8 April 2026
On 7 April 2026, during the open part of the plenary session, the Grand Chamber continued its deliberations on the constitutional petition submitted by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the form of oral proceedings.
It should be recalled that the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights applied to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine requesting a review of the constitutionality of paragraph twenty-two of section 10-2 of Chapter XIII”Final and Transitional Provisions” of the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings” of 2 June 2016 No. 1404–VIII, as amended (hereinafter, the "Law").
The contested provision of the Law stipulates that, during the period of martial law in Ukraine, enforcement proceedings in cases concerning the enforcement of judgments where the debtors are enterprises of the defence-industrial complex, military command bodies, formations, military units, military higher education institutions and other bodies forming part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (except for decisions concerning the recovery of salaries, financial allowances for military personnel and the provision of housing for them). Enforcement proceedings for the recovery of utility debts from citizens whose homes are located in communities where active hostilities are taking place, or which are under temporary occupation according to the official list, or where the immovable property constituting their permanent residence has been destroyed or damaged as a result of military operations, are also suspended.
During the previous plenary session to consider this case, which took place on 24 March this year, the reporting judge in the case, Oleg Pervomaiskyi, outlined the content of the constitutional submission and the applicant’s grounds.
The party entitled to make a constitutional petition argues that this provision of the Law renders it impossible to enforce non-pecuniary court judgments where the debtors are entities within the defence sector. The applicant emphasises that the contested provision of the Law effectively introduces an absolute moratorium on the enforcement of non-pecuniary court decisions, in particular those relating to the obligation to perform certain actions: removal from military registration, discharge from military service, etc.
In the opinion of the author of the petition, paragraph twenty-two of section 10-2 of Chapter XIII “Final and Transitional Provisions” of the Law is inconsistent with the Constitution of Ukraine, as it leads “to the undermining of both rights protected by the courts and the very right to judicial protection in terms of the State ensuring the proper enforcement of relevant court decisions during the period of martial law in Ukraine”, and also creates legal uncertainty regarding the timeframes for the enforcement of court decisions.
During the public part of the plenary session, the Court heard the statement of the party entitled to file a constitutional petition – the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets,. The parties involved in the constitutional proceedings also presented their positions: the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, Commissioner for the European Court of Human Rights Margarita Sokorenko; Professor of Private Law at the Leonid Yuzkov Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law Yuriy Bilousov; and Associate Professor of Justice at the Educational and Research Institute of Law, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Oleksandr Snidevych.
During the hearing on 7 April, the Court heard the explanations of Serhiy Dembovskyi, the President of Ukraine’s representative at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and the closing statement by Andrii Ovsienko, the representative of the Commissioner for the Right to Fair Justice and Representation in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The parties involved and the participants in the constitutional proceedings answered the judges’ questions.
Having examined the case materials, the Court proceeded to the in-camera part of the plenary session to deliver its ruling.
The public parts of the plenary sessions can be viewed on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine:
· Session of 24 March: part 1, part 2.
· Session of 7 April: video.
