CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER IN UKRAINE: THEORETICAL JUSTIFICATION AND MEASUREMENT CRITERIA

Abstract

This article substantiates the place and role of the constitutional order in the social system in general and the European integration course of Ukraine in particular. A categorical analysis of the definition of «constitutional order» is made and the author's definition is proposed, which, in contrast to the existing ones, is based on the provisions of the theory of synergetics and self-organization of complex systems. In particular, constitutional law and order should be understood as a historically determined, mobile and self-organized meta-institutional system formed on the basis of natural selection of informal norms-rules of a particular society and their further constitution, the elements of which are constitutional norms-principles and mechanisms of coercion, which are developed and implemented by the political power. A system of criteria for assessing the constitutional order has been developed and a system of quantitative and qualitative indicators (indices) capable of characterizing the state and dynamics of its development has been presented. The system of criteria for assessing the constitutional order is formed by such indicators as the legitimacy of legal relations, the legitimacy of institutions, the legitimacy of government and national security. It is proposed to include such authoritative international indices as the Crime Index, the Rule of Law Index, the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Inefficient Government Bureaucracy Index, the Trust in Government Index, the Political Rights Index and the Security Threats Index. The state of the constitutional order in Ukraine in 2020 has been analyzed and numerous problems in this area are identified (corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, lack of trust in the government and the prevalence of challenges and threats to national security). Mechanisms (levers and tools) of influence and development of the system of constitutional order are systematized. The system of mechanisms of influencing the constitutional order is formed by normative (amendments to the Constitution), functional (system of responsible institutions and organizations with the relevant functions of protection of the Constitution and ensuring the implementation of constitutional norms-principles) and instrumental (system of measures and methods, including persuasion and coercion, recommendations and encouragement, information and contractual regulation) levers and tools.