“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 363–373.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-363-373

Yushchyk Oleksii
The problem of constituent power in the constituting of the state

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

This article addresses the problem of constituent power in the constituting of the Ukrainian state and argues that post-independence Ukraine built and transformed public power in ways that did not correspond to the proper meaning of constituent power. Using a dialectical methodology and drawing on R. Maksakova’s approach, constituent power is treated not merely as the adoption or amendment of a written constitution, but as a broader set of relations through which a politically dominant social subject (as sovereign) establishes public-authority institutions, sets the core norms of their functioning (a «factual constitution»), and legitimizes the desired social order by adopting or changing legal acts (a «legal constitution»).

The paper reviews how classical theories evolved from social-contract ideas to a focus on written constitutions and the rule-of-law paradigm, which often «dissolved» constituent power into legislative power and produced conceptual uncertainty about its subject, forms, and limits. Turning to Ukrainian practice since 1991, the author links deficiencies of the political system and the design of public institutions to persistent constitutional violations, corruption, and a tendency toward state degradation. A key contradiction is formulated: deep constitutional change is needed, yet the current amendment procedure involves the very institutions implicated in the crisis, so the contradiction cannot be resolved within the existing constitutional framework.

On this basis, the author distinguishes legality from legitimacy and argues that several pivotal «non-violent» steps (including the 1990 suspension of constitutional chapters and the 1995 Constitutional Agreement) were neither lawful nor legitimate because they bypassed direct popular will. The text also criticizes doctrinal and constitutional terminology, insisting on a clearer separation between direct and indirect democracy and proposing a more precise reading of Article 5 (including the wording about «state bodies»).

As a solution, the article proposes a new constitutional process led by an All-Ukrainian Constituent Assembly designed to be legitimate under Article 5. Formed mainly by delegates elected from local councils and supplemented by parliamentary-faction delegates, this body would develop and approve a draft constitution (or new edition) and submit it to a nationwide referendum, thereby restoring legitimate constituent power to the act of constituting public authority.

Keywords: direct democracy, representative democracy, constitutional order, constituent power, public authority, state bodies, local self-government bodies, legitimacy of constituent power.

References

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 30.01.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026