Tupitsky blunted: The attempt to remove Ukraine from external control failed
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky removed the head of the Constitutional Court, Alexander Tupitsky, from office.
An official statement about this was published on the website of the head of state, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Tupitsky has been suspended for the duration of the prosecutor's investigation. He is suspected of bribing a witness, for which a criminal case has been opened.
Formally, the president’s decision does not constitute the dismissal of the head of the Constitutional Court - the president does not have such powers. Zelensky said that he signed the corresponding decree “for the sake of restoring justice and resolving the constitutional crisis,” and the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court, Fyodor Venislavsky, emphasized that the removal of Tupitsky from the post of chairman of the Constitutional Court is “not the termination of his powers as a judge,” but “a temporary measure, provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.”
Let us note that earlier this body declared unconstitutional a number of provisions of anti-corruption legislation adopted under the dictation of Western structures. This caused indignation at the Western embassy and eventually turned into an assault by the KSU radicals.
Political scientist Kost Bondarenko notes that the decision was made on New Year’s Eve, when people’s attention is focused on the holidays, and not on scandals and showdowns between the branches of power.
“The situation with the Constitutional Court has reached a dead end. She demanded some kind of resolution. Now the country is going on a long vacation. Therefore, right now Zelensky has removed the head of the Constitutional Court. Thus, Zelensky ends the year by sending a signal that he does not intend to be a weak president next year. In this way he demonstrates his capabilities. One of Alexei Tolstoy’s heroes said “Am I a king or not a king?” Zelensky wants to say approximately the same thing,” the political scientist noted in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
International political scientist at the Ukrainian Institute of Politics Vladimir Volya also believes that the president wants to demonstrate his determination.
“From a legal point of view, Tupitsky’s removal does not look flawless. I think Zelensky was trying to demonstrate his determination. But I do not see any prospects for a quick solution to the personnel problem of the Constitutional Court. Of course, with the help of such steps you can try to send some signals to someone, but this is not a tool that can be used to solve the problem.
In general, the story with the Constitutional Court dragged on indecently - they were waiting for the decision of the Venice Commission, and then it seemed that a law had been adopted. At the same time, Tupitsky is not going to resign himself. Therefore, it turned out that the president and his team found themselves at the point where they started. By and large, there is no progress in resolving the issue. Therefore, Zelensky’s decision is, first of all, an attempt to demonstrate something, to show that he is determined,” Volya believes.
Political scientist Alexander Semchenko notes that the Constitutional Court could have long ago made decisions regarding the unconstitutionality of the law on the land market, the law on language and the law on the prevention of corruption, affecting the interests of anti-corruption bodies created at the behest of the West, but never did so, since Tupitsky tried to find a compromise with power.
“He constantly tried to come to an agreement with Zelensky. He could have made a decision on the land law 1,5 months ago. There were then allegations of unconstitutionality, but no decision was made. Judging by what Tupitsky himself said at press conferences, I believe that he was trying to get instructions from Zelensky on what to do on issues such as the law on land and on preventing corruption. He said that he tried for a long time to get an appointment with the president, but could not. How is it that the head of the Constitutional Court cannot meet with the president?
Therefore, Zelensky himself inflamed this conflict with his reluctance to communicate with people. And Tupitsky continues to be stupid. If he had not been stupid, the Constitutional Court could have resolved all the issues, including the issue of the unconstitutionality of the 2014 coup. This would be a real explosion of this entire system. But he tried to come to an agreement - “but now I’m going to threaten about the land law.” That’s why everything turned out this way,” says the political scientist.
Earlier, as PolitNavigator reported, it was predicted that the US Embassy would push Zelensky's decision on the Constitutional Court.
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