Below is the detailed analysis of this court decision:
1. The subject of the dispute is the issue of whether the probation authority has the right to file an appellate appeal against a ruling of the court of first instance that denied a motion to cancel a convicted person’s exemption from serving a sentence with probation.
2. In rendering its decision, the Court was guided by the position established by the Joint Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court on June 1, 2026, which officially changed the previous practice. The Supreme Court noted that probation authorities are not included in the list of persons defined by Article 393 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine who have the right to file an appellate appeal against decisions rendered in the course of sentence execution. The Court emphasized that only the convicted person, their defense counsel, legal representative, and the prosecutor have the right to such an appeal. Thus, the panel of judges departed from the conclusion set forth in the ruling of the First Judicial Chamber dated February 12, 2026, which had previously allowed for the possibility of such appeals by a probation authority. The Court stressed that current legislation does not vest entities responsible for the execution of sentences with the authority to file appellate appeals against court decisions made as a result of the consideration of their own motions. Therefore, the appellate court acted lawfully by returning the appeal to a person who lacked the procedural right to file it.
3. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the appellate court, leaving the cassation appeal of the probation authority unsatisfied.
