THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES OF AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPROVING THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the analysis of certain procedural problems of amending the Constitution of Ukraine in the context of improving the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. These Rules are considered a key source for regulating the parliamentary procedure of introducing amendments to the Basic Law of the state, specifying the constitutional provisions in this sphere. The key role of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as the sole body of legislative power in implementing the special procedural rules for amending the Constitution of Ukraine has been determined. In this way, the Rules ensure not only the normative supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws on amending it but also provide enhanced control by the Parliament, the President of Ukraine, and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine over the constitutionality of amendments to the Basic Law. The special procedure for amending the Constitution of Ukraine, regulated by the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, serves as an organic continuation and a form of legislative elaboration of the constitutional procedure for amending the Constitution. At the same time, the Rules themselves do not fully comply with constitutional requirements and, in a number of cases, contradict the provisions of the Basic Law of the state. These cases (in particular, those contained in Parts 4 and 9 of Article 143, Part 3 of Article 144, Part 11 of Article 147, Parts 4-6 of Article 148, and Parts 9, 10, and 12 of Article 149 of the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) are analyzed in terms of their constitutionality. The article argues that a promising direction for modernizing the parliamentary Rules is to ensure the constitutionality of the provisions of this legislative act regulating the procedure for amending the Constitution of Ukraine in the unity of all components of this process.