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2.3 The Constitution of Ukraine: history of creation.

The history of the Ukrainian Сonstitution includes several
centuries. Such well-known scientific world monuments of native

legal culture as "Ruska Pravda", "Lithuanian Statutes", acts of the
period of the Cossack State of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (in particular,
"March Articles") are its sources. As an integral part of the history of

national state-building, the history of Ukrainian constitutions (political
and legal conditions for drafting constitutions, their approval, and
action) absorbed the whole tragedy of the centuries-old struggle of the
Ukrainians for their national statehood.

April 5, 1710, is considered as the beginning of the history of
Ukrainian constitutions, when the "Pacts and Constitutions of Rights
and Freedoms of the Zaporozhian Army” was approved in Bendery

(the present territory of the Republic of Moldova). It is better known
today as "Orlyk Constitution". This document provided for the
creation of the independent Ukrainian state within the boundaries of

ethnographic national territory (the state borders of Ukraine included
the territory that was recognized as the territory of the Ukrainian
Cossack State by the Zboriv Agreement of 1649), the state where the

state power should be built on the principle of its division into the
legislative (the General Council), the executive (Hetman and his
government) and the judicial (the General Court), the state which
recognizes the right of cities to self-government and also the social

state, since there were separate prescriptions concerning social
defense of low-income groups (widows, orphaned children, etc.).
In addition to Hetman Pylyp Orlyk, A. Voiranovskyi, H.

Hertsyk, K. Hordienko, L. Horlenko and other well-known
representatives of military, spiritual and secular circles of the
contemporary Ukrainian society also participated in preparation for
the draft Constitution of 1710. This Constitution, after its adoption,

acted for several years in the Right-Bank Ukraine (until 1714).
The history of the Ukrainian constitutions of the middle and
second half of the nineteenth century is presented by two

constitutional projects: "The Outline of the Constitution of the
Republic" by Gregory Andruzkyi (1848-1850), and the fundamental
work by Mykhailo Drahomanov "Free Union – Free Union (1884)."

G. Andruzkyi was an active member of the Cyril Methodius

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