Information regarding the regulatory resolution of the Constitutional Court
(№ 40 of 10 January 2024)
The Constitutional Court has reviewed a citizen's appeal concerning the constitutionality of the second part of Article 124, the ninth part of Article 127 and the fourth part of Article 171 of the Administrative Procedural Code (hereinafter - APPC).
The subject of the appeal believes that the second part of Article 124 of the APPC restricts his right to access to justice, while the provisions of part nine of Article 127 and part four of Article 171 of the APPC create conditions in which judges abuse the possibility of applying procedural coercive measures to participants in proceedings by repeatedly imposing monetary penalties for the same offence.
The Constitutional Court considers that the redistribution of the burden of proof and procedural activity of the court are among the main features of judicial proceedings under the rules of administrative court proceedings, are a common practice reflected in the administrative procedural codes and laws of a number of countries, aimed at ensuring parity in case of inequality of the parties, one of which has power. A distinctive feature of measures of procedural coercion is their application by the court for violation of exclusively procedural norms, designed and applied only for the purpose of implementation and observance of the principles of the APPC, exclusion of abuse of right and enforcement of judicial acts, not related to violation of any sectoral legislation. Based on the interrelated goals of ensuring the effective realisation of everyone's right to judicial protection and achieving the objectives of administrative court proceedings, the paragraph of the second part of Article 124 of the APPC enshrines the right of a person to appeal against a court ruling from the date of its service, as well as the obligation of such a person to execute the imposed penalty within the time limit established by law. Article 127 of the APPC establishes equal consequences for all participants in administrative proceedings for breaches of the rules on the binding nature of court requirements and judicial acts, and has no discriminatory provisions.
The Constitutional Court recognised the ninth part of Article 127 and the fourth part of Article 171 of the APPC as being in conformity with the Constitution, and the second part of Article 124 of the APPC as being in conformity with the Constitution in the interpretation that the right to appeal to a higher court against a procedural coercive measure in the form of a pecuniary penalty arises from the date of its service.