13 March 2026
On 5 March 2026, Olga Sovgyria and Galyna Yurovska, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, gave an online lecture. The event brought together a wide range of legal professionals: lawyers, prosecutors, judges of the judicial system, representatives of the National School of Judges of Ukraine, academics, lecturers, students, postgraduates from higher education institutions, and the youngest researchers from the Junior Academy of Sciences.
The main focus was on the key aspects of Decision No. 1-r/2026, delivered on 20 January this year, in the case concerning the pension conditions for civil servants and local government officials.
The event was moderated by Galyna Yurovska. The main speaker was Olga Sovgyria, who explained the content of this decision, cited specific positions from decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and international bodies, and highlighted the legal positions that were formed in it and which the Court applied from previous decisions, in particular, regarding the right of citizens to social protection, the relationship between the special conditions of pension provision for certain categories of citizens and the specifics of their professional activities. The judge also focused on an analysis of legislation in the field of pension provision for civil servants and local government officials.
During the lecture, it was mentioned that the reason for considering this case was a constitutional submission by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. The author of the petition requested that certain provisions of the Ukrainian laws “On Public Service” (No. 889, dated 10 December 2015) and “On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies” (No. 2493, dated 7 June 2001), which changed the pension conditions for civil servants and local government officials and did not provide for the recalculation of pensions awarded under the Law of Ukraine “On Public Service” (No. 3723, dated 16 December 1993).
According to Law No. 3723, civil servants with at least 10 years of civil service experience who were working in the civil service at the time of its appointment, or 20 years of experience in any civil service position, regardless of their place of work at the time of reaching a certain age, were entitled to receive a civil service pension. Civil servants were granted a pension equal to 60 per cent of their salary.
From 1 May 2016, pension provision for civil servants and local government officials is carried out on a general basis in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance” (No. 1058, dated 09.07.2003), except in cases where, on the date of entry into force of Law No. 889, persons had the length of service in the civil service or local government required for the appointment of a pension under Law No. 3723.
For a long time, from 15 March 2000 to 30 April 2016, contributions to the Pension Fund of Ukraine were deducted from the salaries of civil servants and local government officials, which were significantly higher than deductions from the salaries of other persons. This gave them the right to expect a higher pension in the future, as they had effectively ‘advanced’ their future payments. This created certain legitimate expectations regarding pension provision.
Special requirements for civil servants, local government officials, restrictions on the constitutional rights of these persons in connection with their positions, and increased contributions to the Pension Fund of Ukraine collectively gave rise to objectively justified expectations of an increased level of pension provision in the future.
However, with the entry into force of Law No. 889, persons who had the required length of service as of 1 May 2016 retained their right to a special pension, while the pension provision for those who lacked even one day of service, even though they had paid increased contributions, is carried out on general grounds under Law No. 1058.
In its decision, the Court noted, in particular, that from 1 May 2016, civil servants and local government officials who paid increased contributions but did not have the required length of service for the appointment of a special pension, “not only did they not obtain the right to a pension on the terms specified in Article 37 of Law No. 3723, but they also did not receive any compensation for paying increased contributions”. The court pointed out that Laws No. 889, No. 2493, and No. 1058 “do not provide for mechanisms for reimbursement for the payment of increased contributions, transitional pension provisions, or consideration of the payment of increased contributions in any other way when calculating pensions for these categories of persons”.
The judge emphasised that changes in the legal regulation of pension provision for civil servants and local government officials had led to a significant difference in their pension levels, which did not ensure legal equality – one of the components of the principle of the rule of law – and violated constitutional guarantees of the right to social protection.
Taking into account this and other arguments set out in the decision, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine determined:
- to recognise as unconstitutional subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of
Section XI “Final and Transitional Provisions” of Law No. 889 in that it does not establish transitional conditions for pension provision or compensation mechanisms for persons who paid increased contributions but did not have the required length of service for the appointment of a pension;- to recognise as constitutional the general rules on pension provision for civil servants and local government officials (Article 90 of Law No. 889, Article 21.7 of Law No. 2493);
- close the proceedings on the recalculation of the amounts of pensions already awarded, as this issue has already been settled by the Court earlier (Decision No. 3-r/2022 dated 23 December 2022, in which the Court recognised subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Section XI “Final and Transitional Provisions’” of Law No. 889 as unconstitutional in that it made it impossible to recalculate the amounts of pensions awarded on the basis of Article 37 of Law No. 3723. (https://ccu.gov.ua/dokument/3-r2022).
In addition, it was emphasised that the implementation of this decision is impossible without proper legislative regulation and that the state has a positive obligation to regulate these issues within a reasonable time frame.
For more details, see the videomaterial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d4jAbAfshk
