Khmelnytskyi Eparchy comments on UOC ceasing to use land

The Khmelnytskyi Eparchy said that the termination of the right to permanent land use by the UOC can only be carried out through legal proceedings.

"The right of permanent land use is certified by a state act, which is issued and registered in the manner prescribed by law (according to the content of Part 1 of Article 23 of the Land Code of Ukraine). From the moment religious organizations receive state acts granting the right to permanent land use, corresponding rights and legal obligations regarding the use of land plots by organizations arise. The termination of the right to permanent land use can only be carried out through legal proceedings in cases provided for by Ukrainian legislation," the eparchy noted.

"The grounds for the termination of the right to use a land plot are stipulated in Article 141 of the Land Code of Ukraine, but none of these grounds constitutes a lawful reason to terminate the right to use a land plot for the religious communities of the UOC. Therefore, the termination of the right to permanent land use can only be done by a court decision that has entered into legal force," added the eparchy.

The press service of the diocese stated that "the decision of local authorities to terminate the right to permanent land use by religious organizations effectively exceeds the powers of the local self-government body and bears all the signs of abuse of power or official position."

"Unlawful decisions of local self-government bodies regarding the termination of the rights of UOC religious communities to permanent land use cannot have legal consequences in a rule-of-law state. At the same time, the UOC religious organizations have a guaranteed right to challenge unlawful decisions on the deprivation of the right to use land plots through legal proceedings," reads the message of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy.

As reported, the Khmelnytskyi City Council decided to build a kindergarten instead of a UOC church.