Institute of the President in the French Republic and Ukraine: Search for the Perfect Sample

The article is devoted to the researching of the legal status of the Presidents in the French Republic and in Ukraine, because both states are semi-presidential republics and have common features. In order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the powers of the heads of the studied states and their possible optimization in Ukraine, a comparative analysis of the institutions of the President is conducted, including from the point of view of protecting the Constitution and the role of Presidents in the protection of human rights, which is the relevance of the research topic. Both in the French Republic and in Ukraine, the Presidents are guarantors of national independence, territorial indivisibility and protection of human rights. 

The purpose of the article is to analyze the powers of the Presidents of France and Ukraine and to identify common and different features in their legal status. In addition, the study of the role of the Presidents of the two states in ensuring their compliance with the Constitution and protection of human rights. 

The President of France exercises authority both personally and together with the Prime Minister, which is discussed in the article. In Ukraine, certain acts of the President provided for by the Constitution must be signed by the Prime Minister. In terms of interaction with branches of government, in France the President of the Republic heads the government (Council of Ministers) in the presence of the Prime Minister, and in Ukraine the work of the Cabinet of Ministers is managed by the Prime Minister. Both in France and in Ukraine, the President can apply to the bodies of constitutional jurisdiction with submissions and veto laws that violate human rights. In addition, the specifics of the extraordinary powers of the heads of state of both countries were analyzed, as well as the procedure for their removal from office, and differences were identified. 

It was concluded that in the French Republic the Constitutional Council (a body of constitutional jurisdiction) cannot check the acts of the President of the Republic for compliance with the Constitution, it only checks legislative provisions, while in Ukraine the Constitutional Court checks the acts of the President for compliance with the Constitution. Differences regarding the responsibility of heads of state, their place in the executive branch of power and influence on the government, etc., were revealed.