THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF UKRAINE

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 426.

On the 24^th of August, 1991 Ukraine became an independent state. On the l^st of December, 1991 the ever lasting dream of the Ukrainian people came true. 90% of the people voted for the independence of Ukraine and since that time the Ukrainian people had become the masters of their own destiny.

Nowadays Ukraine is a democratic state, ruled by the law and cre­ated as an implementation of the people's sovereign right to self-de­termination.

The Ukrainian political system has a popularly elected President for a five-year term, a 450-person single-chamber national Parlia­ment — the Verkhovna Rada (the Supreme Council). The Verkhovna Rada is the nation's lawmaking body, who are elected by the voters for a five-year term too.

The President is the highest official of the Ukrainian state. He is the commander -in —chief of the military and can issue orders called edicts without the approval of the Parliament in some matters. The President is vested with supreme executive authority and exercises it through the Government, the Cabinet of Ministers which is accountable to him and through a system of central and local organs of state executive authority.

Prime Minister heads the Cabinet. He is nominated by the Presi­dent and is a subject to approval by the Verkhovna Rada. Other minis­ters have responsibility for such areas as foreign affairs, economy, etc.

The government features the executive branch with strong powers and the legislative branch consisting of the Verkhovna Rada.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the sole legislative authority. Judicial power in Ukraine is vested in the courts of law. The courts are independent and all their activities abide only by the rules of law. The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction. Besides the Supreme Court there is a special organ — the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine decides on issues of conformity of laws and other legal acts with the Constitution of Ukraine and provides the official inter­pretation of the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine.

Ukraine has entered a new phase in its development. Though Ukraine has a wealth of political parties, ranging from unreconstructed communities to far-right nationalities, personal and regional loyal­ties tend to play larger role in the Ukrainian political life than pro­grammatic parties. A key challenge facing Ukraine is the establish­ment of effective, democratic governing institutions that strike a bal­ance between executive and legislative authority.

Ukraine is divided into 24 regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The council has been elected by each of these regions and its Chairman, elected at large, also serves as head of the executive branch. The cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol are subordinated directly to the central government. So we can say that state power in Ukraine is based on the division of authority into legislative, executive and judicial, and Ukraine could be referred to now as a country with a parliamentary- presidential form of government. Having become an independent state and being now firmly resolved to put end to the totalitarian dictatorship, Ukrainian people have an idea of building a state which confirms its peace loving policy.

Ukraine not only strives to live in peace with the rest of the world community, but also to cooperate with other countries and partici­pate in the European and world structures. It is already a member of numerous international political and economic associations and a founding member of the United Nations.

I. In group В find Ukrainian equivalents to the word combinations and expressions of group A:

A: to come true; to become the master of one's own destiny; ruled by the law; for a five-year term; single-chamber Parliament; the Supreme Council; lawmaking body; to issue orders; executive authority; to be nominated by the President; legislative branch of power; the Supreme Court; judicial power; legal act; to have a wealth of political parties; a key challenge; to put end to; peace loving policy; a founding member; the right to self-determination.

В: правовий акт; ключова проблема; засновник; Верховний Суд; покласти кінець; право на самовизначення; призначатися Президентом; однопалатний парламент; законодавчий орган; мати велику кількість політичних партій; судова влада; терміном на п'ять років; видавати накази; Верховна Рада; виконавча влада; миролюбна політика; законодавча гілка влади; здійснитися; стати хазяїном своєї долі; що керується законом.