Higher Court Overrules Reinstatement of Ukrainian Constitutional Judges

Text of report by Interfax-Ukraine news agency

Kiev, 16 May: The Donetsk administrative court of appeal has suspended the ruling of Donetsk’s Kirovskyy district court concerning Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s decrees dismissing the Constitutional Court judges, Valeriy Pshenychnyy and Syuzanna Stanik, the deputy head of the presidential secretariat, Ihor Pukshyn, said.

Thus, the Donetsk court of appeal has satisfied a suit filed by Pukshyn.

As reported earlier, on 10 May, Donetsk’s Kirovskyy district court issued the ruling in response to the suit filed by MP Oleksandr Zats of the Party of Regions faction, suspending Yushchenko’s decrees dismissing Pshenychnyy on 30 April and Stanik on 1 May until the case is considered by essence.

[Ivan Podolyanchuk, the judge of the Donetsk Kirovskyy district court, who issued this ruling, was injured in a traffic accident today. MP Olena Bondarenko of the Party of Regions said Podolyanchuk had been receiving threats from the presidential secretariat and suspected the car accident could have been fixed by the pro- presidential opposition, Interfax-Ukraine news agency said at 1258 gmt on16 May 07.

In a later report at 0941 gmt on 16 May 07, Interfax-Ukraine quoted a representative of the opposition Our Ukraine bloc, Ihor Zhdanov, as dismissing the accusations and describing the accident as "a result of political techniques practised by Our Ukraine's political opponents".]

Sources: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1258 gmt 16 May 07

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