President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in a meeting of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, which took place in a video conference format.
The President thanked the Venice Commission for its assistance to Ukraine in establishing the ideas of the rule of law and constitutional values.
"Our society knows and respects the Venice Commission as a highly professional institution with which the state effectively cooperates. I am confident that the current stage of our cooperation will only add positivity to such a perception," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President also thanked President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio for understanding the situation that arose due to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of October 27, 2020.
"I am grateful to Mr. Gianni Buquicchio and the esteemed members of the Commission for such a quick assessment in response to my request. I am grateful to the speakers who sorted out a very difficult situation in a very short time and prepared important, urgent conclusions," the Head of State said.
The President agrees with the Venice Commission's assessment that the Constitutional Court's decision undermines public confidence in constitutional justice in general.
The President is also grateful for the clear recommendation of the Venice Commission on the obligation of civil servants, including judges, including those of the Constitutional Court, to submit financial declarations, as well as on the need to have an effective mechanism for verifying them and provide for appropriate sanctions for those who knowingly submit false information.
The President praised the conclusions of the Venice Commission on the consequences of the decision of the Constitutional Court of October 27, 2020.
"The two documents formally approved by the Commission today provide important guidelines for solving key tasks for me: how to avoid the Constitutional Court causing irreparable damage to anticorruption reform and how to systematically reform the Constitutional Court itself so that the current situation does not recur," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President noted that the lawyers of the Office of the President and the Verkhovna Rada were analyzing the conclusions and recommendations of the Venice Commission in order to promptly take them into account.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will invite the Commission on Legal Reform under the President of Ukraine to carefully consider these recommendations and take them into account when preparing further steps to reform the judiciary.
"In addition, there is a clear task - to conduct a thorough audit and evaluation of the effectiveness of previous reforms. I believe that with such an analysis, we will be able to correct mistakes and create legislation consistent with the Constitution of Ukraine, international legal obligations and recommendations of the Venice Commission," the President emphasized.
The next step is to work out concrete ways to restore public confidence in constitutional justice.
"We are already taking the necessary steps in these areas," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio thanked the President of Ukraine for the confidence in the European Commission for Democracy through Law.
"We are ready to continue to stand with you, with the Verkhovna Rada, with the people of Ukraine in order to develop a new democratic Ukraine on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration," Gianni Buquicchio noted.