Ruling of the Second Senate of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on Terminating Constitutional Proceedings in the Case of the Constitutional Complaint by Serhii Yevheniiovych Vashchenko Regarding the Compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (Constitutionality) of Part Two of Article 21, Part One, Paragraph 2 of Part Two of Article 22, Part One of Article 1175 of the Civil Code of Ukraine

Constitutional Court of Ukraine reviewed the case based on the constitutional complaint of Judge S.Ye. Vashchenko regarding the constitutionality of provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine on compensation for damage caused by illegal acts of authorities. Structurally, the ruling consists of two parts: 1) presentation of case circumstances and complainant’s requirements; 2) Constitutional Court’s legal position on the inadmissibility of the complaint. The essence of the dispute was that the applicant attempted to obtain compensation after a law depriving him of severance pay upon dismissal from the judicial position was declared unconstitutional. The key point in this ruling is the Constitutional Court’s conclusion that the issue of correct application of laws by courts does not fall within the Constitutional Court’s competence. The Court can only verify the constitutionality of laws themselves, not the correctness of their application by courts. Since the complainant essentially challenged the manner of applying Civil Code provisions by courts, rather than their constitutionality, the proceedings were closed.