This article looks at the impact of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on the implementation and application of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which triggered unprecedented political, economic and legal reforms in Ukraine. In particular, the article focuses on the constitutional challenges that have arisen for Ukraine in the course of implementing the Association Agreement into its legal system.

Two issues form the focus of consideration in the article. The first issue is effective implementation and application of the Association Agreement within the Ukrainian legal order. The second issue is compatibility between the Association Agreement and the Ukrainian Constitution. The latest political and legal developments in Ukraine are analyzed through the prism of effective implementation of the Association Agreement and the rise of pro-European judicial activism in Ukraine. In conclusion it is argued that the EUUkraine Association Agreement enhanced the adaptability of the national constitutional order to the European integration project and European common values.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement established a sustainable institutional and legal framework for application of the EU acquis including CJEU case law and comprehensive legislative approximation between Ukrainian and EU law. However, the institutional reforms that have already taken place cannot be regarded as fully sufficient. The Ukrainian Parliament has failed to establish substantive and procedural foundations for applying and implementing the EU-Ukraine AA in the Ukrainian legal order. However, this gap is being partially filled by a surprising judicial activism in Ukraine. The Ukrainian judiciary has already started referring to the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and relevant parts of the EU acquis, thereby laying a foundation for regular application of general principles of EU law in applying the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Elsuwege P Van and Petrov R, Legal Approximation of EU Law in the Eastern Neighbourhood of the EU: Towards a Common Regulatory Space? (Routledge Press 2014) (in English).

2. Petrov R, Exporting the acquis communautaire through EU External Agreements (NOMOS 2011) (in English).

Edited books

3. Govaere I, ‘Beware of the Trojan Horse: Dispute Settlement in (Mixed) Agreements and the autonomy of the EU Legal Order’ in Hillion C and Koutrakos P (eds), Mixed Agreements Revisited (Hart Publishing 2010) (in English).

4. Petrov R, ‘Regulatory Convergence and Application of EU Law in Ukraine’ in Elsuwege P Van and Petrov R (eds), Legislative Approximation and Application of EU Law in the Eastern Neighbourhood of the European Union: Towards a Common Regulatory Space? (Routledge 2014) (in English).

Journal articles

5. Elsuwege P Van and Loo G Van der and Petrov R, ‘The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement: a New Legal Instrument of Integration without Membership?’ (2015) 1 Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal 1-19 (in English).

6. Petrov R and Kalinichenko P, ‘The Europeanization of Third Country Judiciaries through the Application of the EU Acquis: The Cases of Russia and Ukraine’ (2011) 60 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 325-53 (in English).

7. Petrov R, ‘Energy Community as a Promoter of the European Union’s “energy acquis” to its Neighbourhood’ [2012] 38(3) Legal Issues of Economic Integration 331-5 (in English).

8. Petrov R, ‘The Impact of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement on Constitutional Reform and Judicial Activism in Ukraine’ [2018] 43(2) Review of Central and East European Law 99-115 (in English).

9. Selivon M, ‘Harmonistsia natsionalnogo zakonodavstva z normami mizhnarodnogo prava i yogo vykorystannia Konstitutsiynym Sudom Ukraini’ [‘Harmonization of the Provisions of the National Legislation with the Norms of International Law and Their Application in the Practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine’] (2003) 3 Visnyk Konstytutsiinoho Sudu Ukrainy 36-51 (in Ukrainian).

Websites

10. Elsuwege P Van, ‘Ukraine’s Ban on Russian Social Media: On The Edge Between National Security and Freedom of Expression’ (VerfBlog, 06.02.2017) <http://verfassungsblog. de/ukraines-ban-on-russian-social-media-on-the-edge-between-national-security-andfreedomof-expression> (accessed: 10.01.2019) (in English).

11. ‘Iak pratsiuie sudova systema v Ukraini’ [‘How the Judiciary Works in Ukraine’] (Opendatabot, 05.03.2018) <https://opendatabot.ua/blog/170-fast-court> (accessed: 09.01.2019) (in Ukrainian).