MP explained which Ukrainian laws are violated by the creation of a pantheon at the Lavra
According to Maksym Buzhansky, the law on the pantheon removes its construction from the scope of the Land Code and five other Ukrainian laws.
Ukrainian Member of Parliament Maksym Buzhansky listed the norms of Ukrainian legislation that are "switched off" for the construction of the "Ukrainian National Pantheon" on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. He left the corresponding comment under a publication by Denys Horokhovskyi on Facebook, which stated that the law on the pantheon violates UNESCO norms.
"The law directly prescribes a rule — to disregard other laws," the MP noted sarcastically.
Buzhansky drew attention to the fact that the transitional provisions of Law No. 15360 "On the Ukrainian National Pantheon" amend six legislative acts at once.
Thus, a provision is added to the Land Code stipulating that the construction and operation of the pantheon does not require a change in the designated purpose of the land plot, the land category, or the functional use of the territory.
An article is introduced into the Law "On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine" that directly permits the construction of the pantheon on the territory of the nature reserve fund. At the same time, the placement of the pantheon on a protected territory "cannot serve as an independent ground for refusing to approve, endorse, or implement design solutions."
Two articles are simultaneously removed from the scope of the Law "On the Protection of Cultural Heritage" — on protection zones of monuments, buffer zones of World Heritage sites, and historical areas of settlements (Art. 32), as well as on historical and cultural reserves (Art. 33). "The requirements of these articles do not apply to legal relations concerning the creation and operation of the Ukrainian National Pantheon," the MP quotes from the document. A separate new article permits the construction of the pantheon within the boundaries of a historical area, a monument protection zone, and a buffer zone of a World Heritage site — that is, precisely where ordinary construction is prohibited or strictly limited.
Furthermore, according to amendments to the Law "On Burial and Funeral Affairs," the pantheon will not be subject to urban planning, environmental, sanitary-hygienic, and other requirements established for cemeteries, crematoria, and columbaria.
Finally, amendments to the Law "On the Regulation of Urban Planning Activities" provide that urban planning conditions and restrictions for the design of pantheon facilities will be issued "without regard to the requirements of urban planning documentation at the local level" — that is, without reference to Kyiv's general plan.
Let us recall that the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is one of the oldest shrines of the Orthodox Church, founded in the 11th century by the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, where the relics of more than one hundred Kyiv Pechersk saints rest. The Lavra is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and, in the opinion of legal experts, large-scale construction on its territory without prior assessment by the World Heritage Committee contradicts Ukraine's international obligations.
Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that on July 1, the Verkhovna Rada passed Law No. 15360 "On the Ukrainian National Pantheon," initiated by Volodymyr Zelensky — 287 MPs voted in favor. On the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers, by Resolution No. 871, determined that the pantheon will be created as part of the National Reserve "Kyiv Pechersk Lavra".
