Who is considered a member of a religious community and who can vote at parish meetings – Supreme Court conclusion

If the charter of a religious community does not establish fixed membership, the procedure for admission to the community, and the maintenance of a register of its members, decisions to introduce such mechanisms cannot change the provisions of the charter without making corresponding amendments to it. In such a case, membership in the religious community is determined exclusively by the community's charter and the provisions of the legislation on freedom of conscience and religious organizations.

This conclusion was reached by the panel of judges of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court.

The plaintiff applied to the court demanding to recognize as invalid the decisions of the parish general meetings of the religious community, which changed its canonical subordination, as well as to recognize as invalid the community's charter in the new edition. To substantiate the claim, he stated that the decisions were made by persons who were not members of the religious community, while the actual members of the community were not notified about the meeting and did not participate in it.

The courts of first and appellate instances denied the claim. Disagreeing with these conclusions, the plaintiff filed a cassation appeal.

Reviewing the case, the Supreme Court noted that the charter of the religious community applicable to the disputed legal relations did not contain provisions on fixed membership, the procedure for acquiring membership, maintaining a register of community members, or the existence of different categories of membership. Therefore, decisions made by separate meetings regarding the introduction of member registers or establishing fixed membership could not change the provisions of the charter without making the appropriate amendments in the prescribed manner.

The Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court stated that the plaintiff, asserting the absence of member status in the majority of meeting participants, should have proven such circumstances with proper evidence and justified the criteria by which a person's belonging to the community could be established. However, no such evidence was submitted.

The court also emphasized that the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" does not establish a special procedure for determining membership in a religious community, and therefore the decisive importance lies with the provisions of its charter. In the absence of provisions on fixed membership in the charter, there is no basis to consider that only persons included in a certain register have the right to participate in meetings.

Moreover, the Supreme Court agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts that the decision to change the canonical subordination of the religious community itself did not deprive the plaintiff of the right to profess the chosen religion, openly express his religious beliefs, or attend the church.

As a result of the cassation review, the Supreme Court left the cassation appeal without satisfaction and the court decisions unchanged.

Resolution of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated May 19, 2026, in case No. 917/226/25.

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