Krasovsky K. Natural rights in Ukrainian constitutionalism

The thesis is dealing with the comprehensive theoretical and legal history research aspects of the natural rights in Ukrainian constitutionalism. The author analyses the historical roots of the conceptual natural rights (the ancient period, the Middle Age, the Modern history) and emphasizes the first attempts to include the natural rights in the legislative texts. The paper considers the basic ideas of natural human rights and their understanding in Ukraine in the XVI - XIX centuries. Emphasis is placed on the development of constitutionalism in Ukraine in the twentieth century through the prism of natural human rights. It is argued that during the Soviet period of Ukraine's existence, international law, Ukraine's participation in the activities of international legal institutions, and the scholar support of these processes could be to some extent a "breath of fresh air" in terms of perception of natural human rights. The author highlights the transition from the Soviet approach to the concept of natural human rights. The dissertation investigates the latest stage of development of Ukrainian constitutionalism and natural human rights and thoroughly demonstrates the role and significance of the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine (1996) as an important step in the implementation of natural human rights. The author shows the vision of tendencies of development of the concept of natural human rights in the Ukrainian constitutionalism after adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine. It is concluded that the pursuit of happiness is a phenomenon, a natural human right, which should have been included in the text of the Constitution in 1996. Citizens, society and, presumably, the state would potentially benefit from this. After all, being a state of successful happy people is a reference point for any state. The author devotes the final chapter to the analysis of the latest ideas for ensuring natural human rights and improving their constitutional mechanisms against the global tendencies