Elections of the President of Ukraine

Rights and obligations of Ukrainian people.

Chapter II assures human and civil rights, freedoms and duties. It states that every person has the right to the free development of the personality on the one hand and has obligations before society on the other hand. Citizens of Ukraine have equal Constitutional rights and freedoms and are equal before law irrespective of race, color of skin, political and other beliefs, gender, position, place of residence, language, religion or other circumstances. The articles of this chapter guarantee the rights to life, personal inviolability and the inviolability of dwelling, noninterference in private and family life, free choice of residence, work, rest, education, social security, housing, health protection, medical care and medical insurance, legal assistance, a safe and healthy environment.

But there are no rights without duties. They are to observe the laws, to respect state symbols, to defend our Motherland, its independence and territorial integrity, to pay taxes and so on. No person may damage the environment, cultural heritage.

5 Верховна Рада – вищий законодавчий орган України. Основні функції.

The parliament-the Verkhovna Rada is the only body of the legislative power in Ukraine. There are 450 people’s deputies who are elected for a term of five years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

In order to be elected as a deputy, a person must be a citizen of Ukraine, must be at least 21 years of age and have the right to vote, and must be resided in the territory of Ukraine for no less than the previous five years. Successive elections of the Verkhovna Rada take place on last Sunday of the last month of the last year of the term of the parliament.

The Verkhovna Rada works on a session basis. Regular sessions of the Verkhovna Rada are commenced each year on the first Tuesday of February and on the first Tuesday of September.

The Verkhovna Rada elects the Chairman from its membership, the First Deputy and Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. The Chairman conducts meetings of the Verkhovna Rada and organizes its work.

The Verkhovna Rada’s main function is making laws. Law drafting work is performed by its Committees. Among the other functions of the parliament are: to amend the Constitution, to call for elections of the President of Ukraine, to hear annual messages of the President on the domestic and foreign situation of the country, to determine the principles of domestic and foreign policy, to approve national programmes of economic, scientific and technical, social, national and cultural development, and the protection of the environment, to remove the President from office, to give consent for the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President, to perform oversight of the activity of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, to declare war and to conclude peace upon the President’s proposal, etc. The right of legislation initiative belongs to the President of Ukraine, People’s Deputies of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Verkhovna Rada adopts the State Budget for the period from January 1 to December 31 and controls the execution of it. The monetary unit of Ukraine is the Hryvnia. Providing for stability of currency

6 Вищий орган виконавчої влади України

The Executive Power.

The highest body of the executive power is the Cabinet of Ministers. It is responsible to the President and is accountable to the Verkhovna Rada. The Cabinet of Ministers resigns when a new President is elected. It carries out the domestic and foreign policy of the State, the fulfilment of the Constitution, as well as the acts of the President, develops and fulfils national programs on the economic, scientific and technological, social and cultural development of Ukraine.

The executive power in oblasts and rayons is exercised by local state administrations. Their heads are appointed by the President and are responsible to him.

7 Президент України. Повноваження.

The President of Ukraine is the head of the state and speaks on behalf of it. He is elected directly by the voters for a term of five years with no more than two full terms. Regular elections of the President are held on last Sunday of the last month of the last year of his authority. Assuming office the President takes the oath of the President of Ukraine.

The President enjoys the right of immunity during the period of his authority. The President of Ukraine secures state independence, national security of the state, human rights and freedoms. He represents the state in foreign relations, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine; appoints the Prime Minister with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada, discharges him from office and makes decision on his dismissal; appoints members of the Cabinet of Ministers, heads of central bodies of executive power, as well as heads of local state administrations and discharges them from these positions; is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; presides over the Council of National Security; signs laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, etc.

The executive power in oblasts and rayons is exercised by local state administrations. Their heads are appointed by the President and are responsible to him.

8 Судова влада України. Основні функції. Верховний суд України

Judiciary in Ukraine

Justice in Ukraine is administered only by courts in strict conformity with the law. They have jurisdiction over all legal relations that appear in the state.

Legal proceedings are administered by the Constitutional Court and courts of general jurisdiction. Courts of general jurisdiction are set up according to territorial principle and their specialization. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in their system. There are also appellate, local and specialized courts.

Justice is administered by professional judges and, in some cases, by people's assessors and jurors. Legal proceedings are administered by a judge, a panel of judges or by a jury.

A citizen of Ukraine at the age of 25 and over, who has higher legal education, at least three years of legal experience, has resided in Ukraine for 10 years and has a good command of the state language may become a judge on the recommendation of the Qualification Commission of Judges.

The first appointment of a professional judge to office for a five-year term is made by the President of Ukraine. All other judges, except the judges of the Constitutional Court, are elected by the Verkhovna Rada for permanent terms by the procedure established by law.

Professional judges must not belong to political parties and trade unions, take part in any political or business activity. But they may be engaged in scientific and teaching work. Judges are independent and obey only the law. The independence and immunity of judges are guaranteed by the Constitution and legislation in force.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is the sole (1)... of constitutional (2)... in the state. Its task is to decide on issues of conformity of (3)... and other legal acts with the (4).... It also provides the official (5)... of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

The Constitutional Court is composed of (6)... judges. They are (7)... by the President of Ukraine, by the Verkhovna Rada and by the (8)... of Judges of Ukraine. Each appoints (9)... judges.

A judge of the Constitutional Court maybe a (10)... of Ukraine at the age of no less than (11)... who has a higher legal (12)... and professional (13)... of no less than (14)... years. He (she) must have (15)... in Ukraine for the last twenty years and have command of the state language.

Judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed for nine years without the right of (16)... to a repeat term.

The chairman of the Constitutional Court is (17)... by secret ballot only for one three-year term at a special plenary (18)... of the Constitutional Court from among its judges.

The authority of the Constitutional Court comprises:

1) decisions on conformity with the Constitution:

• laws and other (19)... acts by the Verkhovna Rada,

• acts of the (20)... of Ukraine,

• legal acts by the Supreme (21)... of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

2) official (22)... of the Constitution of Ukraine.

The decisions of the Constitutional Court are binding throughout the (23)... of Ukraine. They are (24)... and may not be appealed.

9 Конституція – основний закон України.

Constitution is a set of laws and principles according to which a state is governed. The idea of a constitution was first elaborated by Aristotle in his classification of governments as monarchies, tyrannies, aristocracies, oligarchies, democracies, and so on.

Governed by the Act of Ukraine’s Independence of August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on behalf of Ukrainian people adopted the Constitution - the Fundamental law on June 28,1996.

The 28^th of June has become a national holiday since then.

The Ukrainian Constitution consists of 15 chapters, 161 articles. It establishes the country's political system, assures rights, freedoms and dutiesof citizens and is the basis for its laws.

According to the Fundamental Law Ukraine is a sovereign, independent, democratic, social and legal state. Ukraine is a republic. The people are the only source of power which is exercised directly and through the bodies of state power and local self-government.

The land, mineral raw materials, air space, water and other mineral resources which are on the territory ofUkraine are objects of the property right of Ukrainian people. The state language is Ukrainian.

Its state symbols are the State Flag, the State Emblem and the State Anthem. The State Flag is a blue and yellow banner made from two horizontal stripes. The blue color symbolizes the peaceful blue sky while the yellow one symbolizes the field of ripe wheat — the source of life.

The contemporary national coat of arms of Ukraine, a trident is very ancient. The classic form of the Ukrainian trident is found on the gold and silver coins of Volodymyr the Great. The archaeological finds of trident in Ukraine go back to the first century A.D. Undoubtedly this emblem was a symbol of authority and a symbol of the ethnic groups which inhabited ancient Ukraine.

The Ukrainian anthem, Shche ne umerla Ukraina (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished), is of quite recent origin. In 1863 the Lviv magazine Meta (The Goal) published the poem "Shche ne umerla Ukraina" by Paul Chubynsky. It was mistakenly considered to be written by T.Shevchenko. The same year it was set to music by M. Verbytsky. This song, as a result of its catchy melody and patriotic text, became very popular. In 1917 it was officially adopted as the anthem of the Ukrainian State. The Constitution of Ukraine (1996) defines the State symbols of Ukraine in Article 20.

10 Основні положення виборчої системи України. Вибори президента України. Вибори до Верховної Ради.

Elections of the President of Ukraine

The President of Ukraine shall be elected by the citizens of Ukraine based upon universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret voting for a five-year term. The electoral process shall be carried out (проводити) on the following grounds: multi-party system, free and equal nomination (висування) of candidates for President of Ukraine; transparency [træns'pεərənsi] (прозорість) and openness; freedom of campaigning; equal opportunities (можливості) for all candidates in the conduct (проведення) of the election campaign; impartiality ['im,pa:∫i'æliti] (неупередженість) towards candidates on the part of state power bodies, bodies of local self-government and their public and authoritative officials. Participation of Ukrainian citizens in elections of the President of Ukraine is voluntary. No individual can be compelled (примушувати) to take part in or to refrain (утримуватися) from participating (брати участь) in the elections.

Elections of the President of Ukraine shall be universal: citizens of Ukraine who are 18 years of age on election day shall have the right to vote.

A citizen of Ukraine, who is thirty five years of age on the day that elections are conducted, who is eligible (мати право) to vote, who has resided in Ukraine for ten years preceding (передувати) election day, and who speaks the state language, may be elected President of Ukraine. The same person can be elected President of Ukraine for no more than two consecutive [kən'sekjutiv] (наступний) terms of office.

Any direct or indirect privileges or restrictions of suffrage of Ukrainian citizens based on race, skin color, political, religious and other convictions (переконання), gender, ethnic and social origin, property (майно) status, place of residence, or based on linguistic and other characteristics besides ones envisaged [in'viziX] (передбачати) in the Constitution of Ukraine and this Law are prohibited (забороняти).

Elections of the President of Ukraine shall be equal: citizens of Ukraine participate in elections on equal bases: each voter has one vote.

The President of Ukraine shall be elected directly by the voters.

Voting on elections of the President of Ukraine is to be secret: control over "voters’ will expression" is. prohibited.

11. Політична система США. основні положення.

Це те ж саме що (12 Гілки влади США. Основні функції)

The Political Parties of the USA.

A political party is an organization made up of citizens who have similar ideas on particular issues.

Political parties offer a practical way for large numbers of people with similar ideas to get things done. Political parties are interested practical politics. In other words, parties are concerned with the actions that government should take.

Practical politics affect everyone. For example, when you voice a concern about the high cost of living, you are taking a practical interest in politics. However, if you alone act on your concern, you will not be very effective. If instead you join a group that shares your concern, your voice can be heard in a way that gets results. Political parties serve this purpose.

Political parties also nominate,or select, candidates to run for public office. Political parties also take positions on public issues and work to have laws passed. During election campaigns, each political party tries to convince the voters that it offers the best program.

· Parties point out weaknesses in other parties and their candidates.

· Parties recommend programs and laws that guide the actions of government.

· Parties keep members informed and help keep all citizens interested in their government.

· Parties ensure that public officials do a good job so voters will re-elect them.

· Parties select candidates to run for election to public offices in the government.

For more than 140 years, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have been the country's two major political parties. The current Democratic Party traces its roots to Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. In the 1820s that party split into several groups.

One group, led by Andrew Jackson, became the Democratic Party. Jackson believed that the federal government was acting to benefit the wealthy. He was determined that the federal government should represent frontier settlers, farmers, and city laborers—the common people.

Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828, and the Democratic Party that he helped establish began its long history.

Today's Republican Party was formed in 1854 by people who opposed slavery and its spread into U.S. territories. The various small groups that represented these antislavery interests joined together to oppose the Democratic Party. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln became the first candidate nominated by the Republican Party to be elected president of the United States.

The Democrats are symbolized by a donkey, and the Republicans are symbolized by an elephant. There are also several smaller parties. Each party has its own ideas about what is best for the country. The time before an election is when candidates campaign.They explain what they think and what should be done. Candidates try to get the voter to vote for them.

12 Гілки влади США. Основні функції.