The Constitutional Court resumed consideration of the case regarding the role of local self-government bodies in the process of voluntary amalgamation of communities

The Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, during the open part of the plenary session in the form of oral proceedings, resumed consideration of the case upon the constitutional submission of 51 people's deputies of Ukraine to examine the issue regarding the role and powers of local self-government bodies in the voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities.

The authors of the petition ask the Court to verify the compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of paragraph 6 of part one of Article 4, part three of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On Voluntary Amalgamation of Territorial Communities" dated February 5, 2015, No. 157–VIII with amendments (hereinafter – the Law), the Constitutional Court of Ukraine reported.

The contested provisions of the Law establish that voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities of villages, settlements, and cities is carried out under the following conditions: "the amalgamation of territorial communities is carried out in accordance with the prospective plans for the formation of community territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, region" (paragraph 6 of part one of Article 4); "the prospective plan for the formation of community territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, region is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine upon submission by the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the respective regional state administration" (part three of Article 11).

The constitutional submission states that the contested norms of the Law do not comply with several provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine. According to the people's deputies of Ukraine, "the introduction and existence of a legislatively established mechanism for the amalgamation of territorial communities contradicts the ideology of voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities and leads to the narrowing of the constitutional right of community residents to such voluntary amalgamation. Since the amalgamation process must currently take place within clearly regulated frameworks defined by prospective plans."

The reporting judge in the case is Oleg Pervomaiskyi.

Resuming consideration of the case in the open part, the Court involved the Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine – Minister for Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Research Institute of State Building and Local Self-Government of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine Iryna Bodrova, Head of the Department of Constitutional Law of Ivan Franko Lviv National University Olena Boryslavska, and Chairman of the Board of the Public Organization "Center for Political and Legal Reforms" Ihor Koliushko in the case consideration.

The Court denied the motions of the Permanent Representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Maksym Dyrdin and the Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhii Dembovskyi to postpone the case consideration due to their inability to participate in the session.

The Court granted the motion of the Permanent Representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Maksym Dyrdin regarding the involvement in the case consideration of the Deputy Minister for Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine in 2019–2023 Vyacheslav Nehoda, as well as the proposal of the Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine – Minister for Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba to involve Deputy Minister for Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksii Riabikin in the case consideration.

During the plenary session, the Court heard the positions of the involved participants in the constitutional proceedings – Head of the Department of Constitutional Law of Ivan Franko Lviv National University Olena Boryslavska, Chairman of the Board of the Public Organization "Center for Political and Legal Reforms" Ihor Koliushko, as well as Deputy Minister for Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksii Riabykin.

In the consideration of this case, the Court announced a recess until June 30, 2026.

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