Lawyer comments on city councils trying to take the land for UOC temples

The attempts of the city councils to deprive the UOC of the right to use the land plots on which the temples are built directly contradict the norms of the Land Code of Ukraine. Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

According to him, such actions of the authorities are illegal and do not entail any legal consequences.

“The decision of the local council to terminate the right of permanent use of a land plot by a religious organization in the absence of any legal grounds is beyond the scope of authority and contains signs of a criminal offense under Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of power or official position,” wrote Archpriest Nikita.

At the same time, the lawyer noted that it is possible to deprive the UOC of the right to use land plots only in exceptional cases, which include:

• voluntary refusal of the user;
• use not for the intended purpose;
• termination of activities of religious organizations.

“We call on religious communities whose rights have been grossly violated by the willful activities of officials to challenge such decisions of the local council in court and file reports with the National Police of Ukraine about the commission of a criminal offense by deputies of the local council,” he added.

As reported by the UOJ, the deputies of the Rivne City Council took away the land plots for the temples from the UOC.