02.10.2026
On 29 September 2026, the Grand Chamber considered the case upon the constitutional petition of the Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of Article 40.1.1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Social Insurance” No. 1105-XIV dated 23 September 1999 (hereinafter, the “Law”) and delivered Decision No. 6-r/2026.
The Judge-Rapporteur in the case – Viktor Kychun.
The contested provision stipulates that insurance payments and social services shall be discontinued “if the injured person is an individual for whom documents for departure abroad for permanent residence / for remaining abroad for permanent residence have been issued, unless otherwise provided for by an international treaty of Ukraine, the binding nature of which has been approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”.
In the opinion of the Supreme Court, this provision is discriminatory and restricts the content and scope of existing social rights without constitutional grounds.
Having examined the issues raised in the constitutional petition, the Court declared the contested provision unconstitutional.
The Court recalled that, when formulating the State's social policy, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine enjoys a wide margin of appreciation. However, restrictions on the exercise of the right to social protection established by law may not impair its essential content or be discriminatory in nature.
Within the system of compulsory state social insurance against occupational accidents and occupational diseases, insurance legal relations arise on the basis of the payment of insurance contributions and the occurrence of an insured event, while entitlement to insurance payments and social services is determined by the fact that harm has been caused to a person's health and by the degree of loss of working capacity.
Insurance payments are compensatory in nature, while social services are restorative in nature and, as a general rule, may not be discontinued on grounds unrelated to a change in the circumstances that constituted the basis for their provision.
By contrast, the completion of formalities for permanent residence abroad does not change the nature or extent of the harm caused to a person's health, the degree of loss of working capacity, the legal nature of an insured event that has already occurred, or the amount of contributions paid. This criterion has no objective link to the nature and objectives of social insurance and, therefore, its use as a ground for discontinuing payments and services indicates unjustified differentiation in the legal status of insured persons.
In the view of the above, the Court concluded that the contested provision contravenes the principle of equality enshrined in Articles 24.1 and 24.2 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
The Court also noted that the contested provision provides for the complete and indefinite discontinuation of insurance payments and social services from the moment the relevant formalities are completed, irrespective, in particular, of the person's age, degree of loss of working capacity, severity of their health presence of dependants or condition and whether the services can be provided remotely. The provision contains no exceptions, does not specify the conditions for reinstating payments and services, and does not regulate situations in which a person has not left Ukraine or has returned to Ukraine.
Such regulation violates the essence of the right to social protection, fails to meet the requirement of legal certainty and is inconsistent with the principle of a welfare state, the principles of state responsibility to the individual and good governance, as well as the state's obligation to ensure care and protection for its citizens abroad. Accordingly, the contested provision also contravenes Articles 1, 3.2, 8.1, 25.3, and 46.1 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
The Court took into account its legal position according to which a citizen's right to receive a pension granted to them may not be made conditional upon permanent residence in Ukraine (Decision No. 25-rp/2009 dated 7 October 2009), as well as international standards in the field of non-discrimination and social security.
At the same time, the Court recognised that the legal situation of persons staying abroad is objectively different: verifying the circumstances that constitute grounds for insurance payments is more difficult, and the provision of certain social services may require a person's physical presence in Ukraine. Therefore, the State may differentiate the procedure for providing insurance payments depending on a person's actual place of residence, introduce reasonable requirements for regular confirmation of entitlement to such payments and mechanisms for verifying recipients, as well as conclude international social security agreements. Under martial law, the State may, and in certain cases is obliged to, establish mechanisms for monitoring the targeted use of public funds.
However, the Constitution of Ukraine does not empower the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt a law providing for the complete and indefinite discontinuation of all insurance payments and social services solely on the grounds that a person has completed the formalities for permanent residence abroad.
“The State may not arbitrarily revoke or restrict constitutional rights, including the right to social protection,” as emphasized in the Decision.
The Court noted that the existence or absence of international treaties binding upon Ukraine, as well as their content, cannot constitute grounds for restricting or revoking a person's constitutional rights. Declaring the contested provision unconstitutional does not call into question the validity of such treaties.
The provision declared unconstitutional shall cease to have effect six months from the date of deliver of the Decision. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is required to bring the legal regulation established by this provision into conformity with the Constitution of Ukraine and this Decision.
The Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is binding, final and does not subject to appeal.
The full text of the Decision is available at the following link: https://ccu.gov.ua/docs/8022 .
