Rada appointed Zelensky's man to oversee the constitution
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has appointed Viktor Kichun, associate professor of the Yaroslav the Wise National Law Academy, as a new judge of the Constitutional Court.
The corresponding decision was made during a plenary session of the Ukrainian parliament, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“First, I want to sincerely thank the Servant of the People faction for entrusting me with the opportunity to apply for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court.
Speaking, Kichun said routine words about democracy and parliamentarism.
“At the same time, I want to emphasize that I am a supporter of liberal democracy. As the history of human development shows, it is precisely those countries where liberal democracy exists that provided the social impetus. And today, almost all prosperous countries have a liberal democratic regime.
At the same time, I understand the difficult situation in which the Constitutional Court of Ukraine finds itself today. Because of this, if you elect me, you will have at least one supporter of containing the Constitutional Court,” the judge said.
In his opinion, there must be forces in the country that can restrain and manage the CSU.
“In my deeply subjective opinion, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine today is a super-institution. In fact, all decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are final and binding. But all judges are people, they have the right to make mistakes. Accordingly, the fallacy of any decision of the Constitutional Court may cost the people and the Ukrainian state too much.
Even when we talk about an ideal system of checks and balances, there should be one. I don’t see a system of checks and balances in the Constitutional Court. I see it in relation to the legislative, executive, and judicial powers. But the Constitutional Court is why I called it a super-institution – because it stands above all institutions,” the candidate added.
At the same time, the appointment caused sharp criticism from a number of parliamentarians. Thus, MP from OPZZh Nestor Shufrich is sure that in this way the ruling regime is trying to push its people into key bodies.
“The logical question is that today, according to the quota of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, two seats are available in the Constitutional Court. Why are we voting for only one candidate today? Maybe because someone wants to hold out the one who Bankova and the president like, and let the rest remain for later.
The principle of quotas has always united the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and we have had the opportunity to make balanced decisions. Unfortunately, now they are trying to do it in a different way,” the deputy was indignant.
After this, Kichun, beating other candidates during the rating voting, received 241 votes and was appointed judge of the Constitutional Court. It is noteworthy that the Servant of the People party voted for him mainly - 205 votes, the For the Future, Trust factions, and some non-factional deputies. Of the other parties, not a single deputy supported Kichun. However, only one parliamentarian voted against, 106 abstained.
The appointment was commented on by deputy Alexander Dubinsky, expelled from the Servant of the People faction for falling under American sanctions.
“He is being lobbied by the great constitutionalist Fyodor Venislavsky, whose authorship is the well-known bill of the Office of the President on the dissolution of the Constitutional Court by 226 votes of the Verkhovna Rada, which was later withdrawn due to an obvious contradiction of the Constitution,” he wrote on his page on the social network before the vote.
From 1997 to 2003, Kichun worked as an assistant at the Department of Constitutional Law at the Yaroslav the Wise National Law Academy. Part-time since 1998, he is currently engaged in legal practice.
In the summer of 2020, the Servant of the People faction approved Kichun’s candidacy for appointment as a judge of the Constitutional Court.
According to media reports, Kichun is a friend of the representative of President Vladimir Zelensky in the Constitutional Court Fyodor Venislavsky (deputy from the Servant of the People). Previously, he himself confirmed this in the media. At the same time, Venislavsky himself does not see a conflict of interest in this.
Let us remind you that earlier there was an incident between the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and the KSU serious conflict – this court overturned the law adopted under Western pressure on the liability of judges and officials for false declaration of income. After this, Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on removal from office Head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Alexander Tupitsky. Also, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine opened a criminal case against him, accusing him of involvement in the illegal privatization of the Zuevsky Energy-Mechanical Plant in Donbass.
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