Ukrainian legislation does not provide for amendments to the Declaration of State Sovereignty

The request was submitted in order to obtain an official clarification regarding the following questions: who, in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine, has the authority to make amendments to the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine dated July 16, 1990, and which state authority or official holds the power to repeal or declare this Declaration invalid.

The purpose of the inquiry was to determine whether the Declaration is subject to revision following the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine No. 2215-IX “On the De-Sovietization of Ukrainian Legislation,” which is aimed at eliminating from the legal field any norms, terminology, or references originating from the Soviet period.

Special attention in the request was paid to the fact that the text of the 1990 Declaration repeatedly mentions the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) in a positive context, which may conflict with the updated doctrine of state policy.

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, in its official letter dated September 22, 2025, confirmed that the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine is preserved as an archival document and as a political and legal act of historical significance.

The response states that the procedure for amending or repealing legislative acts does not apply to this document, as it holds a special status in the process of Ukraine’s path to independence. It is also emphasized that the Declaration is a foundational basis for the proclamation of independence and the formation of Ukrainian statehood.

However, current legislation lacks any mechanism that would affirm the legal force of the Declaration within the modern normative system.

The Law of Ukraine No. 2215-IX, adopted on April 21, 2022 and entered into force on May 7, 2022, stipulates that acts of state authorities of the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR do not apply on the territory of Ukraine, except for provisions that do not contradict the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law “On Legal Succession.” 

The 1990 Declaration was not formally repealed but falls under the scope of this law, as it was adopted before August 24, 1991 and is an act of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR, while its effect has not been reaffirmed by a separate law or incorporated into the new normative framework.

At the same time, Clause 1 of the “Transitional Provisions” of the Constitution of Ukraine (Section XV) directly states that laws and other normative acts adopted before the Constitution entered into force remain valid insofar as they do not contradict the Constitution itself.

This means that the legal force of the Declaration is preserved not by a separate law, but by the direct instruction of the Constitution. Moreover, the content of the Declaration is fully consistent with the Constitution, as it proclaims territorial supremacy, constitutional supremacy, national sovereignty, and legal succession.

Therefore, there are no legal grounds to consider that the Declaration has lost its force — it does not contradict the Constitution and has not been repealed.

However, due to the absence of explicit reaffirmation or re-approval of its validity after 1991, it has been effectively pushed out of the legal field, creating a situation of uncertainty and a legal conflict between constitutional-level norms and the principles of de-Sovietization. 

In essence, this may be interpreted as the de facto revocation of legal force from the fundamental act underpinning Ukraine’s sovereignty as a state and legal successor.

This poses a threat to legal sovereignty, as it creates vulnerability in matters of international recognition, the collective rights of the Ukrainian people, succession, and the national title to territory and resources.

Such uncertainty may be used in international disputes as an argument that Ukraine has renounced its original sovereign title, thereby weakening its legal position and undermining the foundations of its own statehood.