12 March 2026
On 11 March 2026, the First Senate deliberated the case at a plenary session and delivered Decision No. 2-r(I)/2026 upon the constitutional complaint of Volodymyr Paderin regarding the constitutionality of paragraph 5 of Article 46.1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” No. 1556-VII dated 1 July 2014 (hereinafter the “Law No. 1556”).
According to paragraph 5 of Article 46.1 of Law No. 1556, one of the grounds for expulsion of a higher education applicant is “violation of the terms of the agreement (contract) concluded between the higher education institution and the student or the natural (legal) person paying for such education”.
According to the author of the petition, the application of the contested provision of Law No. 1556 in his case led to a violation of the right guaranteed by of Article 58.2 of the Constitution of Ukraine “not to be held liable for acts that are not recognised by law as offences”.
Having examined the constitutional petition and the materials attached thereto, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine delivered a decision recognising paragraph 5 of Article 46.1 of Law No. 1556 as constitutional, but at the same time indicated that the Kyiv Court of Appeal, in its resolution of 3 October 2023 in the case of Volodymyr Paderin, incorrectly classified the liability imposed on him as disciplinary and, accordingly, incorrectly assessed the grounds for dismissal provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 46.1 of Law No. 1556.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine concluded that “the liability in the form of expulsion for breach of the terms of the agreement (contract) provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 46.1 of Law No. 1556 is related to the failure to fulfil civil law obligations arising from the conclusion of the agreement (contract)”.
In addition, the Court stated that “the legislator may also specify the procedure for exercising the constitutional right to higher education by defining the requirements for the implementation of the educational programme and individual study plan, including compliance with the rules of academic integrity, however, the specification of such a procedure cannot seek to excessively expand the aforementioned requirements, which are not conditioned by the goal of achieving the learning outcomes specified for the relevant level of higher education, as this could be used as a basis for expelling the student”.
The decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is binding, final and cannot be appealed.
The judge-rapporteurs in the case are Yuriy Barabash and Oksana Hryshchuk.
The separate opinion of Judge Petro Filiuk of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will be published on the Court's official website within the time limits established by law.
