This article provides a comprehensive political-legal analysis of the functioning of democratic institutions during martial law and in the post-war period in Ukraine. The author argues that the prospects of democracy after the war directly depend on the extent to which democracy is able to protect itself during wartime. The stability of a democratic regime is contingent on both state authorities and civil society. Jointly, they must ensure a balanced relationship between state security and human rights.
A key task of militant democracy in wartime is to uphold the separation of powers and prevent their usurpation, given that objective transformations occur in the functioning of constitutional democracy that tend towards the concentration of emergency powers in a single branch of government—either the President or the Cabinet of Ministers (represented by the Prime Minister), depending on the constitutional form of government. Despite the advantages of presidentialism for rapid decision-making under extraordinary conditions, it poses particular threats to constitutionalism. Thus, attempts by the President of Ukraine to assume powers not conferred by the Constitution—such as interference in judicial and law-enforcement activities or obstruction of independent opposition media—pose a direct threat to human rights, in particular the freedom of expression and the right to a fair and impartial trial.
The author asserts that the legitimacy of extraordinary measures exercised by public authorities must meet two requirements: first, such measures must be urgent and necessary to eliminate threats to human rights; and second, their application must be subject to judicial and public oversight. Restrictions of human rights in conditions of militant democracy must be imposed exclusively through judicial procedures, based on a three-part test: legality, legitimate aim, and proportionality.
According to the author, during the post-war period, the Ukrainian state and nation will face the complex task of preserving and strengthening sovereignty, democracy, and human rights. Achieving this objective will inevitably require the formation of a stable and effective constitutional architecture of militant democracy capable of ensuring a balance between security and rights. Addressing this challenge presupposes: safeguarding the integrity of state power with an equitable distribution of its functions; holding elections for the highest state authorities (the President and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine); returning to the constitutional form of government—a parliamentary-presidential republic; ensuring the unhindered functioning of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction; banning political parties that pose threats to national security; ensuring the rule of law and access to fair justice; enshrining legislative guarantees of the independence of anti-corruption institutions; supporting civil society, free media, and civic participation in exercising and legitimising public power; completing decentralisation reform and restoring local self-government; and implementing institutional reforms through transparency and coordination with international partners.
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