Kuchma and Moroz present Constitution to Parliament (03/24/96)

Kuchma and Moroz present Constitution to Parliament

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - In yet another historic step the co-chairmen of the Constitutional Committee, President Leonid Kuchma and Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz presented the draft constitution to members of the legislative branch during a special meeting on March 20.

The meeting, in the plenary session hall of the Supreme Council building, was broadcast live on Ukrainian television and radio, underscoring the significance of this event.

The co-chairmen addressed members of Parliament and, although the two leaders have not agreed on all points outlined in this substantive document, both agreed that Ukraine needs a constitution by no later than this summer.

However, as late as Wednesday morning, after more than two days of debate on how the draft constitution would be presented to Parliament, it was still unclear how the ceremony would look. The fact that such an apparently simple matter of procedure caused so much commotion does not bode well for the work of this legislative body in adopting this document.

In his opening remarks, President Kuchma described the meeting as an "extraordinary event in the socio-political life of Ukraine." He said, "The constitution is a preamble to the foundation on which we can build the legal base for our state, a promising way to overcome all problems and crisis situations, a guarantee of stability in the state, and a way to strengthen trust throughout the world community."

"Although we were among the first republics of the Soviet Union to adopt a declaration on state sovereignty in 1990, and began building an independent, democratic state, we are the last to adopt a constitution," he noted.

Calling the draft constitution "European in spirit, Ukrainian in tradition," Mr. Kuchma said he hoped the Parliament would begin reviewing the draft document within 10 days.

Mr. Moroz noted that he would like to see Ukraine adopt a new constitution in May.

"Our situation demands that we constantly look for compromises, that we have the desire and the ability to listen to one another, and at least a minimal degree of trust toward our opponents," said Mr. Moroz during his opening statement. He added that the "current Parliament is politically unstructured, unstable, an amorphous majority and minority which makes adopting any decisions, especially those of a political nature, very difficult."

"Unfortunately there is a deficit of trust - among the polar forces in the Parliament, among the branches of power and among the electorate toward these powers," noted Mr. Moroz, as he harshly criticized both the national democrats in Parliament, as well as the president and his advisors.

Although he underscored the fact that a fundamental law, the constitution, is needed in Ukraine, he also pointed out that a procedure to adopt it has not yet been worked out by the Parliament. Thus, it remains unclear whether it will be adopted by the Parliament by a two-thirds majority, a simple majority, a national referendum or some other means.

"I support the adoption of the constitution of Ukraine - on a legal basis - because there should be no doubt in anyone's mind about the legitimacy of our country's fundamental law," said Mr. Moroz.

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