The Chernihiv City Council is attempting to sue the Creative Cluster Remzavod LLC for one and a half million hryvnias, which the company allegedly owes for land. However, the land the municipality claims is not properly registered due to the inaction of the Chernihiv City Council. So, the Northern Court of Appeal.
Entrepreneurs who own the former factory property have been unsuccessfully trying to secure leases for the buildings, but it turns out that only a select few can do so—for example, the ATB store, the OKKO gas station, the Kvartal store, and the Oschadbank bank—all of which are located within the same area—but Remzavod cannot, writes che.cn.ua.
At the same time, entrepreneurs are being asked to pay rent for land they don't use. This standoff culminated in a lawsuit that has been dragging on since 2025. When the local commercial court established the truth and dismissed these baseless claims, a blatant legal nihilism unfolded within the walls of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal.
In December 2025, the Chernihiv Regional Commercial Court had already dealt with this situation and ruled in favor of Remzavod, rejecting the City Council's baseless claims. However, the events that unfolded during the appeals process resemble the worst examples of telephone justice. The appellate proceedings began with regular adjournments due to the failure of City Council representatives to appear. A series of procedural "surprises" followed. A hearing was scheduled for July 11, 2026. On that very day, two judges from a particular panel—Irina Khodakovskaya and Alla Demidova—abruptly went on vacation. Instead of rescheduling the hearing, the court's management urgently, that same day, carried out a second automated assignment.
Judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal Irina Khodakovskaya
Judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal Alla Demidova
A new panel is being formed: Judges Roman Kolesnik and Sergei Goncharov will join Presiding Judge Sybig. An interesting detail: both new judges are originally from the Donetsk region, subsequently transferred to Kyiv, and, as judicial practice shows, often work in this "team."
Judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal Sergei Goncharov
Judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal Roman Kolesnik
Even more revealing is an analysis of the court registry. It turns out that Judges Khodakovskaya and Demidova, who were on vacation, successfully issued rulings on other days before and after July 11. Specifically, Judge Demidova issued rulings on July 10, 12, and 15, and Judge Khodakovskaya on July 15. Interestingly, the assignment protocol and assignment order appeared at lunchtime on July 11, meaning, according to the registry, Judge Demidova "rested" for less than a day. In other words, her vacation was effectively a one-day affair—solely to legitimize the change in the bench.
The very next day, Judge Demidova, who had supposedly gone on vacation, issued a ruling
"The law clearly states that changing the panel is only justified in the event of a judge's prolonged absence, so as not to delay the process. Here, however, there was obvious manipulation to bring in the right people.
Judicial practice shows that in such a case, such a composition of the court is not competent, since there was no long-term leave and there is obviously no need to appoint a new composition of the court either,” — Lawyer Konstantin Podgorny.
The new panel's work was phenomenal: the three-volume case was heard for exactly eight minutes. The judges had just five minutes in the deliberation room to overturn the first-instance decision and rule in favor of the Chernihiv City Council, placing the financial burden for the entire one and a half hectares of land on the company, whose facilities occupy only a portion of that area, and ignoring the presence of other owners on the property. Interestingly, the final decision took 20 days to write.
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It's clear that this story is crystal clear, but to clarify everything with documentation, the lawyers have already sent inquiries to the head of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal. If the information about the judges' fake vacations is confirmed, it will serve as grounds for further appeals to anti-corruption agencies and the High Council of Justice. The Creative Cluster Remzavod LLC states that it will not allow puppet city officials and judges to exert pressure on Chernihiv businesses.
Skelet.Org
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