A meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that was held on April 4 in the assembly hall of parliamentary committees on Bankova Street was lawful, according to the ruling of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine on a lawsuit filed by a Ukrainian citizen, which was released by the court's press service on Friday, April 12.
“The court ruled that the April 4 the Verkhovna Rada was legitimate since the number of its members corresponded to the quantitative criteria defined by law… In accordance with Part 1, Article 2 of the Rules of Procedure, the Verkhovna Rada holds meetings in the building of the Verkhovna Rada [at 5 Hrushevskoho Street]. At the same time, according to Part 2 of this article of the Rules of Procedure, in line with a decision of the Verkhovna Rada … its meetings may be held in another place,” the court’s press service reported.
The court also ruled that the decision to hold a plenary parliament meeting on April 4 outside the parliament building had been taken by a majority of MPs.
“Thus, the court ruled as groundless the plaintiff’s arguments about the illegal actions of the Verkhovna Rada concerning the holding of a plenary meeting on Bankova Street,” reads a press release.
“A panel of judges of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine concluded that the holding of the tenth plenary meeting of parliament on Bankova Street on April 4 in the presence of 244 deputies complies with the legislation of Ukraine,” the court’s press service reported.
As reported, on April 4, the parliamentary majority held a parliament meeting in the assembly hall of a Verkhovna Rada committee, because the parliament’s session hall on Hrushevskoho Street was blocked by the opposition.
The opposition called on the speaker and the president not to sign the laws that were passed at an offsite parliament meeting, citing the illegality of such a meeting.
