You're reading: Parliament redacts laws to comply with 1996 Constitution

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament has adopted a law on amendments to a number of laws to put them in line with the provisions of the constitution of 1996. The law amends the laws on the Security Service of Ukraine, on local state administrations, and on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

The voting on this law and the law on the Cabinet of Ministers took place during a plenary sitting of the parliament on Thursday. Some 252 MPs voted for the laws.

In particular, the laws on the police, on the prosecutor general’s office, on the Security Service of Ukraine, on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, on state service and on local state administrations have been amended.

The law also made amendments to the laws on natural monopolies, on state regulation of the securities market, on nuclear energy and radiation safety, on the State Tax Administration and a number of other laws. It was noted during a discussion that the law amends more than 30 current laws of Ukraine.

The adopted amendments subordinated the Security Service of Ukraine to the president. According to the law, the president of Ukraine will appoint and dismiss the head of the SBU.

The Verkhovna Rada will oversee the SBU’s activity and monitor its compliance with the current legislation. The law obliges the SBU chairman to report on the activity of the security service at the Verkhovna Rada every year.

The amended law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine stipulates that in the case of a dismissal of a judge of the Constitutional Court who was appointed by the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament appoints a new judge of the Constitutional Court.

According to the law on local state administrations, the Ukrainian president will appoint the heads of local state administrations nominated by the prime minister for the period of his presidency.

Heads of corresponding regional state administrations will offer candidates for the heads of district state administrations to the prime minister of Ukraine.