Odpowiedzialność polityczno-prawna Prezydenta Ukrainy

One of the democratic mechanisms of state governance is to define the political and legal responsibilities of the supreme state bodies. The type and scope of responsibility also determines the legal and constitutional position of the head of state. In the article, the author analyzes legal norms regarding the political and legal responsibility of the President of Ukraine. The examination of problems related to these norms is based on Ukrainian and foreign constitutional and statutory solutions. Political (parliamentary) responsibility is related to the relevance, legitimacy and purposefulness of decisions made by the person holding the office of President. It is assessed by the appointing or controlling body. Although the current legal status in Ukraine does not provide for the institution of the President’s political responsibility, such solutions were present during the political changes after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Political responsibility of the Head of State in 1991–1993 was provided by the repeatedly amended Constitution of Soviet Ukraine (of 20 April 1978, as amended in Article 114-9(3)). The constitutional responsibility of the President in Ukraine is regulated in Article 111 of the Basic Law, which states that the Head of State is responsible for treason and other crimes, without however indicating the premises or grading the social harmfulness of these prohibited acts. The discussed problems related to the triple division of power, its exercise and legitimacy appear more and more often in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, affecting the security of the entire region.