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International Journal of Law and Social Justice

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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijlsj.2026.12.002

Constitutional Changes in Ukraine in 2004, 2010 and 2014: Issues of Constitutionality and Legitimacy

Roman Martyniuk*, Oleksii Datsiuk, Mykola Romanov, Tetiana Khomych

National University “Ostroh Academy”, Ostroh, Rivne 25709, Ukraine.

*Corresponding author: Roman Martyniuk

Published: August 26, 2026

Abstract

The Article examines the constitutional amendments in Ukraine in 2004, 2010 and 2014 from the point of view of their constitutionality and legitimacy. The political and legal prerequisites for the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine” of December 8, 2004, the procedural violations that accompanied its adoption in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, are studied. The Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of September 30, 2010, which annulled the results of the constitutional reform of 2004 and restored the validity of the initial version of the Constitution of Ukraine, is analyzed. The method of restoring the validity of the version of the Constitution of Ukraine of December 8, 2004 during the Revolution of Dignity is investigated. The political motives of the aforementioned constitutional amendments are clar-ified. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of September 30, 2010. The legal position of the Consti-tutional Court of Ukraine on the admissibility of exercising constitutional control over laws on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, formulated in its Decision of February 5, 2008, is analyzed. The conclusion on the contradiction be-tween this legal position and the Decision of the body of constitutional jurisdic-tion of September 30, 2010 is substantiated. The legal and political aspects of the restoration of the validity of the version of the Constitution of Ukraine of December 8, 2004 during the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014 are studied. The peculiarities of the implementation of the constituent power of the Ukrainian people are clarified and the role of the Maidan as a special institutional manifestation of popular sovereignty in the conditions of the Revolution of Dignity is determined. The thesis that the constitutionality and legitimacy of constitutional changes in extraordinary circumstances May not coincide is substantiated. It is concluded that the constitutional changes in Ukraine in 2004, 2010 and 2014 were a manifestation of a complex interaction of legal and political factors, and also demonstrated the need to establish the principle of the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine under any political circumstances.

Keyword

Constituent power of the people; constitution; constitutional control; form of gov-ernment, constitutionality; legitimacy; Constitutional Court of Ukraine; Verkhov-na Rada of Ukraine; “Orange Revolution”; Revolution of Dignity

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How to cite this paper

Constitutional Changes in Ukraine in 2004, 2010 and 2014: Issues of Constitutionality and Legitimacy

How to cite this paper: Roman Martyniuk, Oleksii Datsiuk, Mykola Romanov, Tetiana Khomych. (2026). Constitutional Changes in Ukraine in 2004, 2010 and 2014: Issues of Constitutionality and Legitimacy. International Journal of Law and Social Justice2(2), 56-69.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijlsj.2026.12.002