The Principle of the Welfare State through the Prism of Legal Positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the essence of the welfare state as a constitutional principle and manifestations of its social function through the prism of legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The article highlights the development of the positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the tasks and functioning of the welfare state, which has passed through several stages of its development. Special attention is paid to decisions made under martial law. The author draws conclusions about the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the implementation of social rights, which reveals a significant specificity of the approach to their presentation, which consists, in particular, in: a) the expanded scope of the enshrined social human rights in comparison with other European states; b) the extension to this block of general norms prohibiting "restriction" or "abolition" (Article 22 of the Constitution of Ukraine); c) the necessity of the principle of proportionality between social protection of citizens and the financial capabilities of the state is forced for obvious reasons. It is emphasized that in recent years, the social function of the state has been significantly modified. Due to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine, the emphasis has shifted, and this, first of all, quite naturally concerns the need to strengthen the social protection of military personnel and their families.