The lawyer of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, in his commentary on the decision of the Economic Court of the city of Kiev dated August 10, 2023, noted that during the trial, everyone witnessed blatant violations of the law by the court. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.

“The court actually resolved lawlessness, allowed the eviction of monks from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra,” the lawyer said.

According to him, such flagrant violations of the law by the court give reason to believe that the court is not independent in making decisions.

The lawyer added that the court did not involve the monks themselves, which is a gross violation. In addition, the court considered the case in the manner of economic proceedings, however, the eviction of people from housing takes place in the manner of civil proceedings. At the same time, the court did not take into account that the inhabitants of the Lavra have the right to housing.

The human rights activist also noted that today the reserve, without waiting for the entry into force of the court, began to restrict the access of believers to the territory of the Lavra. The lawyer recalled that the court decision comes into force only after its consideration in the appellate instance.

“We are looking forward to the full text of the decision to see what arguments the judge was guided by when making this decision. And we will file an appeal,” said Nikita Chekman.