It has come to the NBU’s attention that another attempt has been made to forbid NBU First Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova to perform her duties.
In particular, the NBU has received a letter from an individual alleging that on 11 June 2019, the Baryshivka District Court of Kyiv Oblast ruled to ban Kateryna Rozhkova from participating in meetings of the NBU Board and from performing her duties.
Said individual’s initials coincide with the initials of one of the likely participants of the court hearing who are listed on The Judiciary of Ukraine portal. At the same time, the Single State Register of Court Rulings has no record of said ruling, and the NBU has not received notice of the ruling from the court.
“Pursuant to the Code of Judicial Practice, such court rulings take effect immediately upon receipt by the NBU. Up until now, however, the NBU has neither received notice from any court of any rulings to ban the members of the NBU Board from the discharge of their duties, nor attended any proceedings resulting in such rulings. Thus, the NBU cannot confirm whether the information about that court ruling is truthful. If it is, the NBU will appeal that ruling. In addition, the NBU is prepared to check for signs of miscarriage of justice in the judge’s actions and for grounds to file a complaint against the judge’s actions and to appeal to law enforcement authorities,” said Viktor Hryhorchuk, Head of the Office for Litigation at the NBU Legal Department.
Lawmaker Yurii Savchuk has recently filed a lawsuit with the District Administrative Court of Kyiv seeking to ban Kateryna Rozhkova from performance of duties as NBU First Deputy Governor. In a similar lawsuit last year, lawmakers Ihor Lutsenko and Oleksandr Dubinin attempted to obtain a court ruling that would restrict Kateryna Rozhkova’s capacity to discharge her official duties.
On 15 May 2018, the Kyiv Court of Appeal granted the NBU’s appeal and confirmed the legitimacy of Ms Rozhkova’s actions as NBU First Deputy Governor. As regards the lawsuit by Oleksandr Dubinin, the Ternopil City District Court of Ternopil Oblast dismissed it immediately.
The NBU is concerned that courts are increasingly becoming an instrument of coercion and pressure on the central bank. These circumstances have once again highlighted the need to complete the reform of the judiciary in order to rule out situations in which corrupt individuals can use courts to exert political pressure on government authorities.
For reference
Under Article 641 of the Law of Ukraine On the National Bank of Ukraine, lawsuits against members of the NBU Board, other NBU executives, and members of the NBU Council are deemed as lawsuits against the NBU itself.
Article 151 section 3 paragraph 4 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure forbids courts to grant injunctions that suspend the NBU’s decisions or regulations, and also forbids courts to ban the NBU from taking certain actions or to force it to take said actions.