Lawyers of the ChGKZPL helped an IDP-“Chernobyl survivor” get his pension back

The termination of pensions for internally displaced persons and residents of uncontrolled territories is one of the ongoing issues that displaced persons and relatives of those people who are forced to remain for certain reasons in the dangerous territory of Ukraine, where lawlessness reigns and shelling continues for the fourth year in a row, turn to lawyers for a solution.

Despite the positive judicial practice of protecting rights and restoring pension payments, the Pension Fund of Ukraine continues to fight for every hryvnia that it manages not to pay to displaced pensioners. Even those who gave their health in difficult times for the country, eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, are left without financial support.

Another court case on the recognition of the actions of the relevant body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine of Sumy region as unlawful and discriminatory, the obligation to take action was initiated upon the application of the client T., born in 1948. Due to the absence of the IDP at the place of registration of residence beyond the established period, the officials concluded that T. returned to the abandoned place of permanent residence, as a result of which his certificate of registration was canceled and the accrual and payment of pensions were suspended from May 2017.

Deprived of his means of subsistence, T. was forced to move to the Luhansk region – to an uncontrolled territory, where he began to live, feeling all the consequences of the armed conflict, lawlessness and occupation, but where he at least has his own housing and there is no need to pay rent for his own accommodation.

In Sumy, where he and his wife lived for a certain period of time before the pension payments were terminated, T. did not want to burden his relatives living in a one-room apartment with his relocation, and he was unable to rent a separate apartment. In addition, due to the fact that T. is a liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident and due to many illnesses, he has been completely unable to move for a long time. That is why his wife applied to the reception of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in Sumy in August 2017 to resolve the issue of renewing T.’s pension.

In the circumstances of the case of T., he was deprived of his pension by the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine as a result of the cancellation of the certificate of an internally displaced person due to one of the grounds specified in Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” No. 1706-VII dated 10/20/2014 – due to the conclusion on his return to the abandoned place of permanent residence (subparagraph 4 of paragraph 12 of the Procedure for Monitoring the Implementation of Social Payments to Internally Displaced Persons at the Place of Their Actual Residence/Stay, approved by the PCMU No. 365 dated 08/06/2016). It should be added that no valid reasons and explanations influenced the actions of the Pension Fund officials, so T. had only to defend his right to a pension in court. Lawyers of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in the city of Sumy prepared a corresponding lawsuit, which T.’s wife submitted to the court.

Case No. 592/8813/17 (proceedings No. 2-a/592/455/17) was resolved by the court of first instance positively – in the interests of the husband. Based on the court decision, the actions of the Sumy United Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine of the Sumy region regarding the termination of T.’s accrual and payment of pensions were recognized as unlawful, the defendant was obliged to resume T., the accrual and payment of pensions, as well as to pay the debt that arose from the time of the termination of the pension.

The appeal of the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine against the decision of the court of first instance was dismissed. The court decision entered into force and the husband has already received the entire amount of the pension owed for six months to his bank account.

At the same time, the defendant in the case filed a cassation appeal, so case No. 592/8813/17 is currently pending in the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine.

Thus, the protection of T.’s social right – the right to receive a pension enshrined in Article 46 of the Constitution of Ukraine – was carried out. The accrual and payment of the pension, which is the only source of livelihood for the liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl NPP accident – was resumed.

Reference to positive judicial practice:

The project “Protection of rights, risk reduction and strengthening of humanitarian assistance to IDPs and the population affected by the conflict in Ukraine” is implemented by the Danish Refugee Council in partnership with the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).