Legal Prohibition as a Method of Limiting Political Power
Authors: Kelman Mykhailo , Kelman Rostyslav 
Published: October 2024

The issue of legal prohibitions in national and European law has a pronounced interdisciplinary content. The modern Ukrainian environment, through which the legal values of European (Euro-Atlantic) and universal civilizations – principles, norms, institutions, sources of law, legal procedures, etc. – are “refracted” (“passed through”), is quite heterogeneous and contradictory, and this cannot but affect the peculiarities of Ukrainian law. These problems include, in particular, the absence, unlike in many European countries, of an explicit enshrinement of the principle of proportionality in the Constitution of Ukraine. This refers to the balance, proportionality of public interests and the interests of an individual in case of need to restrict his or her rights; excessive restrictions on human rights; distortion of the essence of the restricted rights; failure to comply with ECHR judgments at the “home level”; examples of risks when both the purpose and the means are inadequate to the specific situation requiring such a restriction, i.e., in an acceptable ratio to the weight and importance of the fundamental right. The author suggests the following areas of legal measures’ effectiveness: bringing regulations in line with international standards; further improvement of legislation; bringing restrictions of different levels (interstate, national, municipal) into the system; social justification and scientific validity of their establishment and use; increasing the legality and effectiveness of restrictions in the exercise of law; creation of real guarantees of lawful implementation of restrictive measures; legal education and legal education for all segments of the population. The prospects opened up for Ukraine in connection with its EU candidate status require not only further adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU legal framework, continuation of reforms of the judicial system, law enforcement agencies, etc., but also a significant change in legal awareness, legal mentality and legal thinking of both ordinary Ukrainian citizens and, above all, public officials, judges, law enforcement officers, etc.Without such a change, these prospects may not be realized. It is stated that Ukraine’s heroic struggle against the Russian military invasion for freedom and independence significantly accelerated the formation of a full-fledged modern political Ukrainian nation. The war proved that an excessive focus on regional differences based on the principle of “what difference does it make” whether certain regions profess Soviet, national Ukrainian, or European values is futile. Of course, we are not talking about forming the same views on historical events or contemporary problems for all people, let alone the same type of thinking, which is what all totalitarian regimes have sought. The point is that, despite all the regional differences that are inherent in almost all states, the basic, fundamental values that define national identity should be common to all regions of the state. Modern history knows of no examples of democratic and legal states being built along different civilizational vectors. This is typical only for empire states, whose fate ultimately ends in the same way – in catastrophe.