Legal advice: What should IDPs do if a court decision on payment of pension arrears is not enforced?

As before, the issue of social payments remains a hot topic, most often involving pensions.

- What should you do if a court decision to pay pension arrears is not enforced? We have already gone through the executive service and the police.

According to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Enforcement Proceedings’, decisions to recover funds from state bodies, state and local budgets or budgetary institutions are enforced by the bodies that provide treasury services for budgetary funds. Simply put, in a situation where a court decision has entered into force but no payments have been made, you can apply to the State Treasury Service of Ukraine to enforce the court decision.

In accordance with the Law of Ukraine ‘On State Guarantees for the Enforcement of Court Decisions’, the terms of debt payment should not exceed 3 months from the date the court decision enters into force. A court judgement that has entered into force (or is subject to immediate enforcement) is the basis for enforcement.

Failure to comply with a court decision is a criminal offence under Article 382 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

It is important to note that at the end of August this year, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a separate procedure for the payment of pension arrears under a court decision, and it applies to all pensioners, not just IDPs. The procedure stipulates that the amount of pension to be paid from the state budget under a court decision is reviewed (verified) by a specially created commission under the Pension Fund (the Commission on the Repayment of Pension Arrears under a Court Decision). For more details on the Resolution and the Procedure, please see our article ‘Pension Fund questions court decisions’.

In view of this, the Pension Funds may refuse to enforce a court decision until this Commission also makes a decision. This is clearly contrary to current legislation and is subject to appeal.

If the Pension Fund does not pay you a pension even after a court decision, find out on what grounds this is happening. Be sure to make a written request and demand a written response.