The Second Senate Proceeded to the In-Camera Part of the Plenary Session in the Case
upon the Constitutional Complaint of N. Linenko
On May 26, the Second Senate of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine considered the case upon the constitutional complaint of Natalia Linenko regarding the constitutionality of Article 485 of the Customs Code of Ukraine of March 13, 2012 No. 4495-VI (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) at the public part of plenary session.
Judge-Rapporteur Oleh Pervomaiskyi pointed out that N. Linenko appealed to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to consider the issue of compliance of Article 485 of the Code, which establishes liability for actions aimed at unlawful exemption from customs duties or reduction, as well as other illegal actions for evasion of customs duties, with the provisions of Articles 41, 48, 61 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
The applicant claims that “Article 485 of the Code imposes an absolutely defined sanction (there is no definition of the minimum and maximum limits of the fine), the impossibility of reducing it and the lack of alternative sanctions for the offense do not allow to apply this rule taking into account the principle of individual responsibility of the offender“, which contradicts Article 61.2 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
According to N. Linenko, the disputed provisions of the Code do not comply with the constitutional principles of individualisation of legal responsibility and violate the right of a person to own, use and dispose of property, as well as the right to a sufficient standard of living for himself/herself and his/her family, including adequate food, clothing, housing.
The Judge-Rapporteur informed that as of today a reply had been received from the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding the issues raised in the constitutional complaint.
The Second Senate concluded its consideration of the case at the public part of the plenary session and proceeded to the in-camera part for a decision. The plenary session was attended by the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Fedir Venislavskyi and the Authorised Representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Chief Consultant of the Judicial Relations Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Kristina Pudans.
The public part of the plenary session is available on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the section Archive of video broadcasts of the sessions.
