IEU'S FEATURED TOPIC IN UKRAINIAN HISTORY

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF UKRAINE (KSU). The sole court of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine which came into operation in 1996 immediately following adoption of the new Constitution of Ukraine by the Supreme Council of Ukraine. Its main task is to interpret the Constitution and to render judgments on the constitutionality of laws and other acts of government. Decisions of the KSU are binding, final, and not subject to appeal. KSU is comprised of 18 judges, six each appointed through a competitive process by the Supreme Council of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, and the Council of Judges. They serve for a single non-renewable nine-year term and have immunity from legal liability for their decisions. Judicial independence is jealously guarded by its incumbents and is intended to be assured by entitlement to one-half of normal salary upon retiring from the bench. A major judicial reform in 2017 was the introduction of the constitutional complaint option open to every Ukrainian citizen. Since then all individuals and companies where there are grounds to claim that a final court judgment contradicts the Constitution can file a complaint at the Constitutinal Court of Ukraine. Previously only the president of Ukraine and members of parliament had the right to appeal to KSU...

HIGH ANTI-CORRUPTION COURT OF UKRAINE (VAKS). A court within Ukraine's court system, which deals exclusively with high-level corruption. It was established due to deficiencies in the regular judicial system's handling of such cases. Previously, cases of political corruption uncovered by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau were sent for adjudication in the regular courts, for prosecution by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. Because the regular courts were overloaded, or their judges may have been corrupted or intimidated, there were few convictions. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko presented a draft bill on the new court to the Supreme Council of Ukraine on 22 December 2017, but the court began working in earnest only in April 2019. Positive achievements in the country's fight against political corruption followed and were evident within five years of the court's establishment. Judges of ordinary courts, parliamentarians, and at least one former minister were charged and convicted. In number and rates of convictions, VAKS far surpassed previous levels: 186 in 2019-24, as compared to 33 in 2016-19; with a conviction rate of 89 percent. Establishing the court marked a significant advance in terms of judicial reform and action on political corruption in Ukraine...

NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE (NBU). The central bank of Ukraine, its major function according to the Constitution of Ukraine (art 99) being to ensure stability of the national currency, the hryvnia. Other functions assigned to it by law include responsibility for monetary policy, emission of currency, overseeing the banking system, and supervising credit policy as well as the payments system. It is meant to be independent. The head of NBU is appointed for a term of seven years (renewable once); he or she is ex officio a member of the NBU Council, the body that sets monetary and credit policy. With the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a tremendous responsibility fell upon NBU: to ensure in wartime conditions stability and continuity of the monetary and banking system, to safeguard the functioning of state finances, and to meet the defence needs of Ukraine. Accordingly, NBU immediately issued a resolution imposing restrictions on individual cash withdrawals, introducing prohibitions and limitations on banking operations, and terminating transactions with the Russian Federation and Belarus. As of 2025 a positive feature of the banking situation and of NBU's record of accomplishment was that Ukrainian banks themselves were profitable even in wartime--in 2024 they earned 2.5 billion USD...

NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE (NPU). Ukraine's national law enforcement body brought into being in 2015 as part of reforms following the Euromaidan Revolution. NPU replaced the Soviet-era militia and the State Automobile Inspectorate (DAI), both systemically lawless and corrupt. By retaining for over two decades the Soviet-established militia, independent Ukraine had through inertia held onto the law enforcement institution designed by the Soviets to protect the state from its citizens, rather than vice versa. The Law on the National Police defined NPU's tasks in part as being to ensure public safety, protect human rights and freedoms, combat crime, and provide assistance to individuals as needed. The keynote was community service. This was a fundamental reorientation of policing in Ukraine. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022 and the imposition of martial law, NPU was given expanded powers and adopted a wartime mode with new, often grim, duties. These included identifying bodies of thousands of civilians killed by bombings or as a result of war crimes by the invaders, creating a register of as many as 23,000 missing persons, documenting war crimes, seizing illegal weapons and explosives, and intercepting people smuggling and draft dodging--all this in addition to curbing Russian sabotage...

SECURITY SERVICE OF UKRAINE (SBU). Under the law on SBU passed by the Supreme Council of Ukraine on 25 March 1992, it is one of the law enforcement bodies of Ukraine, but charged specifically with responsibility for state security. Its broad mandate includes the detection of crimes against the peace and security of the population, of terrorism, corruption and organized crime, and of other unlawful acts constituting 'a threat to the vitally important interests of Ukraine' (art 1). In amplification, the law includes among the tasks of SBU defense of sovereignty and the constitutional order, of the country's territorial integrity and of its scientific, technological, and military potential, as well as protecting the state and its citizens against subversion by foreigners. Unlike its predecessor, the Soviet-era KGB, the SBU is required to abide by the law, to respect civil and human rights, to be non-partisan, and to be accountable to the public. Monitoring of the activities of SBU is shared by the appropriate parliamentary committee, whom the SBU head regularly informs about security matters, and by the president of Ukraine. The head of the service is appointed by the Supreme Council of Ukraine, following nomination by the president. He is ex officio a member of the Council for National Security and Defense of Ukraine...

STATE BORDER GUARD SERVICE OF UKRAINE (DPSU). A militarized law enforcement body under the President of Ukraine empowered to guard the borders of Ukraine--land, sea, and air--ensuring the country's security. Formed on the basis of a law passed in 2003 with an established strength of 53,000 personnel, it superseded the Soviet-era counterpart. Its functions are to protect the country's borders, preventing illegal crossings, and to control border crossings while deterring unlawful attempts to move across borders. With respect to the sea economic zone, DPSU officials are empowered to stop, examine, search, and detain vessels engaged in fishing and other activities. DPSU also acts as an intelligence gatherer and analyst, fights organized crime and terrorism, and interdicts illegal immigration. Under martial law, DPSU comes under the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since the full-scale military invasion by the Russian Federation in February 2022, the agency participated fully in the country's defence by establishing at least three armed combat brigades and defending the Snake Island and other locations. It has been suggested that Ukraine needs two border regimes--an armed service under the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the borders with the Russian Federation and Belarus, and a normal civilian border control service elsewhere...