THE ORIGINS OF LEGAL TERMINOLOGY IN THE PRACTICE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF UKRAINE (1997–2026)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of legal terminologyas reflected in the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine from 1997 to 2026.The methodological basis of the study consists of the dialectical method, which was used to identifythe peculiarities of the evolution of legal terminology in connection with historical and politico-legaltransformations, the comparative legal method – for analyzing international and European approaches–as well as the method of systemic analysis, which made it possible to investigate the internal logic of the developmentof the Constitutional Court of Ukraine’s terminology system.Results. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of legal terminology developed bythe Constitutional Court of Ukraine in its practice from 1997 to 2026. Five successive stages in the formationof the Constitutional Court’s terminology system have been identified, each characterized by a specific setof categories, shifts in doctrinal orientations, and varying degrees of integration of international standards.It has been established that during the first stage (1997–2000), the Constitutional Court of Ukraine focusedon the unification of basic concepts. The period from 2000 to 2010 is characterized by a transition fromdescriptive to analytical legal categories. It was during this period that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine(CCU) developed its legal positions. The years 2010–2014 were marked by an intensive expansionof procedural terminology. In 2014–2020, the terminological system was updated in connection with the reformof constitutional justice and the introduction of the institution of constitutional complaints. The emergenceof new procedural institutions led to the emergence of new categories that define the content and scopeof individual constitutional review. The period after 2020 is marked by the significant influence of EuropeanUnion legal terminology on the domestic legal system and the security component resulting from the armedaggression against Ukraine.The legal terminology of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has become an important tool for adaptingthe Ukrainian legal system to new internal and external challenges, ensuring the harmonization of nationalapproaches with European standards.Conclusions. The evolution of the legal terminology of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine during the periodfrom 1997 to 2026 went through several stages: the basic formation of terminology, its doctrinalization,political transformation, procedural modernization, and Europeanization. Each of these stages reflects not onlythe development of constitutional justice but also the general trends in the transformation of the Ukrainian legalsystem. As a result of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine’s activities, a complex and multi-level conceptualframework has emerged, which today plays an important role in the development of constitutional doctrine,lawmaking, and judicial practice.