Case: Support for the transition to retirement of a civil servant

Circumstances of the case

We were contacted by pensioner Oleksandr, a former customs officer, who, after being dismissed, decided to exercise his right to a civil servant’s pension, provided for in Article 37 of the Law of Ukraine “On Civil Service” № 3723-XII dated 16.12.1993 (in force at the time of acquiring the right to a pension).

Oleksandr independently contacted his former place of work to obtain the necessary certificates and submitted an application to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The application was transferred to another region – according to the principle of extraterritoriality, which is currently actively used in the work of the Pension Fund.

However, after reviewing the documents, the Pension Fund concluded that Oleksandr’s work experience at the customs office does not constitute civil service experience. This is the reasoning set out in the official refusal.

Case progress

First step: analysis of the refusal and determination of the legal position

After receiving a negative decision, Oleksandr contacted our law firm. After the initial consultation, our lawyer Lyubomyr analyzed the situation and documents in detail. Particular attention was paid to:

• the legal status of work in customs authorities;
• the peculiarities of the transitional provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Civil Service” № 889-VIII of 10.12.2015;
• the case law confirming that work in customs authorities is recognized as civil service.

It was established that Oleksandr’s work fell under Law № 3723-XII, and therefore, he had the full right to be awarded a civil servant’s pension, provided that he met the requirements for length of service (at least 10 years of civil service) and had the appropriate status at the time of dismissal.

The second step: preparing a statement of claim

We prepared a claim to the administrative court, in which we substantiated in detail the legality of Oleksandr’s claims. The following arguments were provided in the statement of claim:

1. Customs officials, in accordance with the current legislation and the evidence provided, are civil service.
2. At the time of entry into force of Law № 889-VIII, Oleksandr held a position that corresponded to the list of civil service positions.
3. According to Article 37 of Law № 3723-XII, persons who worked in the civil service as of 01.05.2016 and had 10 years of civil service experience at that time are entitled to a special type of pension provision.

Third step: judicial review

The court considered the case in administrative proceedings. During the hearing, a representative of our company proved that:

1. the actions of the Pension Fund regarding the non-recognition of civil service experience are unlawful and contrary to current legislation;
2. the refusal to grant a civil servant’s pension violates Oleksandr’s right to social security guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine.

As a result of the review, the administrative court satisfied the claim in full. The court’s decision was:

• the actions of the Pension Fund were recognized as unlawful;
• obliged the Pension Fund to conduct a new review of Oleksandr’s application, taking into account his right to a civil servant’s pension;
• it was determined that the length of service in the customs authorities is subject to counting as civil service.

Step Four: Enforcement of the court decision

After the court decision came into force, we immediately sent legal requests to the Pension Fund with a request to report on the progress of the enforcement of the court decision.

In response, we received confirmation that:

• The Pension Fund recalculated the pension, taking into account the status of a civil servant;
• Oleksandr was assigned a new, significantly higher pension.

Result

Thanks to the legal support of our company:

1. Olexander’s customs service experience was recognized as civil service
2. The unlawful refusal of the Pension Fund was canceled
3. A civil servant’s pension was assigned in accordance with Law No. 3723-XII
4. The pension was recalculated taking into account his salary certificates and length of service
5. Olexander began to receive an increased pension, to which he was entitled from the very beginning

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