The article is devoted to a theoretical and methodological study of constituent power within the framework of the contemporary legal doctrine of Ukraine. The authors substantiate the necessity of reconsidering the established approaches to constituent power through a preliminary clarification of the fundamental concepts of the doctrine of law, legal doctrine, and constituent power. The research proceeds from the methodological premise that a coherent theory of constituent power cannot be developed without clearly defining the subject matter of legal doctrine and its conceptual foundations. The article critically reconsiders the traditional distinction between the doctrine of law and the legal doctrine. It is argued that these concepts should be differentiated not by their practical or theoretical orientation but by their respective subject matter. The doctrine of law is defined as a system of theoretical propositions concerning law as a universal normative form of social regulation, whereas the legal doctrine is interpreted as the theory of legal law, understood as the historically developed state-organized form of law. According to the authors, this conceptual distinction provides the necessary methodological basis for the development of the doctrine of constituent power. The central part of the article presents an original concept of constituent power. Contrary to the prevailing constitutional doctrine, constituent power is not regarded as a form of public authority or a branch of state power. Instead, it is conceptualized as a primary social and normative phenomenon that historically and logically precedes the emergence of the state, legal law, and public authority. Constituent power is defined as the capacity of a politically organized society to establish the normative foundations of its existence, legitimize the institutional organization of public authority, and determine the constitutional order. Consequently, public authority is interpreted as the result of constituent power rather than its generic category. Particular attention is paid to the critical assessment of contemporary constitutional doctrine and the legal positions adopted by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court concerning constituent power. The authors argue that identifying Parliament with the exercise of constituent power is inconsistent with the constitutional status of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as the legislative body and lacks sufficient theoretical justification. Accordingly, established doctrinal approaches to the legal nature of the Constitution of Ukraine, its adoption, and the implementation of popular sovereignty are critically re-evaluated. The article also proposes an original interpretation of the concept of state interest as the common interest of a politically organized society in its self-preservation, implemented through the mechanisms of public administration. On this methodological basis, the authors conclude that the people are the sole subject of constituent power, whereas the state merely serves as the institutional mechanism for implementing the people’s power. The necessity of developing a coherent legal doctrine of constituent power is substantiated as an essential prerequisite for the advancement of constitutional legal science and the further development of constitutional practice in Ukraine.

Authored books

1. Yushchyk O,  Dialektyka prava: kn.1: Obscheye ucheniye o prave (kriticheskiy analiz obshepravovych ponyatiy) (In Yure 2013) (in Russian). Edited books

2. Pravova doktryna Ukrainy: u 5 t. (V Tatsii (holova redkol), Pravo 2013) (in Ukrainian). Journal articles

3. Tepliuk M, Yushchyk O, ‘Ustanovcha vlada yak klyuchovyy chynnyk derzhavnostiʼ [2026] 7 Pravo Ukrainy 122–136 https://doi.org/10.33498/louu-2026-07-122 (in Ukrainian).

4. Yushchyk O, ‘Pro klasyfikatsiyi ta vydy prava’ [2014] 5 Pravo Ukrainy 41–51 (in Ukrainian). Theses

5. Berchenko H, ‘Konstytutsiya yak akt ustanovchoyi vlady’ (dys doktora yuryd nauk, 2024) (in Ukrainian).

6. Maksakova R, Konstytutsiino-pravovi problemy ustanovchoi vlady v Ukraini (dys dokt yuryd nauk, 2013) (in Ukrainian). Encyclopaedias and dictionaries

7. Suchasnyi tlumachnyi slovnyk ukrainskoi movy: 65000 sliv (V Dubichynskyi (zah. red.), ShKOLA 2006) (in Ukrainian).

8. Velyka yurydychna entsyklopediia: u 20 t. T. 4: Konstytutsiine pravo (Iu Barabash (holova redkol.), Pravo 2024) (in Ukrainian).