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After the dismissal, the head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tupitsky, does not have the authority not only to call meetings of the Constitutional Court, but also to come to work, said the former head of the court Stanislav Shevchuk.
Former President of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (KSU) Stanislav Shevchuk described the unique situation in which Oleksandr Tupitskiy, removed from the post of president of the KSU, continues to work. He said this on January 2 on the air of the television channel Ukraine 24.
“In general, this is a unique situation where the judge and the head of the court, Tupitsky, who was already a suspect, continues to be involved in some incomprehensible things. He calls a special session for January 5, but he has no authority, not just to call a session, and come to work, “Shevchuk said.
He believes that the KSU judges “can meet, but without Mr. Tupitsky,” and decide general questions.
“It is time to start the disciplinary procedure to remove Mr. Tupitsky in the prescribed manner, so far the KSU has not done so. This is a very dangerous precedent, a presidential decree [Владимира Зеленского] it is valid, and the judges who attend the session will send a signal to the public that they do not recognize the presidential decree. This is the basis for the destruction of the rule of law “, – explained the former head of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Tupitsky was appointed a Constitutional Court judge in May 2013 based on the president’s quota. He headed the KSU in September 2019.
On December 28, 2020, he was supposed to appear at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (UCP) to present a suspicion of bribery of a witness and the deliberately false testimony of a witness (article 386 and part 2 of article 384 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). According to the Attorney General’s Office, Tupitsky reported that he could not come for family reasons, but did not provide documents on the validity of the reasons for the lack of appearance.
The UCP press service sent a message about the suspicion to Tupitsky by mail. In addition, the department sent Zelensky a petition to remove Tupitsky from the post of judge for two months.
On December 29, Zelensky signed the decree, stating that he did so “in order to restore justice and resolve the constitutional crisis.”
In the document itself He saysthat Tupitsky was removed from office on the basis of Part 3 of art. 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine (she foreseesthat the question of the removal of the persons appointed by the president is decided on the basis of a request from the prosecutor in the manner prescribed by law).
On December 30, the KSU released a statement emphasizing that it would not remove Tupitsky from office, despite Zelensky’s relevant decree. The Constitutional Court said that Zelensky’s decree does not comply with the Constitution, as the main document does not give the president the right to remove the judges from the Constitutional Court. Furthermore, the Constitution does not at all provide for the possibility of dismissing a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the court notes.
In the Office of the President, people who posted a message about the unconstitutionality of Tupitsky’s expulsion on the website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine were threatened with criminal responsibility.
The presidential representative in the KSU Fedor Venislavsky believes that the president has the right to remove Tupitsky. He said that such powers of the head of state are provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Later, Venislavsky once again confirmed the position of the Office of the President with respect to Tupitsky.
As Yulia Kirichenko, an expert in constitutional law, said in a comment to GORDON, the procedure to remove the judges of the Constitutional Court has not been detailed. Therefore, the president cannot comply with the request of the Attorney General’s Office and remove Tupitsky from office for two months, he said.
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