The court opened proceedings on the lawsuit filed by the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

On June 27, 2025, the Kyiv District Administrative Court opened proceedings in case No. 320/31780/25 on the basis of a lawsuit filed by the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The lawsuit concerns an appeal against the government’s resolution No. 543 of May 9, 2025, “On Approval of the Procedure for Conducting an Investigation into the Presence of Signs of Affiliation of a Religious Organization with a Foreign Religious Organization Whose Activities Are Prohibited in Ukraine.” This was reported by the press service of the UOC.

According to the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, on the basis of the aforementioned resolution, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) issued Order No. N-70/11 on May 16, according to which, on May 20, an investigation was launched into the presence of signs of affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine. At the same time, the Metropolis notes that no official request for information about its activities was submitted to it. None of its representatives were involved in providing explanations on the substance of the investigation, which effectively deprived the religious organization of the opportunity to defend its rights and interests.

The statement of claim states that the contested resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine, the norms of legislative technique, and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, it refers to violations of the principles of quality of law, including predictability, legal certainty, and proportionality. Thus, the Kyiv Metropolis asks the court to declare the aforementioned resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine unlawful and invalid.

On June 25, 2025, a court hearing was held in Kyiv on the lawsuit filed by the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church demanding that certain provisions of Law No. 3894, aimed at banning the activities of the UOC, be recognized as violating the Constitution of Ukraine. Among other things, the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC tried to prove that the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience does not have sufficient authority and qualifications to establish signs of affiliation of religious organizations with centers located in Russia.