The District Administrative Court of Kyiv has ruled partly in favor of the Kyiv Patriarchate in a lawsuit against the Culture Ministry by banning companies’ registrars and the liquidation commission from taking action against the religious organization’s property.
“The court banned the Justice Ministry of Ukraine, the Culture Ministry of Ukraine, its structural sub-units, central-government and local authorities, and notaries public from performing any registration regarding the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate [UOC-KP], and their assets,” the Patriarchate’s press service said on Sept. 12 on the basis of the September 11 ruling.
The court also banned the liquidation commission, set up by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), from administering the Patriarchate’s assets.
The court additionally found that the Culture Ministry order invalidating the bylaws of the Kyiv Patriarchate and the UOC-KP was unlawful.
The liquidation commission’s request to reject the lawsuit and to prevent the lawyer appointed by UOC-KP head Filaret Denysenko from representing KP interests constituted an obstruction of justice, the court ruled.
