Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Another political crisis has flared up in Ukraine, caused by the confrontation between the executive and judicial branches of government. President V. Zelensky entered into confrontation with the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) and is making attempts to remove judges of the CCU from office.

The reason for the aggravation of relations between the branches of government was the decision of the Constitutional Court that the criminal article on the illegal enrichment of officials (Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code) and the need for them to electronically declare their income, contradict the Constitution of the country.

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine said that the decision was made in the judges’ own interests, since the agency had previously identified signs of false information in the declarations of two of them.

In this regard, V. Zelensky made an attempt to solve the problem by dissolving the current composition of the Constitutional Court through the Verkhovna Rada, although according to Art. 149 of the Constitution of Ukraine, it is established that the decision to dismiss a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is made by two-thirds of its composition. There are no other mechanisms for dismissing judges of the Constitutional Court, in particular, through the adoption of a law by the Verkhovna Rada.

In turn, the judges of the Constitutional Court stated that they did not intend to resign due to the lack of grounds for this. Moreover, the chairman of the Constitutional Court A. Tupitsky said that in the actions of V. Zelensky "signs of a coup d’etat are seen."

As a result of V. Zelensky’s illegal measures, a constitutional crisis erupted. To withdraw from it, the head of state proposed the voluntary resignation of all judges of the Constitutional Court.

The head of the President’s Office A. Yermak stated that “the classical political crisis was provoked by a number of decisions of the Constitutional Court and the situational anti-presidential union of well-known opposition oligarchic groups.

The situation in Ukrainian domestic politics has caused a resonance among experts, who call V. Zelensky’s bill an attempt to "usurp power".

It is noted that the adoption and implementation of the bill can significantly undermine the foundations of the constitutional system of Ukraine in terms of the division of power. At the same time, this decision will be illegitimate for the European Court of Human Rights, which, with a high degree of probability, will regard the dismissed judges as “victims of political repression”.

It is noteworthy that the Venice Commission for the Light of Europe declared that the termination of the powers of judges is a "flagrant violation" of the constitution and the fundamental principle of separation of powers, which "will undermine the country’s culture of constitutionalism and respect for the rule of law.

The commission urged "to consider the negative, profound and long-term consequences for the country in the event of the resignation of constitutional judges" and to explore possible alternative ways to combat corruption in accordance with international standards.

In turn, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany and the EU in their joint statement called on the parties to start a dialogue and find a solution to the crisis.

Under pressure from the international community, the Verkhovna Rada, led by Zelensky’s supporters in the ruling Servant of the People party, postponed the vote on the bill proposed by the president. This led to a split in the ranks of the presidential party.

At the same time, the legislators have begun to prepare a new draft law, according to which the procedure for the activities of the CCU will be determined by law, and not by the rules of the court.

On the whole, the erupted political crisis in Ukraine has become one of the most acute conflicts between the president and the old elite, whose interests are represented by the judges of the Constitutional Court. T

he outcome of this confrontation, on the one hand, can strengthen the power of V. Zelensky and lead to a change in the political structure, from a parliamentary to a presidential republic. On the other hand, it will once again demonstrate the inability of the head of state to fight corruption and oligarchic circles in the country. 

This, in the context of the loss of the ruling party in the local elections and the inability to cope with the second wave of coronavirus, can lead to a loss of confidence among voters and undermine financial assistance from Western partners, the basis of which is a systemic fight against corruption.