amend the Constitution and hold a referendum before the end of the year, it is necessary to start the process already in this session. In principle, in order to be in time by the end of the year, the parliament needs to make the first decisions before the beginning of September, the constitutionally established date for the start of the next session (extraordinary sessions will also not drastically affect the schedule).
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Also worth considering:
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Questions contradicting the Constitution of Ukraine cannot be submitted to a referendum, and it is also forbidden to raise questions aimed at violating the territorial integrity and liquidating the independence of Ukraine.
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Control over compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine is exercised by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The CCU has 30 days to consider the appeal, during which the referendum procedure is suspended (Article 21, paragraph 4 of the Law on the All-Ukrainian Referendum). If, according to the conclusions of the Constitutional Court, the issue submitted to the referendum is unconstitutional, then the referendum procedure is considered completed.
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A limitation for the referendum procedure is the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency in Ukraine or its individual areas. The process of implementing the all-Ukrainian referendum starts from the beginning, 30 days after the termination or cancellation of the martial law or the state of emergency.
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That is why the President demands that Russian troops first leave the territory of Ukraine.
Based on the above provisions and the current situation in the country, the process of implementing the peace agreements as a whole seems to be rather complicated.
Ruslan Bortnik, Oksana Krasovskaya
