Imperative mandate (Ukraine)
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Imperative mandate (Ukrainian: Імперативний мандат) commonly refers to a provision in the Constitution of Ukraine in which members of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) are bound by the constitution and laws of Ukraine to remain members of the parliamentary faction or bloc in which they were elected. Imperative mandate provisions were defined in the Constitution in articles Articles 78 and 81.
History
The provision was introduced in the Constitution during the 2004 Constitutional Amendments on December 8, 2004.[1][2]
During the
On October 1, 2010 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine overturned the 2004 Constitutional Amendments, considering them unconstitutional.[4] Several individual joined other factions already on October 5, 2010.[5] But the Verkhovna Rada canceled the law's provision after amending the regulations of its activities on October 8, 2010;[6] since then only 15 or more deputies can form a parliamentary faction, a lawmaker can join only one faction (the chairman and his two assistants cannot head factions of deputies)[6][7] and deputies who are expelled from factions or decide to leave them become individual lawmakers; individual deputies are allowed to unite into parliamentary groups of people's deputies then again at least 15 deputies are required for the formation of such groups.[6][7]
2014 reinstatement
On 21 February 2014, the parliament passed a law that reinstated the December 8, 2004 amendments of the constitution.
In practice the Imperative mandate causes the deprivation of the mandate of deputies who leave their faction by their own initiative while deputies who are removed from their faction become an independent MP.[10]
In June 2020, after parliament had refused his request to release him from parliament,
Criticism
The Imperative mandate provisions had been the subject of criticism by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as being undemocratic till its end.[1] In the Assembly's 2007 report on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe — Resolution 1549 (2007) Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine (items 8 and 9) it wrote:
The Assembly calls on the political forces of Ukraine, as a matter of urgency, to resume working on the improvement of the Constitution of Ukraine and the related legislation in order to establish at last an effective system of checks and balances and bring constitutional provisions in line with European standards. Constitutional reform should be part of the discussions aimed at the resolution of the current political crisis. The Assembly expresses its expectation that the Venice Commission will be actively involved in the process of drafting constitutional reform proposals. The Assembly reaffirms that the recall of people's representatives by the political parties ("imperative mandate") is unacceptable in a democratic state. The relevant constitutional provisions need to be abrogated in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission in 2004; similar provisions also need to be deleted from ordinary legislation. The Assembly believes that a consistent political programme, responsible and committed party membership and scrupulous screening of parties' candidates are more effective tools for encouraging party and faction discipline.
See also
- The Anti-defection law in India, a similar concept
- Imperative mandate
- Party switching
- Elections in Ukraine
References
- ^ a b Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: The functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (October 5, 2010)
- ^ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada decree No. 2222-IV: About the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. Adopted on 2004-12-08. (Ukrainian)
- ISBN 3631588895(page 38)
- ^ Update: Return to 1996 Constitution strengthens president, raises legal questions, Kyiv Post (October 1, 2010)
- ^ Seven individual MPs join Regions Party faction, Our Ukraine MP joins Lytvyn Bloc Archived January 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Rada Approves Cancellation Of Rule That Bans Deputies From Switching Factions Archived October 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, The Financial (October 8, 2010)
- ^ a b Rada amends regulations of its activities, Kyiv Post (October 8, 2010)
- ^ a b c Ukrainian parliament reinstates 2004 Constitution, Interfax-Ukraine (21 February 2014)
- UNIAN (25 March 2016). Retrieved 9 October 2016.
"People's deputy of Ukraine VIII convocation Mykola Tomenko". Official portal (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - UNIAN(7 December 2017)
- Ukrayinska Pravda(8 July 2020) (in Ukrainian)
External links
- Council of Europe — resolution Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine April 19, 2007
- Council of Europe — Explanatory memorandum April 17, 2007
- Council of Europe — Venice Commission:Ukraine