Bohdan Lvov, who has Russian citizenship, reinstated as judge of Ukraine's Supreme Court
A court in Kyiv has ordered the reinstatement of Bohdan Lvov to the staff of the Supreme Court. Previously, journalists and the Security Service of Ukraine reported on Lvov's Russian citizenship.
The DEJURE Foundation reports.
The Supreme Court refused to say whether they plan to appeal the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court. Lvov is also to be compensated for his salary for the period of "forced absenteeism".
In September 2022, it became known that Bohdan Lvov had Russian citizenship, but he denied it. After that, the Supreme Court dismissed him from the judiciary.
In October 2022, over 25,000 Ukrainians signed a petition to the President of Ukraine to revoke his Ukrainian citizenship. In response to the petition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had instructed the Presidential Commission on Citizenship to look into the issue.
In December 2023, the Migration Service reported that it was no longer considering depriving the former judge Lvov of Ukrainian citizenship. The agency did not give reasons for this decision due to the alleged "confidentiality" of such information.
There is no mechanism in Ukraine for checking candidates and judges for citizenship of another state.
"This is a signal to others who, in the tenth year of the war [between Russia and Ukraine], have Russian citizenship, to feel free to hold their positions," DEJURE Foundation comments.
The foundation is concerned about the "loss of legitimacy" of the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
In May 2023, Stanislav Kravchenko was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. During the competition, he received a negative opinion from the Public Integrity Council of Ukraine due to irregularities in his declaration, participation in a decision that violated human rights, and other violations.
In addition, in December 2023, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court elected Olha Stupak and Serhii Pohribnyi, who were also found by the Public Integrity Council to be unfit to hold judicial positions in the Supreme Court.
