Andrey Strizhak, Ivan Dombrovskiy and Anatoliy Didkivskiy

Head of the Constitutional Court Andriy Strizhak, in the foreground, before the start of the session of the CC in Kyiv, on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. In the foreground are judges of the CC: judge-reporter Ivan Dombrovskyi, left, and Anatoliy Didkivskiy. The CC started consideration of case concerning submission of the President on appointing by the Verkhovna Rada the date of the regular presidential election for October 25. A judger-reporter on this case said that in his submission the President of Ukraine asks to recognize a resolution of the Verkhovna Rada “On Appointing of Regular Election of President, which was adopted on April 1, 2009, as unconstitutional one. It is said in the submission that amendments into Constitution, which were introduced on December 8, 2004, came into effect from January 1, 2006. According to the opinion of the President of Ukraine, regular presidential election should be carried out on January 17, 2010. Therefore, an author of the submission believes that new edition of the part 5 of the article 103 of Constitution comes into effect from January 1, 2006 and should be applied to all next regular election of the President, which will be carried out after this date. Photo by Vladimir Gontar/UNIAN