Zelensky annuls Yanukovych's decree appointing Tupytsky as judge of Constitutional Court / Photo from UNIAN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has annulled the decrees of former President Viktor Yanukovych on the appointment of Oleksandr Tupytsky and Oleksandr Kasminin as judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

Relevant decree No. 124/2021 was signed on March 27, as reported by the presidential press service.

Zelensky explains the decision by guaranteeing compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the rights and freedoms of citizens and compliance with the Law "On National Security."

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Read alsoG7 envoys ask Ukraine to postpone appointments to High Justice Council, CCUIn addition, Zelensky takes into account the Verkhovna Rada's statement of February 17, 2021 regarding the usurpation of power by Yanukovych. The judges appointed by Yanukovych, who were in their posts in the Constitutional Court, have created "a threat to the state independence and national security of Ukraine, which violates the Constitution of Ukraine, human and civil rights and freedoms."

The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.

Constitutional crisis in Ukraine

  • On October 27, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU), on the motion of 47 MPs, adopted a decision repealing Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code, which had provided for liability for inaccurate declaration of assets by government officials.
  • The Constitutional Court also recognized unconstitutional the provisions of laws on the verification of e-declarations, and abolished the powers of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to verify such declarations and identify a conflict of interest.
  • The European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, issued a list of 10 recommendations to Ukrainian legislators for amending the law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the light of the ongoing crisis. The recommendations were prepared as part of an urgent opinion on CCU reform, released in line with President Zelensky's inquiry dated November 25.
  • On December 15, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill on amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Preventing Corruption to restore the institutional mechanism for preventing corruption.