Igor Samsin urged against the unjust prosecution of Judge Anatoly Ivchenko for his court ruling, emphasizing the need to protect judicial independence.

Igor Samsin, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (2010–2014), Doctor of Law, and professor at the Department of Constitutional, Administrative, and Financial Law at the Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law named after Leonid Yuzkov, has expressed support for the position of former Constitutional Court judge Ivan Dombrovskyi in defense of the Constitution of Ukraine. This is reported by the Judicial and Legal Newspaper.

Igor Samsin urged the legal community to prevent the unjustified prosecution of the judge of the Economic Court of Kyiv, Anatoliy Ivchenko, for his judicial ruling.

“Even if the judge's decision had been overturned, until 2020 it could be argued that there was an element of a criminal offense as defined by part 1 of Article 375 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine's ruling No. 7-r/2020 dated June 11, 2020, declared this norm unconstitutional.

According to the Constitution of Ukraine, only the court evaluates the legality of a judicial act in the prescribed procedural manner,” noted Igor Samsin.

The ruling of Judge Ivchenko has been upheld by the decision of the Kyiv Appeal Economic Court dated December 3, 2012, and the ruling of the Higher Economic Court of Ukraine dated January 21, 2013, thus acquiring final status.

The Constitutional Court has repeatedly emphasized the inadmissibility of assessing the legality of judicial decisions by the prosecutor and the pre-trial investigation authority.

The attempt to detain the judge 12 years after his judicial decisions came into force is shocking in its legal nihilism, added Igor Samsin.

In a similar case concerning the prosecution of a judge in Georgia, the European Court of Human Rights in the case "Gelenidze v. Georgia" (No. 72916/10, paragraphs 33, 34) pointed out the inadmissibility of such actions against a judge.

“The existence of such persecution poses a threat to the independence of the judiciary, as it paves the way for similar actions against any judge.

I call on judges, lawyers, legal professionals, the academic legal community, and concerned citizens to protect the primary guarantee of the court – its independence!” — stated Igor Samsin.