The principal source of Ukrainian law is the Constitution. Below the Constitution, the legal system is code-based. There are a number of codified laws in the main spheres of national legislation, such as the Civil Code, the Economic Code, the Criminal Code, the Land Code, the Family Code, the Customs Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Labour Code, and the Air Code. The highest legislative body is the unicameral parliament, known as the Supreme Council. Its 450 members are elected by a national vote for a ?ve-year term. The seats are allocated proportionally based on the parties that gain 3% or more in the national parliamentary elections. The last elections were held in October 2014, and the next elections are scheduled to take place in 2019.
The legislative process in the Supreme Council has a number of stages. Initially, a legislative proposal is presented; if accepted, a draft law is prepared by the government or a special parliamentary committee. Then, the draft law is introduced by the President, MPs, the Cabinet or the National Bank. The draft law is then submitted to relevant stakeholders, who present their proposals for improvement, or modification of the draft law. The law can be adopted in the first, second, and third reading. Once the law is voted and approved, it is submitted to the President. The President may exercise the right of veto and return the law to the Supreme Council, but the veto can be overruled if the law is adopted at the repeated consideration by a 2/3 majority of the Supreme Council (300 votes). Once the law is signed by the President, within 10 days it must be included in the Unified State Register of Legal Acts, where it receives a registration code, and is published in the official media. The law comes into force 10 days after its official publication, if not otherwise stipulated.
The next layer is secondary legislation. Different acts are issued by the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the National Bank, ministries and other state agencies within their specific sphere of competence in the form of decrees, resolutions, instructions and orders. These documents are mandatory.
Local state administrations and bodies of local self-government issue resolutions, orders, decisions etc. to ensure the observance of laws and freedoms of citizens, and the implementation of development programmes and regional budgets.