Case: Garage

Region: Ukraine, Lviv.

Essence of case: Protection of the right to safe and healthy environment

Parties: Residents of Mezyrichya – plaintiffs
Chervonograd city council – defendant

Essence of problem: Lychakivska district administration, housing and communal office, citizen.

Main facts:
In 1996 a resident of Lviv applied to "Environment-People-Law" (EPL) (formerly Ecopravo-Lviv), complaining on her rights violation because of illegal garage building near her house, at her resident area. The garage building was conducted with the violation of sanitary, fire and other requirements of the Ukrainian Law. The client applied to different local state and public authorities, but without any positive results.
EPL rendered legal assistance to the client. We sent a lawsuit to a court to recognize garage building as illegal. Also EPL appeared for our client at the court.
On February 21, 1997 the Lychakiv Rayon Court issued a written decision concluding that the garage had been constructed illegally and obliged the Lychakiv Rayon Administration to make a decision regarding garage according to the Article 105 of Civil Code of Ukraine. Appellate court investigated this decision several times and EPL defended our client’s interests at the court. And as the result, the court decision was considered as justified and left in force.
On September 12, 1997 the Lychkiv Rayon Administration made a decision to demolish the illegally built garage.
Ignoring Rayon Court and Administration decisions, the garage was not taken away. That’s why EPL sent a claim to the court, complaining on inactivity of the Lychakiv Rayon Administration and GEK#507.
On October 14, 1999 the Lychakiv Rayon Court made a decision to consider our client’s claim grounded and obliged the Lychakiv Rayon Administration and GEK#507 to demolish willfully(self-built) built garage.
As court decisions were not implemented, EPL rendered legal assistance to the client in applying to the Lychakiv Rayon Executive Body and opening execution proceeding. However, activity of the Executive Body regarding implementation of the court decisions deposed the violation of the citizen’s rights, including the violation, made by the authorities of the State Executive Body. The execution proceeding was implemented with the violation of the Ukrainian Law. And as the result of this, the court decisions were not fulfilled. EPL prepared claims on inactivity of the Executive Body to different public authorities (Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and its department in Lviv oblast, General Prosecutor Office of Ukraine and Lviv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, Ombudsmen of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and others).
As the result of persist joint actions of EPL and the resident, the illegally built garage was demolished. The case was resolved in favour of our client; the court decisions were enforced completely.