Syuzanna Stanik [former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine] has said that her dismissal was illegal, according to NTN television report, translated by the BBC Monitoring Service.

On 1 May, President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree dismissing Stanik from her post "for breaching the oath".

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Speaking in an exclusive interview with NTN, she said that she did not breach the oath.

The president`s decree of 1 May dismissing her lacks the observance of a necessary procedure because, according to the law on the Constitutional Court and the court`s procedures, the issue of breaching the oath should first be considered by a special commission which should forward its conclusions to the Supreme Council [parliament].

Article 126 of the constitution, which the president referred to, says that judges can be dismissed by the body which appointed them.

Stanik said: “The law on the Constitutional Court has a clear provision which says that the issue of a judge breaching the oath should be considered by the Supreme Council.

This is why, speaking or thinking about the decree, I arrived at a very  simple conclusion: whether the president of Ukraine has the right to  interpret the constitution and the laws of Ukraine. Our country`s laws say  he cannot. Article 150 of the Constitution of Ukraine grants such a right only to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.”

This news was monitored by the Action Ukraine Monitoring Service for the Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer, Editor.