Competence of Organs of Constitutional Jurisdiction: Comparative Legal Analysis and Prospects for Modernization in Ukraine

The realities of Ukrainian reality, the intensification of European integration processes and Ukraine’s acquisition of the status of a candidate for EU membership necessitate the modernization and rethinking of legal values, their significance in the modern world. Undoubtedly, all this applies to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as well, objectifying the need to improve the order of its formation, competence, organization of activities, etc. For a thorough comprehensive study, it is advisable to refer to the relevant experience of other states, critically analyze it for the purpose of expediency and the possibility of use in Ukraine. The purpose of this article is to generalize the foreign experience of constitutional-legal regulation of the competence of bodies of constitutional jurisdiction, to carry out a comparative-legal analysis and to determine the directions of modernization of such regulation in Ukraine. The methodological basis of this study is general scientific and special legal methods, as well as relevant approaches and principles. First of all, dialectical, comparative-legal, axiological, epistemological, historical, hermeneutic and other methods are key to achieving this goal. The stated provisions are based on complex and systemic, phenomenological, pluralistic and other approaches. Scientific novelty. Summarizing the trends of constitutional regulation of the areas of activity of bodies of constitutional jurisdiction, allows us to single out the most common: 1) determination of the constitutionality of normative legal acts; 2) interpretation of the constitution; 3) consideration of complaints regarding violation of freedoms and human rights; 4) resolution of disputes (conflicts) between state authorities (between the federation and subjects of the federation, as well as between subjects of the federation or between central and regional bodies, as well as the latter); 5) consideration of issues of impeachment; 6) consideration of issues of compliance of laws with ratified international agreements, provisions of other acts issued by central state bodies, the constitution, ratified international agreements and laws; 7) consideration of election disputes; 8) consideration of questions about the conformity of the constitution with the goals or activities of political parties, the conformity of the decision on their dissolution or other decision concerning the activity of the political party with constitutional or other laws. Mainly at the level of the basic laws of the states, the competence of bodies of constitutional jurisdiction is regulated, in special laws (constitutional or organic) the functions, powers of these bodies and their members, their status, order of formation, forms of activity, etc. are specified. There is a certain specificity in the regulation and implementation of such competence, taking into account the form of the state system, current legislation and other components of the national legal system, historical and local traditions, the existing system of public authorities and the place of constitutional jurisdiction bodies in it. It is considered optimal to improve the powers of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the verification of the constitutionality of international treaties, types of constitutional control, consequences of unconstitutionality; supplementing the existing list of powers by resolving competence disputes; consideration of issues of impeachment of high-ranking state officials (and not only the President of Ukraine); consideration of election disputes and the activity of the political party of the Constitution of Ukraine, etc. That is, it is natural to introduce amendments and additions to Articles 150 and 151 of the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as the Law of Ukraine "On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine", the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, etc. For this, clarification of the conceptual and categorical apparatus, relevant expert discussions and consultations, analytical and scientific intelligence is necessary, especially in the context of meeting the interests and needs of the modern Ukrainian state, protection of human rights and freedoms, and Ukraine’s integration into the European legal space.