[citation needed] As the Crimean crisis unfolded, the Parliament building was seized by unidentified pro-Russian gunmen.

Under their control, the Parliament removed the incumbent Ukrainian-consented Prime Minister of Crimea and unilaterally appointed Sergey Aksyonov in his stead.

The disbandment was also caused by the belief that the Crimean Parliament collaborated with Russian troops in the region against Ukrainian authorities.

[6] Days later,[quantify] the Crimean Parliament reunified its territorial jurisdiction with the city of Sevastopol into a single united nation and unilaterally declared their independence from Ukraine following a referendum.

[citation needed] Roman Sohn from the EUobserver wrote that, "[the gunmen] let in [the Speaker of the Parliament] and the members of the presidium of the Crimean legislature, while denying entry to officials of its executive office.

[13] The parliament dismissed the chairman and Prime Minister of Crimea, Anatolii Mohyliov, pursuant to Article 136 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and replaced him de facto with Sergey Aksyonov, leader of the Russian Unity party.

[14][15] The contention strives on disagreements on who is the actual legitimate President of Ukraine, with the newly installed government in Ukraine considering the newly installed Oleksandr Turchynov as the incumbent Acting President, while the Council considers Turchynov's appointment as illegitimate.

[18] Enver Abduraimov, member of the parliament presidium, said that he did not go inside when he saw that raiders who secured the building were confiscating all communications devices from deputies.

Andriy Krysko, head of the Crimean branch of the Voters Committee of Ukraine, announced that no one from the parliament secretariat was in the building when voting took place.

[17] Vladimir Konstantinov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, and the new de facto Prime Minister, Sergey Aksyonov, announced that they refused to recognize the dismissal of Viktor Yanukovych as President of Ukraine, and viewed him as legitimate.

[21] On 1 March 2014, the Acting President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, signed a decree declaring the appointment of Sergei Aksyonov unconstitutional.

[23] The Supreme Council had the power to solve any and all matters under the Constitution of Ukraine, the Constitution of Crimea, and Ukrainian laws within the terms of reference of the Autonomous Republic, except those that were required to be solved by a local referendum, or by the Council of Ministers of Crimea and other executive bodies of the republic.

Legal drafts and other acts could have been submitted in Russian, Ukrainian, or Crimean Tatar but the Secretary had then to translate them into the language required by its respective proceeding.

[25] All sessions, including those of its Presidium and committees, had to be transparent and open to the general public, except those restricted by other laws and regulations.

The council could, however, choose to conduct its business confidentially if and only if a majority of the members of the total composition of the body voted to do so.

[verification needed][25] At the first plenary session of the council, the Chief Electoral Officer of Crimea ordered members of parliament to form factions and coalitions.

The formation of parliamentary factions and coalitions was conducted in accordance with the Ukrainian law that regulated the procedure specifically for Crimea.

The Supreme Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall, upon any and all matters coming within its terms of reference, establish other bodies and determine their organisational structure, powers and proceedings.