The Legal Department of the Rada criticized the draft law on banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has criticized bill number 8371, which paves the way for banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

The department disputes the justification provided in the preamble of the bill, which claims the document is needed for “national security protection.”

According to the Legal Department, under international law, protecting national security cannot be a basis for restricting the right to freedom of religion. Additionally, the experts argue that any law should only contain mechanisms for prohibiting a specific religious organization, rather than directly banning it.

The department also opposes the term “Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine” used in the bill to refer to the UOC, stating that it “does not correspond to the principle of legal certainty” since the church is not registered under that name.

Furthermore, the Rada’s experts consider it inappropriate for the prohibition of a religious organization to be carried out by an administrative court. They remind that such courts are intended to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals and legal entities from unlawful decisions by authorities. Therefore, it would be more appropriate for civil courts to handle cases related to the restriction of a religious organization’s activities.

It is worth noting that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church condemned Russia’s actions at the beginning of the invasion and declared its complete independence from the Russian Orthodox Church in May 2022, ceasing all contacts with it.