On 21 December 2009 at 11 a.m. real demons will appear at the premises housing Ukraine’s Supreme Court. Their aim in visiting Earth is to give judges a chance in 2010 to improve the situation regarding enforcement of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. They will provide judges with humanitarian aid in the form of copies of the European Convention on Human Rights.

As reported here, during 2009 the Supreme Court on a number of occasions demonstrated contempt for the principles of justice and for Ukraine’s international commitments, so undermining the standing of the judiciary. It refused, for example, to revoke the conviction of Oleksandr Yaremenko, despite the doubts regarding the fairness of the judicial examination expressed quite unambiguously by the European Court of Human Rights. In the case of Lutsenko v. Ukraine, the Supreme Court refused even to reconsider the verdict in the wake of a judgment from Strasbourg.

Not unexpectedly, this year the Supreme Court received one of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Thistle of the Year – 2009 Anti-Awards, bestowed on the worst violators of human rights in the country.

Organizers of the protest action:
The Civic Campaign “New Citizen” www.newcitizen.org.ua
The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union www.helsinki.org.ua