Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KYIV4491
2006-12-07 16:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kyiv
Cable title:  

UKRAINE: FM TARASYUK'S LEGAL LIMBO

Tags:  PGOV KDEM UP 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9304
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHKV #4491/01 3411619
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071619Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0648
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 004491 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: FM TARASYUK'S LEGAL LIMBO

REF: A. KYIV 4478

B. KYIV 4433

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Sheila S. Gwaltney for reasons
1.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 004491

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: FM TARASYUK'S LEGAL LIMBO

REF: A. KYIV 4478

B. KYIV 4433

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Sheila S. Gwaltney for reasons
1.4 (b,d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Foreign Minister Tarasyuk called in EU and
NATO ambassadors and charges December 7 to confirm his
position as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He reported that he
had filed a suit to block the Rada's move to dismiss him on
the basis of three procedural errors. The court would hold
its first hearing December 11. Tarasyuk had also filed a
complaint with the Prosecutor's General Office that Minister
of the Cabinet of Ministers Tolstoukhov and Acting Prime
Minister Azarov had exceeded their authority by preventing
him from attending a Cabinet of Ministers' meeting December

6. According to Tarasyuk, due to a backlog of cases, the
Constitutional Court was unlikely to clarify procedures on
removal of the foreign and defense minister before January

2007.


2. (C) Comment: Tarasyuk presented the appearance of a man
under stress, but also very determined to stay in office
given President Yushchenko's unequivocal support (ref A). By
keeping Tarasyuk at the MFA's helm, Yushchenko and Tarasyuk
are determined to demonstrate the President's primacy in
foreign affairs, by directly and publicly challenging the
Rada's authority to remove Tarasyuk against the President's
wishes. We will watch how the judiciary approaches the case,
but with PM Yanukovych back in town after his Washington
trip, the next political move seems to be the Government's.
End summary/comment.

Ambassadorial Huddle
--------------


3. (U) Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk briefed EU and NATO
ambassadors and charges December 7 on the status of his
efforts to oppose the Rada's December 1 resolution to remove
him from office (ref B). Although called at short notice,
the well-attended briefing included a fair number of
Ambassadors, as well as European Commission Head of Mission
Ian Boag and acting chiefs of the NATO Liaison Office and
NATO Information and Documentation Center. Tarasyuk asked
the diplomatic representatives to confirm to their capitals
that he continues to be the Foreign Minister, implying that
he had the full backing of President Yushchenko.

The Legal Play
--------------


4. (SBU) Noting that he had received numerous questions about
his legal status at the Finnish national day reception the
previous evening, Tarasyuk said there were three procedural
flaws that invalidated the Rada resolution.

-- First, the Prime Minister had submitted draft resolution
2629-1, but Article 93 of the Ukrainian Constitution and
Article 84 of the Rada's rules of procedure specified that
only the President, Rada deputies, and the Cabinet of
Ministers could submit legal initiatives to the Rada. The
Cabinet of Ministers had never considered the Prime
Minister's draft resolution and so had never approved it.

-- Second, while the Constitution is silent on who could
dismiss the Foreign Minister, it does specify that the
President nominates the Defense and Foreign Ministers. By
implication, the President would also be the only official
able to terminate the appointment, which is confirmed by
Article 202 of the Rada rules of procedure. (Note: Article
202 says the Prime Minister can request the removal of
ministers, but, in the case of the Defense and Foreign
Ministers, the President can do so. As we observed in ref B,
however, Article 202 also contains a second provision that
authorizes the Prime Minister to remove a member of the
Cabinet of Ministers in response to a coalition initiative.
This second provision does not specifically exclude the
Defense and Foreign Minister, leading to some ambiguity
regarding the Prime Minister's authority.)

-- Third, according to Article 88 of the Rada rules of
procedure, all draft legislation must be accompanied by an
explanatory note that includes the objectives and functions
of the proposed law. This had not happened with the
resolution regarding Tarasyuk's dismissal. Furthermore, the
committee of jurisdiction is also required to examine draft
legislation first and forward the bill to the Rada as a whole
with its recommendations. This also had not been done.

Blocking Tactics
--------------


KYIV 00004491 002 OF 002



5. (U) Tarasyuk said he filed a suit with the Shevchenko
district court based on these procedural flaws. On December
5, the court suspended any action to remove Tarasyuk from his
position until it could consider the case. Tarasyuk said the
court was due to take up his suit on December 11. He
acknowledged that, after an initial hearing, the district
court might decide to postpone further examination of the
case until Ukraine's Constitutional Court had ruled on the
underlying constitutional issues; if so, Tarasyuk opined, the
ruling to suspend his removal would likely remain in force.
Tarasyuk also noted that the court's action could be appealed
during a ten-day period, i.e., until December 15, after a
decision has been announced. He had no knowledge that the
Prime Minister's office or any other office had appealed.


6. (SBU) Tarasyuk confirmed that he had been prevented from
attending a Cabinet of Ministers meeting December 6. He had
sent a letter to the Prosecutor General's Office requesting
that it initiate a criminal case against Minister of the
Cabinet of Ministers Anatoliy Tolstoukhov and acting Prime
Minister Mykola Azarov on the grounds that they had exceeded
their authority and illegally prevented him from carrying out
his duties.


7. (SBU) In the meantime, a number of Rada deputies had
submitted a request November 14 for the Constitutional Court
to clarify procedures for dismissal of the Defense and
Foreign Ministers. Tarasyuk said a Constitutional Court
judge, speaking privately, had told him that, given its
backlog, the Court could take up the issue by January 2007 at
the earliest.

Holding the Line
--------------


8. (C) In remarks to a smaller group of diplomats after the
larger briefing, Tarasyuk stressed that the case was not just
about his personal fortunes; his removal as Foreign Minister
would set a bad precedent and endanger the President's
authority to conduct foreign policy. Any attempt to settle
the constitutional ambiguities by cohabitation required good
will on both sides. Tarasyuk was prepared to meet with
Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yanukovych, and Rada speaker Moroz
to discuss the issue of his dismissal, but no meeting was
planned. When one ambassador observed that the continuing
political uncertainty was bad for Ukraine's reputation
abroad, Tarasyuk could only quip that his life was certainly
worse than that of any observer of Ukraine's political scene.


9. (U) Visit Embassy Kiev's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Gwaltney