In a move seen by some as an effort to stymie controversial health reforms in Ukraine, Kyiv’s District Administrative Court on Feb. 5 issued a ruling banning Ulana Suprun, Ukraine’s acting health minister, from exercising her powers.
The U.S.-born Suprun has been spearheading Ukraine’s health care reforms since August 2016, when she was appointed acting minister by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers.
The court deemed it unlawful that Suprun had been exercising powers of health minister for a period of more than a month. With this decision, the court partly satisfied an administrative lawsuit accusing Suprun of incompetence filed by Ihor Mosiychuk, a lawmaker from the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko.
“We were prompted to go to court by the lack of basic health care for millions of Ukrainians,” Mosiychuk said in a statement posted on Facebook. “Ulana Suprun is causing irreparable damage to an already almost ruined health care system.”
Suprun has not yet commented on the court order. The Health Ministry’s press service says it is consulting with lawyers.
However, legal expert Andriy Guck has said that Suprun can continue working as acting minister unhindered. The court, he says, has banned Suprun from exercising minister’s powers as if she was instated by the Minister of Health. But as Suprun was instated by the Cabinet of Ministers, her position remains in force, Guck, a partner at law firm Ante, told the Kyiv Post.
“In such a legal conflict, in my opinion, it is impossible for Suprun to be criminally liable for not complying with the court order because she has a binding order (from the government) that is still valid,” Guck said.
In an earlier statement posted on Feb. 4, Suprun said Mosiychuk’s lawsuit is an attack on health care reform. She also mentioned that Mosiychuk was caught on camera in 2015 and investigated for taking bribes. However, the General Prosecutor’s Office withdrew the petition for his arrest in 2016.
“(The attack on health care reform) is done by the hands of a lawmaker who has already been caught receiving a large bribe and been a suspect under five articles of the Criminal Code, and now he is actively being used to protect the former leadership of Odesa National Medical University.”
The Cabinet of Ministers has issued a statement in defense of Suprun.
“This decision will be appealed against in accordance with the legislation, and we will strive for its cancellation in accordance with the procedure established by law,” the statement says.
“We express support for our colleague Ulana Suprun, and will continue to make efforts to continue providing Ukrainians with quality medical services.”
