Конституційне закріплення свободи совісті: основні напрямки розвитку
Constitutional recognition of freedom of conscience: development guidelines

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores the constitutional legislation of Ukraine regarding the legalstatus of religious associations, formulating proposals for its improvement inaccordance with international legal standards.The legal status of religious associations and their correlation within and withthe state are bound to the recognition and implementation of freedom of conscience.While consolidating the principle of freedom of conscience constitutions of moderndemocracies do not define the scope of this principle’s legal regulation. Thus creatingartificial complications when defining the substance of the legal status of religiousassociations, built on the foundation that is freedom of religion. Therefore, thedesignation of ways and approaches to the constitutional regulation of freedom ofconscience and association are both theoretically and practically important researchdirections in the theory of law.The article focuses on the analysis of methodological development principlesof national constitutional law on religious associations. The author reveals theconstitutional model of church-state relations in Ukraine, which is a prerequisite tothe analysis of the current state of constitutional recognition of freedom of conscienceand the right of association in Ukraine. The author also dwells on the issue ofestablishing legal grounds for the restriction of freedom of religion, and the analysisof Ukrainian citizens’ complications when exercising the right of alternative servicefor religious or other reasons.As an outcome of the research, the author defines and analyzes the mainapproaches to the improvement of the constitutional legislation of Ukraine in terms ofregulation of freedom of conscience and activity of religious associations inaccordance with European legal standards.

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