At 09:18 on this day back in 1996, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted and enacted the Constitution of Ukraine.
The work lasted for over a year. After all delays and scandals, including clashes between the lawmakers, on June 27, 1996, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Moroz offered to work without breaks until full adoption.
Having spent almost 24 hours in continuous work in the session hall, Ukrainian lawmakers eventually passed the document with 315 votes in its favor.
The centuries of people's lawmaking predated the Constitution of Ukraine in its current form. There was the Russkaya Pravda, the legal code of Kyivan Rus, the Cossack and hetman constitutions, including the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk (one of the first constitutional documents in Europe), the Constitution of the Ukrainian State of 1918. The effective Basic Law of Ukraine has been amended several times.
The adoption of the Constitution in 1996 marked the beginning of the formation and development of Ukraine as a new democratic and independent state. The events of that time provided the basis of the political life of Ukraine, which exists within the government quarter today.
