In 2003, a year before the presidential elections in Ukraine, the debate on the terms of office of the acting President resulted in an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. In December 2003 the Court ruled that the provision limiting the presidential terms applied only to persons elected after the entry into force of the Constitution of Ukraine. Therefore, a person newly elected the President of Ukraine in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine in effect in 1999 had the right to run for presidency in the next presidential election in 2004.