NSDC Instead of Court: New Practice or Legal Crisis?

Managing partner of LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS, Oleksandr Leshchenko, commented for RBC-Ukraine on the shortcomings of the current sanctions mechanism, emphasizing its legal vulnerability and inconsistency with the principles of the rule of law.

According to the lawyer, the imposition of sanctions on Ukrainian citizens without a court-established finding of guilt is a direct violation of the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. The current practice, in which the National Security and Defense Council effectively substitutes for the judiciary, in his view, interferes in the field of criminal law without proper authority.

“The Law ‘On Sanctions’ provides for the application of restrictions to foreign entities or those engaged in terrorist activities. Ukrainian citizens may be sanctioned only in exceptional cases, and such circumstances must be clearly confirmed. Today, however, we are witnessing an arbitrary expansion of the practice — without verdicts, without evidence, without an adversarial process”, – stressed Oleksandr Leshchenko.

The lawyer also noted the lack of a transparent mechanism for compiling sanction lists, the absence of criteria for evidence, justification, or procedural opportunities for defending oneself. In practice, this creates risks of widespread abuse of restrictive measures and opens the door to political influence.

The team at LESHCHENKO & PARTNERS continues its human rights work in this area and represents the interests of sanctioned individuals in Ukrainian courts.