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Legal Evidence – External Sources
Thursday, August 14th, 2008U.S. government changes spelling of capital to Kyiv instead of Kiev
Thursday, October 19th, 2006WASHINGTON The State Department said on Thursday a government decision to change the spelling of Ukraine’s capital to Kyiv from Kiev had nothing to do with politics.
“I don’t think this decision has anything reflective in it”, said Tom Casey, a department spokesman.
About half of Ukraine’s population of 47-million are Russian speakers, and Kiev is the Russian spelling.
Ukraine’s Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko, elected on the wave of the 2004 Orange Revolution mass protests against election fraud, has sought to take his nation out of Russia’s orbit and join NATO and the European Union.
Casey said the decision to change was more in keeping with how Ukrainians themselves pronounce the name of their capital. He said international organizations such as NATO and United Nations already are using the spelling the department has adopted.
The Associated Press continues to spell the name of the capital Kiev.
In the 900s, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Europe, became the capital of Kievan Rus, the first Russian state.
The department announced the change in a memorandum Oct. 3, instructing officials to use the Kyiv spelling in all communications regarding Ukraine.
When a reporter asked about the change Thursday, Casey said to laughter he welcomed the question because “I have been waiting for this for several days.”
He explained there is a U.S. Board of Geographic Names that includes representatives from several government departments, including the State Department, to establish and maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the federal government.
Asked why the spelling of Burma had not been changed to Myanmar as the country’s military leaders call it, Casey replied, “I’ll have to get back to you on that…But for now Burma is known as Burma.”
[Source: IHT] [Source: U.S. Department of State]
Constitution of Ukraine
Friday, June 28th, 1996Constitution of Ukraine clearly states that “The capital of Ukraine is the City of Kyiv” [Article 20].
[Source]
Ukrainian Parliament – Verkhovna Rada
Friday, April 19th, 1996On 19 April 1996, an official Ukrainian-English transliteration system was adopted by the Ukrainian Legal Terminology Commission (Decision number 9).
Proper spelling: “Kyiv”
[Source]
National Academy of Science
Friday, April 19th, 1996Resolution of the Ukrainian commission for legal terminology N. 5
Saturday, October 14th, 1995Resolution of the Ukrainian commission for legal terminology N. 5
Protocol N. 1 of October 14, 1995
On the basis of expert analysis by the Ukrainian Language Institute under the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine regarding the Roman-letter correspondence to the Ukrainian language geographic name of Kiev, taking into account that the spelling Kyiv is indeed in the modern practice of Ukraine’s international communication, proceeding from the urgent need to standardize the recreation of Ukrainian proper names through Roman letters tn the context of Ukraine’s integration into the world legal realm, based on point 6 part 4(b) of the Provision on the Ukrainian Commission for Legal Terminology approved by decree No 796 of the President of Ukraine on August 23, 1995 “Regarding the Provision on the Committee for Legislative Initiatives under the President of Ukraine, on the Ukrainian Codification Commission and on the Ukrainian Commission for Legal Terminology”, the Commission HAS APPROVED:
1. To acknowledge that the Roman spelling of Kiev does not recreate the phonetic and scriptural features of the Ukrainian language geographical name.
2. To confirm that spelling of Kyiv as standardized Roman-letter correspondence to the Ukrainian language geographical name of Київ.
3. On the basis of point 7 of the Provision on the Ukrainian Commission for Legal Terminology, determine as mandatory the standardized Roman-letter spelling of Kyiv for use in legislative and official acts.
4. The resolution to be effective from the moment of its approval.
Head of the Commission,
Minister of Justice of Ukraine — S. Holovaty
Chief Secretary of the Commission — Y. Zaitsev
[Source]