{"id":1341637,"date":"2026-01-07T19:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/zelensky-and-the-acting-sbu-a-short-course-in-constitutional-alchemy\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T06:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:22:15","slug":"zelensky-and-the-acting-sbu-a-short-course-in-constitutional-alchemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/zelensky-and-the-acting-sbu-a-short-course-in-constitutional-alchemy\/","title":{"rendered":"From Law to Alchemy: Zelenskyy\u2019s Experiment with the Acting SBU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Author’s Facebook<\/a> page<\/em>
\nIt turns out that our Constitution is an elastic document. It stretches, crumples, and, when convenient, turns into a napkin \u2014 especially when there is a strong desire to make an appointment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus, a wartime \u201cmiracle\u201d occurred at the SBU: Volodymyr Zelenskyy effectively installed an acting head in a position where the Constitution explicitly provides no such option.<\/p>\n

Article 106, paragraph 14 \u2014 dull, old-fashioned, but stubborn. The President may only submit a proposal to appoint or dismiss the Head of the SBU. The Verkhovna Rada appoints and dismisses. Not Bankova. Not by decree. And certainly not by the logic of \u201cthere\u2019s a war, let\u2019s skip the formalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a small but fundamental nuance: once a resignation is submitted, the head of the SBU automatically becomes acting head until parliament makes its decision. Neither creative interpretations nor magic, nor any \u201cthis is how I see it.<\/p>\n

Defenders of Bankova are now chanting \u201cmartial law\u201d in unison. They invoke Article 11 of the law, claiming it grants the President the power to appoint acting officials. Specifically, they argue it applies to governors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t