UOC lawyer explains why Kyiv Regional Council’s decision is unlawful
Archpriest Mykyta Chekman, a lawyer representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has outlined the legal grounds on which he believes the Kyiv Regional Council’s resolution concerning the UOC violates Ukraine’s Constitution.
Archpriest Mykyta Chekman, a lawyer for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, said the Kyiv Regional Council’s decision requiring local authorities to facilitate the transfer of UOC communities to the OCU shows clear signs of unlawfulness.
According to Fr. Mykyta, the council exceeded its authority by adopting a measure that effectively obliges local authorities to facilitate the transfer of UOC communities to the OCU.
He pointed to Article 19 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which requires local self-government bodies to act strictly within the powers defined by law. The law “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine,” he noted, does not grant regional councils the authority to influence the canonical jurisdiction of religious communities.
The resolution, he argued, also contradicts Article 35 of the Constitution, which guarantees the separation of Church and state. The state is required to maintain neutrality and has no right to encourage communities to change ecclesiastical affiliation or interfere in their internal decisions.
Fr. Mykyta further emphasized that religious communities in the Kyiv region are independent legal entities and determine their canonical subordination in accordance with their own statutes. Any form of administrative “support” from the regional council in this process, he said, amounts to interference in their autonomy.
He also drew attention to the fact that the issue of the Kyiv Metropolis’s alleged affiliation as a legal entity is currently being challenged in court. Until a final ruling is issued, he argued, referring to the disputed administrative act as an established fact is “premature and legally vulnerable.”
Following the official publication of the resolution, Archpriest Mykyta Chekman said he would provide a full legal assessment of the document and initiate an appeal procedure.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Kyiv Regional Council had called on authorities to assist in transferring UOC communities to the OCU.
