On February 15, 2021, the believers of the UOC addressed a collective appeal to the President of Ukraine regarding the increase in the facts and the continuation of the illegal practice of seizure and re-registration of religious communities of the UOC. Unfortunately, the collective appeal personally to the President was not received, writes the Union of Orthodox Lawyers.

The appeal was considered by the head of the department for citizens’ appeals of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Thus, by Letter No. 22 / 008352-26 of 22.02.2021, the applicants were informed that the powers of the President of Ukraine do not include the abolition of laws, since, according to the Constitution of Ukraine, this belongs to the powers of the Verkhovna Rada.

Commentary of the Union of Orthodox Lawyers: “Such a formal and bureaucratic attitude to the requests and hopes of ordinary people, believers, cannot but cause indignation and bewilderment. Cancellation of laws really belongs to the powers of the President of Ukraine. However, according to Art. 102 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the President is the guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine, human and civil rights and freedoms. So, the President of Ukraine has a sufficient number of legal instruments to develop and implement a mechanism for the legal regulation of public relations in the field of worldview and religion, which will comply with the Constitution of Ukraine.”