Statements about the resettlement of monks from the Lavra are illegal and unfounded, - Legal Department of the UOC

The Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko said that on June 5, 2023, the commission of the ICIP for the acceptance and transfer of state property of the Lavra completed its work and signed with the Reserve an Act of acceptance and transfer of state property of the National Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra» and requires within three working days to release the Lavra by the Monastery of the UOC and transfer the property to the reserve. The Information and Education Department of the UOC published a commentary by the Legal Department of the UOC on this matter.

«This requirement is illegal and unfounded, like the unilateral termination of the contract, and is not enforceable, since today the case is being considered in court and any actions to deprive the right to use the UOC Lavra are illegal,» the comment says.

It is also noted that the Monastery did not sign the act of acceptance and transfer, and accordingly did not transfer the property used by the Monastery in accordance with the contract, which is valid. The monastery did not receive the conclusion of the commission of the ICIP on the acceptance and transfer of state property of the Lavra. Also, the Monastery did not receive an Act on the results of the inspection, which allegedly established violations of the terms of the contract for the use of property, did not receive documents on the basis of which this conclusion was made. The Monastery repeatedly tried to obtain the specified Act, however, in response there were reports that the requested information was classified as “For Official Use” and therefore could not be provided.

In addition, at present, the Kyiv Economic Court is considering a case on the claim of the Reserve against the Monastery for the removal of obstacles to the use of property, as well as another case on the claim of the Monastery against the Reserve on invalidating the unilateral refusal of the Reserve from the contract, on the basis of which the Monastery with 2013 enjoys iconic buildings and structures. The litigation of the cases is ongoing and there is currently no decision on the matter.

«Given the foregoing, the requirement to terminate the use and return of state property is illegal and not enforceable. Today, the dispute is being considered in court, so any actions to terminate the contract for the use of religious buildings and structures unilaterally are illegal and not enforceable,» it says in the comments.