Ukrainian Head of State Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday, December 29, the two-month suspension of the President of the Constitutional Court, suspected of witness tampering in a case testifying to the deep justice crisis in Ukraine.
"
I sign this decree in the name of the restoration of justice and that of the resolution of the constitutional crisis
", declared Mr. Zelensky, quoted by a press release.
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Magistrate Oleksandre Toupytsky is suspected of witness tampering and of having delivered in 2018 and 2019 "
false testimony
" in the context of a criminal case, the public prosecutor's office announced on Monday, asking the head of state to do so. suspend from office.
The Constitutional Court had not reacted Tuesday evening to this decision of the president, but it had declared the day before that a possible suspension would be "
contrary
" to the Constitution.
The latter does not provide for the suspension of a constitutional judge, but authorizes his dismissal if this decision is voted by the majority of the members of the Court, assured this entity in a press release.
At the end of October, Mr. Toupytsky had defended the invalidation by the Court of a series of anti-corruption measures.
Very controversial and described as a "
threat to national security
" by the president, this decision provoked an outcry in Ukraine and among its Western supporters.
The lack of confidence in Ukrainian courts riddled with corruption is the main obstacle to foreign investment in this country, one of the poorest in Europe, according to a recent opinion study published by the European Business Association (EBA) gathering more of a thousand companies established in Ukraine.
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