The Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has filed a lawsuit against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine over the activities of the DESS

The Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has initiated legal proceedings against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, demanding that the establishment and current activities of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) be declared illegal. According to attorney Nikita Chekman, the complaint was filed with the Kyiv District Administrative Court, demanding that the agency be dissolved.

The lawsuit alleges that when the Ukrainian government established the DESS, it granted it powers that, according to the Law “On Central Executive Bodies,” may belong exclusively to ministries. According to the plaintiff, this violated the system of distribution of governmental functions established by law, which contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine.

According to the source, the Kyiv Metropolis’s legal position is based on the fact that it was precisely the decisions of the DESS that formed the basis for audits of the religious organization’s affiliations, led to the issuance of orders, and served as the basis for lawsuits seeking the dissolution of the Metropolis as a legal entity and the nationalization of its property. In this regard, church representatives insist on the need for strict compliance with legislation governing the activities of executive authorities that regulate freedom of conscience.

As a reminder, we previously reported that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court, demanding that the creation of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) and to dissolve this agency.