The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court will continue to consider Pavlo Vovk’s complaint against dismissal: the case is gaining new resonance

The Supreme Court will continue to consider the complaint of the former head of the liquidated Kyiv District Administrative Court, Pavlo Vovk, against the decision of the High Council of Justice to dismiss him.

Pavlo Vovk himself insists: the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court was made with gross violations of the Constitution of Ukraine and the European Convention on Human Rights, and the disciplinary proceedings were accompanied by numerous procedural violations.

In particular, as the plaintiff notes, the disciplinary penalty was applied outside the three-year period established by law, and the Supreme Administrative Court itself actually used the retroactive effect of the law, which is directly prohibited by the Fundamental Law.

Separate claims also concern the procedure for considering the case: the meeting of the disciplinary chamber was actually held on one day, and the judge himself, according to him, was not properly notified. The defense was given only three working days to familiarize themselves with 220 volumes of case materials.

Against this background, public pressure around the case is increasing. According to Vovk, information campaigns and speculations about the “distribution of votes” in the Grand Chamber are an attempt to influence judges and form decisions not on the basis of the law, but under public pressure.

At the same time, there are already precedents in the Supreme Court when the Grand Chamber sided with the judges of the OACS, recognizing the inadmissibility of dismissal only on the basis of materials of secret investigative actions without a proper legal assessment in the court verdict.

Lawyers draw attention: this case may become key for the formation of a new practice regarding the disciplinary liability of judges and the limits of the admissibility of the use of materials of the NSRD.

It is expected that the Grand Chamber will thoroughly examine all procedural violations committed by the Supreme Judicial Council, and its decision will have significant consequences for the entire judicial system of Ukraine.