Fourth Anniversary of Constitution of Autonomy Being Marked in Crimea on Monday

The fourth anniversary of the Constitution of the Crimea is being marked on Monday, October 21st.

The congratulating address of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of Crimea, as well as of the permanent representative of the president of Ukraine in the Crimea to the Crimeans on the occasion of this date reads that the adoption of the Constitution became "a historic event which goes far beyond the autonomy's confines." "For many 'hot spots' of our planet the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea is an example of civilised settlement of the status of an autonomy as part of an independent state," the message reads.

The Crimean Constitution was adopted on October 21st, 1998, by the autonomy's parliament on the basis of a draft law of ex-speaker Leonid Grach which found support in Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine and approval by the international public.

By an expert estimate, this Constitution for the first time defined de jure the legal status of the Crimean Republic, restored in 1991, as an autonomous and inviolable formation forming part of Ukraine.

The autonomy received constitutional powers to form the bodies of local power, and the budget, socio-economic and other spheres of its vital activity on its own; to conclude treaties on interregional relations and to develop cooperation with foreign states; and to use three languages - Ukrainian, Russian and Crimean-Tatar - in the business and public life of the multiethnic republic.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Crimea has its own flag, coat-of-arms with the motto Prosperity in Unity, and anthem which are used jointly with the state symbols of Ukraine.