1. **Subject matter of the dispute:** Challenging a regulatory legal act (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1165) regarding the establishment of restrictions and a special procedure for the payment of pension arrears to internally displaced persons.
2. **Court’s arguments:**
– The Court emphasized that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as an executive body, is obliged to act exclusively within the powers defined by law and has no right to change or narrow the content of rights guaranteed by the laws of Ukraine.
– A key argument was that the Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance” is an act of higher legal force, which does not provide for the possibility of establishing restrictions regarding the terms or priority of payment of already accrued pensions by means of subordinate legislation.
– The Court stressed that after a pension is accrued, the state has an unconditional monetary obligation to the person, and the lack of budgetary funds cannot be a justification for failing to fulfill social obligations.
– It was specifically noted that the status of an internally displaced person cannot be grounds for discrimination or for establishing less favorable conditions for such citizens to exercise their right to a pension compared to other pensioners.
– The Court drew attention to the fact that even the Ministry of Justice, during the legal review of the draft of this resolution, pointed to its non-compliance with current legislation, but the Cabinet of Ministers ignored these remarks.
– It was established that the challenged provisions violate Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as an accrued pension is a person’s property, which the state cannot infringe upon through subordinate acts.
– The Supreme Court in this case confirmed its previous legal position regarding the inadmissibility of narrowing social guarantees by subordinate acts, referring to the established conclusions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and its own practice, in particular, the judgment of December 18, 2025, in case No. 320/31536/23.
3. **Court decision:** The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and upheld the decisions of the lower courts, by which the challenged provisions of Resolution No. 1165 were recognized as unlawful and invalid.
