Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine: Historical Significance and Challenges for the Present (to the 30th Anniversary of the Declaration)
Authors: Yurii Shemshuchenko , Oleksandr Skrypniuk 
Published: June 2020

Introduction. 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine, its relevance and socio-political interest have not diminished. The potential of its importance and the impact on state-building processes in Ukraine are not fully understood and used to build a modern, modern independent state in Ukraine. All this encourages scientists to re-analyze one of the main acts of our country.

Of particular importance for the further progress and development of Ukraine is the analysis of the ascending legal principles that laid the foundations for the revival of national sovereign statehood in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to understand the basic principles of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine, their importance for the development of modern state-making process, its deepening, which will contribute to building a European democratic, legal, social state in Ukraine, solving problems of securing state sovereignty of Ukraine in modern conditions violating its territoriality .

The aim of the article. The article raises the problem of conceptual essence of the main provisions of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine, the problems of their realization in the legal, political, economic spheres, national security and protection of statehood, implementation of foreign policy and European orientation of Ukraine, and their influence on the development of the state-making process and the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Results. The factors of acceptance of the Declaration on the Proclamation of Ukraine's Sovereignty, the doctrinal principles of state sovereignty and their implementation in the state-making practice of Ukraine in the main spheres of state and public life before the proclamation of independence on August 24, 1991 are revealed in the article. The generator of ideas of sovereignty and the driving force behind the adoption of the Declaration were national-democratic forces. The declaration was adopted by more than a constitutional majority, which confirmed the nationwide support for the ideas of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Conclusions. The Declaration became a fundamental act, which had the meaning of a constitutional act. It was a revolutionary document that declared a radical change in worldviews and values ​​for society and defined the ways of its development and strategic directions of building a sovereign state in Ukraine. The Declaration laid the legal foundations of statehood: the rule of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, its right to its own Armed Forces, security bodies, inviolability of its territory, right to its own citizenship, right to free national and spiritual development of the nation, independently determine the economic status and pursue foreign policy, etc. It marked the birth of modern constitutionalism in Ukraine and became the basis for the development and adoption of a new democratic Constitution. It was a strategic document that embodied the conceptual foundations of state-building, the construction of civil society and their purpose.