President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed decree No. 607/2020 on the dismissal of the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Oleksandr Tupitsky, according to the press service of the President’s Office.
This issue was considered on Tuesday, December 29, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.
“I am signing this decree for the sake of restoring justice and solving the constitutional crisis,” Zelensky said.
According to experts in the field of constitutional law, neither the Constitution of Ukraine, nor the law of Ukraine on the Constitutional Court determine a special procedure for such a procedural action, which is the removal of a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine from performing official duties, noted the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court Fyodor Venislavsky.
“This is not a release, this is not the termination of his powers as a judge, this is a temporary measure provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, Article 154 … In accordance with Article 154, a person who has been appointed by the President of Ukraine may be for the period of pre-trial investigation for up to two months. Temporarily removed from office, that is, the president acts in full accordance with his constitutional powers, removing Mr. Tupitsky from the post of judge of the Constitutional Court for two months, “Venislavsky said.
Advisor to the head of the OP, Mikhail Podolyak, stressed that Tupitsky is being suspended from the duties of a judge. He cannot attend court hearings procedurally.
“In addition, the suspension for two months is due to the existing legal procedure. But since this suspension is based on the suspicion of a criminal nature expressed to him by the prosecutor’s office, the suspension can be extended for the next two months. Up to mandatory dismissal due to an obvious conflict of interest and the inability to fulfill the duties of a judge by a person suspected of committing crimes, “Podolyak noted.
On the eve it became known that the head of the Constitutional Court Alexander Tupitsky is suspected of bribing a witness and misleading the court by knowingly false testimony of the witness.
The Office of the Attorney General appealed to the President with a motion to remove him from office.
The CCU noted that the possible removal of Tupitsky would be unconstitutional.
