Constitutional and legal status and restriction of human and civil rights and freedoms under martial law in Ukraine

Abstract

The constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen acquires peculiarities during the martial law, which was introduced on February 24, 2022 in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and continues today. The constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen is a system of legal parameters enshrined in the Constitution and other normative legal acts that determine the real state of a person in society and the state at a specific stage of their socio-historical development, in specific political and legal conditions and modern realities. Structurally, this concept consists of such categorical means as: legal personality; civil status of the individual; principles of constitutional and legal status; rights, freedoms and responsibilities of man and citizen; legal guarantees as conditions for ensuring, realization and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms. During martial law, such elements of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen as legal personality and civil status are relatively static (if possible, change them on certain subjective and objective grounds). Based on the theory and practice of modern Ukrainian constitutionalism under any circumstances, the principles of constitutional and legal status, enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine (Articles 3, 21, 24, 25, 62, etc.) must remain unchanged. The constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen in martial law has certain features, which are manifested in the following: changing the legal basis of the status through emergency (temporary) and other regulations governing public relations directly in martial law; temporary restriction of rights and freedoms is established; the fulfillment of the constitutional duty to protect the Fatherland, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine is actualized; means of exclusive protection of human and civil rights and freedoms are introduced; additional means of ensuring human and civil rights and freedoms are used. The specificity of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen in martial law is the restriction of rights and freedoms, but provided that such a restriction is temporary and there is a constitutionally defined list of those rights and freedoms that cannot be restricted. Key words: constitutional and legal status, human rights, Constitution, martial law, restriction of rights and freedoms.