Work in the Constitutional Court and criminal cases
Oleksandr Tupytsky became a judge of the Constitutional Court in May 2013 — he was appointed there by President Viktor Yanukovych according to his quota. After the victory of Euromaidan and Yanukovych’s flight, Tupytsky set his sights on the position of the court’s chairman. He went a long way — first, together with some of his colleagues, he removed the then court chairman Stanislav Shevchuk from office, and in September 2019, having enlisted the support of the chairman of the District Administrative Court Pavlo Vovk, he headed the Constitutional Court.
Tupytskyi was elected to the Constitutional Court 12 years ago under the quota of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.
Under Tupytskyʼs chairmanship, in October 2020, the Constitutional Court stripped the NAPC of its powers, and electronic declarations were curtailed in the country. Other important cases related to the status of the Ukrainian language, reform of the prosecutorʼs office, and the land market were at risk. Western partners threatened to deprive Ukraine of support, money, and possibly cancel visa-free travel if the authorities did not stop the offensive against anti-corruption agencies. The authoritiesʼ hands were tied. Despite the fact that the president delegates six judges to the Constitutional Court, only the court itself can dismiss them. This mechanism should guarantee the independence of judges.
In December 2020, the State Bureau of Investigation almost served Tupytsky with a suspicion — he was accused of pressure on a witness. But he did not appear for the presentation on December 28, 2020. And the very next day, by his decree, the president removed Tupytsky, or rather, suspended him for two months. On February 28, 2021 — for another month. The official pretext was the case in the State Bureau of Investigation. A month later, on March 27, 2021, Zelensky canceled the decree of ex-President Yanukovych, by which he appointed Tupytsky as a judge of the Constitutional Court. The decision was justified by the fact that Tupytsky threatens national security.
After Tupytsky was released, on July 16, 2021, the State Bureau of Investigation declared another suspicion against him — unauthorized interference with the electronic court system. The last, third suspicion appeared after the full-scale invasion, when Tupytsky had already left Ukraine. He was accused of illegally smuggling people across the state border.
Lawsuits against Zelensky
All three of Zelenskyʼs decrees — two on suspension and one on dismissal — were appealed by Tupytskyʼs lawyers to the Supreme Court. There are already final decisions on two of them. The court declared the first decree — on Tupytskyʼs dismissal — illegal. The argument is simple: according to the Constitution, the president has the right only to appoint judges of the Constitutional Court, but not to dismiss them.
The Supreme Court has already considered a similar case. In 2008, President Viktor Yushchenko also dismissed from the Constitutional Court Judge Suzanna Stanik, who had been appointed by his predecessor Leonid Kuchma. Stanik appealed the order and won.
The second decree by which Zelensky suspended Tupytsky for two months was also declared illegal by the Supreme Court for the same reason — the president does not have such a right.
As for the third decree, by which Zelensky suspended the judge for a month, so far there is only a decision in this case from the Administrative Court of Cassation, which also sided with Tupytsky. It is obvious that the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, where the judgeʼs defense will go next, will confirm this decision.
After that, Tupytskyʼs lawyers say, they will seek to have the Supreme Court force the president to return their client to the Constitutional Court with a new decree. There, he did not serve 1 year, 3 months, and 27 days of his nine-year term. According to Tupytskyʼs representative Oleksandr Leshchenko, technically it is quite possible to return Tupytsky — there are vacant positions in the Constitutional Court under the presidentʼs quota. Judge Stanik, who once returned to work at the Constitutional Court through the courts, was less fortunate — there was no vacancy for her there. The case of Tupytskyʼs return is already in court — the hearing is scheduled for today, May 14.
The first decree on the appointment of a judge was canceled by Viktor Yushchenko — this is how he got rid of Suzanna Stanik. She was accused of violating the oath. Stanik won all the trials and was reinstated in the Constitutional Court for one day, after which she voluntarily resigned.
Vienna, poisoning and Ukrainian courts
Oleksandr Tupytsky now lives in Vienna and has a residence permit there. Austria has refused the Ukrainian prosecutorʼs office his extradition — he would be in danger in places of imprisonment due to the war. And in Vienna, the judge is guarded by the police. At the end of last year, Tupytsky reported that he had been tried to be poisoned with mercury. This case is being investigated by law enforcement officers, its details are unknown.
There are three criminal proceedings against Tupytsky in Ukraine. Two of them are already in the courts — Podilsky and Holosiivsky. The first is about pressure on witnesses, the second is about interference in the electronic system of the court. In both cases, Tupytsky is trying to participate via video link. In the Podilsky court, he is unable to do this — in December 2024, the Department of the State Migration Service in the Transcarpathian region canceled the judgeʼs internal and international passports. Because of this, he cannot identify himself in a special electronic system through which the court conducts video conferences.
Tupytskyʼs lawyer Serhiy Osyka says that the defense does not know the reasons why the Migration Service canceled the passport — the department calls them "official information". The lawyers are trying to overturn the Migration Serviceʼs decision through the court. Meanwhile, the case is still pending, the statute of limitations has expired, which means that at Tupytskyʼs request, the court will have to close it, and he will not face liability.
In the Holosiivsky court, where the case of interference with the electronic system is being heard, the judge agreed to allow Tupytsky to attend the hearing not through the court system, but through “other means of communication”. The next hearing is scheduled for May 19.
The State Bureau of Investigation has another criminal case pending — about border crossing. Tupytsky is accused of illegally taking people out of Ukraine on March 17, 2022 — Ivan Bondarenko and Dmytro Omelchuk. The border guards did not check Tupytsky’s documents. They and the policeman who helped Tupytsky leave were detained by the State Bureau of Investigation and charged. The case materials were transferred to the court. The case against Tupytsky is still being investigated. The lawyers do not specify on what grounds he left Ukraine.