Legal Aspects of Elaboration of the Constitution Act of the Union State (Andrey Kozik)

Раздел "Международное право", рубрика "Вопросы теории"The Agreement on Foundation of the Union State of Belarus and Russia (hereinafter, the Agreement) fixes the adoption of the Constitution Act of the Union State in its Article 62. However, it does not define the legal status of the Act. Article 62 became the reason of the recent discussion on the place, role, legal character and consequences of the Constitution Act adoption. The issue is all the more topical since the interstate preparation of the Constitution Act has been going on for over a year. The following questions require clarification: the nature of the legal status of the Constitution Act of the Union State (an international agreement or a national act); the legal power (superseding member-states' constitutions or not); correlation between the Constitution Act and the Agreement on Foundation of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. When analyzing the position of the joint Russia-Belarus team on elaboration of the text of the Constitution Act, the author reveals topical problems requiring solutions within the Constitution Act. First of all, there are the issues of the international personality of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, and the competence of the Union State bodies and its system. The author stands for the international legal character of the Constitution Act and its subordination to the constitutions of the member-states. Other topical issues are also explored on this basis with the use of the protocols and reports of the interstate expert groups and their working papers