STATEMENT. We call on President Zelensky to immediately revoke the citizenship of the judge with a Russian passport, Bohdan Lvov
On the evening of September 15, Radio Svoboda journalists published irrefutable evidence that Bohdan Lvov, the judge of the Supreme Court and the head of the Commercial Court of Cassation, has a passport and a taxpayer identification code of the Russian Federation. According to Ukrainian legislation, this terminates the authority of the judge and is grounds for loss of citizenship.
The other day, Ukrainian society was stirred by the news that one of the judges of the appeal court in Kyiv welcomed the arrival of the Russian army on Ukrainian soil and expressed his disdain for Ukrainian defenders in every possible way. However, the facts that were made public by the journalists of the “Schemes” program yesterday are even more shocking: one of the leading positions in the judicial system of Ukraine is held by a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Journalists published documents that confirm that Bohdan Lvov, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court since 2017, the deputy President of the SC for a long time, and now is the head of the Commercial Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court and has access to state secrets, not only has a Russian passport since 1999 but actively used it for real estate transactions.
These facts are confirmed by official data from the registers of the Russian Federation, as well as data from the Ukrainian register, which certifies that Bohdan Lvov travelled to Russia at the exact time when his share of ownership of the Moscow apartment was transferred to his wife.
According to the Constitution, justice in Ukraine can be administered only by citizens of Ukraine, and the acquisition of citizenship of another state is an automatic reason for the termination of a judge’s powers. According to Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship”, the voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another state is grounds for loss of citizenship, in regard to which the President of Ukraine may issue a corresponding decree.
A citizen of the Russian Federation, Bohdan Lvov, cannot make decisions on behalf of Ukraine. So we call on:
- the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to immediately adopt a decree on the termination of Bohdan Lvov’s citizenship;
- The current members of the High Council of Justice and the Council of Judges of Ukraine to express their public assessment of the published facts;
- the President of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, to ensure the impossibility of justice for Bohdan Lvov until he is stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship;
- the Chairman of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, to ensure the impossibility of justice for Bohdan Lvov until he is stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship;
- the NACP and NABU to prosecute Bohdan Lvov for false declaration;
- the judges of the Commercial Court of Cassation to express their position on the discovered facts and to immediately dismiss Bohdan Lvov from the position of the head of the court.
The lack of an immediate and proper reaction to the Russian citizenship of Bohdan Lvov from the judiciary will be regarded as toleration of the judge’s actions and support of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Anti-Corruption Action Centre
DEJURE Foundation
Automaidan
