Congratulations of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Day of Constitution of Ukraine
28 June 2023, 08:31
Dear Ukrainians, I sincerely congratulate you on the Constitution Day of Ukraine!
As the Fundamental Law, it lays not only the legal, but above all the value foundation of the Ukrainian people as a modern civilised society and Ukraine as a modern civilised state.
It is a true social contract that reflects what we, as a people, consider right and wrong, how we want to live and what we categorically reject, how we see our future and how we are ready to protect it.
The basis of the Constitution is Article One, which defines Ukraine as a sovereign and independent, democratic, social and legal state. These characteristics of the Ukrainian state are fundamental and are reflected in one way or another in other provisions of the Basic Law.
The following articles of the Constitution stipulate that the sovereignty of Ukraine extends to its entire territory, which is integral and inviolable. The protection of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring its security are the most important functions of the state and the concern of the entire Ukrainian people.
On 24 February last year, we saw that this is not a simple declaration. Since the beginning of the aggression of an inadequate neighbour with exorbitant ambitions and phantom pains of the times of “imperial greatness”, the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian state have been defending the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country at the cost of incredible efforts and huge losses. We have already achieved great success, but there is still a difficult path ahead that will lead us to the restoration of sovereignty within the constitutional borders of 1991.
The democratic nature of our country means that in
just over 30 years of independence, Ukraine has been led by its sixth
President, not a President who is thinking about how to be elected for a fifth,
and preferably a sixth, term. This is a fundamental principle of interaction
between the state and society. We can see the consequences of its violation in russia,
where decades of unlimited powers of the state leaders have led to a distorted
perception of themselves, their place and functions in the state, and
ultimately, the role of their country in the world.
However, “Ukraine is not russia”, and it is the people, not the government, who determine who governs the Ukrainian state. At the same time, the two revolutions have demonstrated that the people are ready to defend their country’s democratic system and their right to choose, and that any government must respect this people or cease to be a government. This is because Ukrainians are free and dignified people who have the will to defend their principles, even if the price of doing so may be life or health.
Finally, a “social and legal state”.
According to Article 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person, his or her life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security are recognised as the highest social value. Human rights and freedoms and their guarantees determine the content and focus of the state’s activities.
This is a reflection of the principle that “the state exists for the individual, not the individual for the state”. The right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to vote and be elected, freedom of speech and freedom of movement. All of this is another watershed that distinguishes us from the imperial leviathan that exists solely to satisfy the interests of the ruling elite and expand its borders and considers people as a resource to ensure this. It is human-centredness that distinguishes Ukraine, as part of the modern and future civilised world, from a country whose rulers and people are stuck in the distant past.
At the same time, in order to implement these principles, the state, society, and each individual need to live by rules that depend on the consensus in society, not on the will of one or more people. That is why Ukraine recognises and enforces the rule of law, which is the basis of a state governed by the rule of law, i.e. a state that functions on the basis of the “rule of law, not the rule of force”.
I am convinced that our constitutional values are also those that unite the Ukrainian people and will lead to the success of the Ukrainian state, which will be a truly sovereign, independent, democratic, social and legal state for centuries to come.
Happy Constitution Day of Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine!