The Supreme Court recognized the restrictions on additional payments to Chernobyl pensioners from resettlement zones as illegal
The application, when determining the right of persons to additional payments as non-working pensioners permanently residing in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement and in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement, of the provisions of Article 45 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" and the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "Some issues of providing additional payments in 2025 during the period of martial law in Ukraine to non-working pensioners permanently residing in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement and in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement" dated December 27, 2024 No. 1524, which stipulate that the additional payment to non-working pensioners permanently residing in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement and in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement is established on the condition that such persons lived or worked in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement or in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement as of April 26, 1986 or during the period from April 26, 1986 to January 1, 1993, due to which the person was granted the status of a person affected by the Chernobyl disaster; the payment for residence in the specified territories is set at 2361.00 UAH, is unlawful and restricts the guaranteed right to proper social protection provided by Article 46 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
On June 5, the Supreme Court, in a panel of judges of the Cassation Administrative Court, considered the cassation appeal of a person against the decision of the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court dated June 12, 2025, and the ruling of the Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal dated November 19, 2025, in the case brought by the person against the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region regarding recognition of inaction as unlawful and obligation to take action.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
The plaintiff is a non-working pensioner, has the status of a person affected by the Chernobyl disaster of the 1st category, and is registered in the urban-type settlement of Luhyny, Korosten district, Zhytomyr region, which is classified as a zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement. From January 1, 2025, the defendant stopped paying the plaintiff the pension increase provided by Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine dated February 28, 1991 No. 796-XII "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chernobyl Disaster" (hereinafter – Law No. 796-XII), referring to the fact that according to the Unified State Demographic Register, his registration at the place of residence in the specified settlement was confirmed only from May 28, 2021. The defendant proceeded from the fact that the conditions established by Article 45 of the Law of Ukraine dated November 19, 2024 No. 4059-IX "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" (hereinafter – Law No. 4059-IX) and the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "Some issues of providing additional payments in 2025 during the period of martial law in Ukraine to non-working pensioners permanently residing in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement and in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement" dated December 27, 2024 No. 1524 (hereinafter – Resolution No. 1524) require residence or work in the respective zones as of April 26, 1986 or during the period from April 26, 1986 to January 1, 1993, and the plaintiff does not meet these conditions.
The district administrative court partially satisfied the claims. The appellate administrative court canceled the decision of the first instance court and adopted a new ruling refusing to satisfy the claims. The appellate court reasoned that after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the plaintiff changed his place of residence outside the zones of unconditional (mandatory) and guaranteed voluntary resettlement, and later returned to permanent residence in these zones. According to the court, pursuant to Article 45 of Law No. 4059-IX, this circumstance excludes the plaintiff’s right to receive the disputed pension supplement from January 1, 2025.
The Supreme Court partially satisfied the cassation appeal, canceled the decisions of the lower courts, and adopted a new decision partially satisfying the claim.
COURT’S ASSESSMENT
The provisions of Article 45 of Law No. 4059-IX and Resolution No. 1524 introduced a temporary (for 2025) condition for receiving additional payments to non-working pensioners permanently residing in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement and in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement, i.e., these legislative provisions effectively established a different (additional) regulation of relations, distinct from that established by Law No. 796-XII, which is a special law in this area.
The court emphasized that introducing additional conditions for receiving the payment leads to restricting the constitutional right of this category of persons to proper social protection provided by the special law, and also violates the essence of constitutional guarantees regarding unconditional provision of social protection to such persons. Extending the effect of Law No. 4059-IX and Resolution No. 1524 to the payment established by the special law is a gross violation of the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, in particular Articles 8, 19, and 92.
The court pointed out that a conflict arose in the disputed legal relations between the provisions of the special Law No. 796-XII and the provisions of Law No. 4059-IX, which should be resolved by applying the general legal principle "a special law overrides a general law" (lex specialis derogat generali).
According to this legal approach, in case of competition between norms, the rule of priority of the special law (lex specialis) norms should be applied, i.e., Law No. 796-XII, and the provisions of Law No. 4059-IX should be considered general norms (lex generalis).
Considering the above, the provisions of Article 45 of Law No. 4059-IX and Resolution No. 1524 regarding the establishment of additional conditions for receiving the payment provided by Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII should not be applied when deciding on the person’s right to such payment, as they narrow the guaranteed right to social protection and contradict the Constitution of Ukraine, and the defendant’s actions to stop paying the plaintiff the pension increase established by Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII in the amount of two subsistence minimums from January 1, 2025, are unlawful.
More details and the full text of the Supreme Court ruling dated June 5, 2026, in case No. 240/4486/25 can be found at this link.
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