The Supreme Court appoints a re-examination of the case of Judge Bragina, who failed to file a declaration due to "religious beliefs"
Kyiv • UNN
The Supreme Court of Ukraine has ordered a new hearing in the case of judge Oleksandra Bragina, who claimed that she failed to file an electronic asset declaration for religious reasons. The decision overturns a previous ruling by the appellate court, which had not taken into account her oath as a judge and the legal requirement for officials to file such declarations.
The Supreme Court returned the case of Kyiv District Administrative Court judge Oleksandr Bragin not for a new trial. The NACP claims, that liability for failure to declare due to religious beliefs may be brought, UNN reports .
The Joint Chamber of the Criminal Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court (hereinafter - the CCC of the Supreme Court) overturned the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) and ordered a new trial in the criminal proceedings on charges of judge Oleksandra Bragina, who refused to file an electronic declaration allegedly because of her religious beliefs. Thus, the HACCU should reconsider the case, taking into account the conclusions of the cassation instance.
Details
Earlier, the HACCU overturned the High Anti-Corruption Court's (HACC) guilty verdict against Bragina of committing a criminal offense. It is this ruling that the prosecutor will appeal in the the cassation court.
In particular, because the HACCU's Appellate Division, when overturning the verdict, did not took into account that Bragina had taken the oath of a judge, and therefore voluntarily assumed restrictions related to the performance of professional duties and additional legal encumbrances. This includes filing a declaration.
Note that the Constitution of Ukraine states that no one may be released from their duties to the state or refuse to comply with the law on the grounds of religious beliefs (part 4 of Article 35), including those established by the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption", which, among other things, provides for the obligation of officials (including judges) to submit a declaration annually (Article 45).
Additionally
According to Ms. Bragina's explanation Bragina, her religion does not allow her to use an electronic digital signature (EDS), and therefore she cannot submit the declaration electronically.
The NACP noted that Oleksandra Bragina used to use an EDS and submitted electronic declarations for 2015-2018. In addition, all judges must have a digital signature to sign their decisions in accordance with the requirements of the law.
To recap
In 2021, judge of the Kyiv District Administrative Court Oleksandra Bragina did not filed an electronic declaration "for religious reasons" for the past year. Instead she sent a paper declaration to the NACP. However, the NACP was unable to accept it in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation. As a result, the SAPO notified the judge of suspicion of failure to declare.
