According to a January 30 Constitutional Court decision, the High Court cannot rule on Ukraine’s entrance into the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (IPA), because this is a political, not legal act.
Since Verkhovna Rada’s decision on Ukraine’s joining the IPA, this issue became a chip in the political games in our parliament. It should be recalled that before and after the decision concerning the entrance into the IPA, which was put to a vote by then Speaker Oleksandr Tkachenko a record- breaking number of times (32), opponents pointed out to the legal impossibility of such entrance. As we know, after the 1995 Minsk Conference the CIS IPA status changed from advisory to international. Thus, it is for the leadership of the country, rather than exclusively for its parliament, to decide whether to join or not the IPA after it becomes a full CIS member, Being aware of the impossibility of doing this, Verkhovna Rada became an IPA member according to the “old rules” adopted 1992 in Almaty, which in 1999 were already obsolete. The presentation to the Constitutional Court concerning the decision on IPA entry should have been put on the agenda two years ago. But then there were other matters to cope with, the more so as Ukraine’s alleged membership in the IPA could not have any legal consequences. In reality, the Ukraine’s parliament made only a gesture supposed to warm the cockles of the hearts of especially zealous supporters of a closer CIS integration. Now as this gesture became the object of consideration by the Constitutional Court on demand of 54 People’s Deputies, it turned out that the lawmakers themselves must decide what to do about its own decision. As stated by the High Court, it “cannot be considered a legal act in the sense of Article 50 of the Constitution of Ukraine.” Thus, the parliament has been left to face its membership in the CIS IPA on its own. Such a turn seems to satisfy one and all: the Left can further pride itself on Ukraine’s “membership” in the IPA, the Right retained its argument in dispute with the Left: membership can be further questioned. And “most importantly” the CIS IPA itself was satisfied, seemingly having Ukraine’s parliament in it.
