Constitutional Complaint in the System of Human Rights Mechanism in Ukraine: Search for an Optimal Model

The article highlights the legal regulation and doctrinal views on current trends in the search for an optimal model of a constitutional complaint in the system of the human rights mechanism of the Ukrainian State. It is stated that one of the main current challenges that necessitate further reform of the constitutional justice system is the international obligations assumed by Ukraine to further improve the organization and functioning of the institutions of this system as a prerequisite for its European integration. The purpose of the article is to establish the current prerequisites determining the choice of the optimal model of constitutional complaint in Ukraine, and to present the author’s vision of further development of this institution. It is stated that among the existing models of the legal institution of constitutional complaint (normative limited and full constitutional complaint), Ukraine currently has a limited normative model which provides for the possibility for a person to appeal only against the law which was applied in a court decision if the subject considers it unconstitutional. It is established that European expert institutions point out the need to introduce a full constitutional complaint in Ukraine, which would allow individuals to effectively protect their rights and freedoms at the national level with a reduction in the number of appeals to international judicial bodies. It is highlighted the risks of introducing the full constitutional complaint model, including: the risk of a potential significant increase in the workload of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which may lead to a slowdown in its work; the risk of turning the constitutional control body into another court instance. It is proposed promising directions for the development of these issues, which are limited to improving the efficiency of the judicial system in terms of implementing the legislative provisions on non-application by a court of a law or other legal act if the court concludes that they contradict the Constitution of Ukraine, and applying in such cases the provisions of the Constitution as direct effect provisions rather than a subsidiary mechanism for correcting such application. It is identified the areas for further research in the context of scientific and legislative elaboration of the full model of a constitutional complaint with a view to its implementation in the future.