DACK judge Litvinova, who was found to have Russian citizenship, is going to resign

DACK judge Litvinova, who was found to have Russian citizenship, is going to resign

Judge of the liquidated District Administrative Court of Kyiv Arina Litvinova, who, as Schemes established, received Russian citizenship in 2002, submitted her resignation to the High Council of Justice for consideration.

This was reported by Radio Liberty , VRP

This issue is on the agenda on the website of the High Council of Justice for July 23.

According to the law “On the Judicial System and Status of Judges,” if a judge’s resignation is granted, she will receive a monthly lifetime allowance in the amount of 50% of the judge’s remuneration. For 2023, Litvinova received a salary of 1 million 629 thousand hryvnia.

Earlier, the Schemes investigation stated that Judge Litvinova received Russian citizenship in July 2002 in the city of Yekaterinburg, as evidenced by an excerpt from the Rospassport automated system. At that moment, she had already been working at the Supreme Arbitration Court of Ukraine for three years. Litvinova herself denied having citizenship of the Russian Federation, calling the information from journalists a “provocation.”

Later, Litvinova complained to the Office of the Prosecutor General and the High Council of Justice against Schemes journalist Heorhiy Shabayev, alleging "interference in her work as a judge".

On the website of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, journalists found Judge Litvinova’s questionnaire, which she filled out in 2018, when she underwent the qualification assessment. When asked if she had citizenship of another state, Litvinova replied: “No.”

On December 13, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada voted to liquidate the District Administrative Court of Kyiv, and in the evening of the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the corresponding law. However, according to the provisions of the Constitution, the liquidation of the court where a judge works is not grounds for the dismissal of that judge. Therefore, all 51 judges of the DACK, including Arina Litvinova, continue to receive judicial remuneration. According to the judge’s declaration for 2023, when she did not administer justice, Litvinova received 1 million 629 thousand hryvnia in wages.

The future fate of the DACK judges must be decided by the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine. Its members must evaluate the judges of the DACK for suitability for the position held, and then issue a recommendation for appointment either to the newly formed Kyiv City District Administrative Court or to another court of first instance.