Key Takeaways
- • The Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court, in case No. 520/29667/25, annulled lower-court rulings and recognized the Pension Fund's actions as unlawful for restricting payment of pension arrears to budget financing under Cabinet Resolution No. 821.
- • The disputed accruals and unpaid balances totaled 119,106.53 UAH across four court decisions won by a disabled pensioner in 2025 (Kharkiv region).
- • The Supreme Court held that the Cabinet of Ministers cannot impose additional conditions or restrictions by a subordinate act on the execution of a final court decision, and that pension recalculation alone does not constitute proper enforcement.
- • The court stated that recording debt in the Pension Fund's register is an organizational step that cannot substitute for actual payment of amounts due.
- • The court allowed a single new lawsuit covering the entire debt, finding that requiring four separate Article 383 applications would not provide effective judicial protection.
Summary
A disabled pensioner in Kharkiv region won four court rulings against the Pension Fund of Ukraine in 2025, after which the agency recalculated his disability pension, a group II pension under Law No. 2262-XII. The Pension Fund, however, made payment of the resulting arrears dependent on budget financing, citing Cabinet Resolution No. 821, which provides that past-period accruals are paid within the funds allocated in the Pension Fund's budget for the year, proportionally to appropriations, with unpaid sums carried over to the next period. The recalculated amounts comprised 39,165.76 UAH, 35,588.45 UAH, 3,093.34 UAH and 41,258.98 UAH, totaling 119,106.53 UAH, according to case materials published by Sudovo-yurydychna hazeta.
The Kharkiv District Administrative Court and the Second Administrative Court of Appeal upheld the Pension Fund, reasoning that the resolution governed payment mechanics rather than pension recalculation and was in force when the relations arose. The pensioner then sought a declaration that the agency's actions were unlawful and an order to pay without the Resolution No. 821 restrictions.
The Supreme Court reversed. It held, citing Articles 46, 92 and 129-1 of the Constitution, that a court decision is mandatory and that the Cabinet cannot condition execution of a final judgment on additional restrictions set in a subordinate act. It also relied on case No. 320/51895/25, in which lower courts found Resolution No. 821 unlawful and the Supreme Court agreed the government exceeded its powers, and applied Article 7(3) of the Administrative Procedure Code, under which the act of higher legal force prevails in a conflict. The court added that the transitional provisions of the Law on State Guarantees for the Execution of Court Decisions do not apply here, as they concern decisions issued before January 1, 2013.
On procedure, the court acknowledged that a challenge to Resolution No. 821 during enforcement would ordinarily proceed under Article 383 of the Administrative Procedure Code, as in case No. 580/490/26. It distinguished that case because the debt here arose from four separate decisions and the Pension Fund applied the restriction to the whole sum in a single action, which it deemed indivisible.
The Kharkiv District Administrative Court and the Second Administrative Court of Appeal upheld the Pension Fund, reasoning that the resolution governed payment mechanics rather than pension recalculation and was in force when the relations arose. The pensioner then sought a declaration that the agency's actions were unlawful and an order to pay without the Resolution No. 821 restrictions.
The Supreme Court reversed. It held, citing Articles 46, 92 and 129-1 of the Constitution, that a court decision is mandatory and that the Cabinet cannot condition execution of a final judgment on additional restrictions set in a subordinate act. It also relied on case No. 320/51895/25, in which lower courts found Resolution No. 821 unlawful and the Supreme Court agreed the government exceeded its powers, and applied Article 7(3) of the Administrative Procedure Code, under which the act of higher legal force prevails in a conflict. The court added that the transitional provisions of the Law on State Guarantees for the Execution of Court Decisions do not apply here, as they concern decisions issued before January 1, 2013.
On procedure, the court acknowledged that a challenge to Resolution No. 821 during enforcement would ordinarily proceed under Article 383 of the Administrative Procedure Code, as in case No. 580/490/26. It distinguished that case because the debt here arose from four separate decisions and the Pension Fund applied the restriction to the whole sum in a single action, which it deemed indivisible.
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