Can the Authorities be Wrong?

“The main result of 2007 in the field of administrative proceedings could be expressed by the statement “The System of Administrative Courts must exist”, Oleksandr Onischenko, managing partner of Pravochin attorneys at law, has said. “I believe that the proof of this should be a big rise in the effectiveness and actions of circuit courts and Courts of Appeal. Though there have been and still are problems with application of the Administrative Proceedings Code, the expediency of the administrative court system’s functioning as a whole is not prejudiced beyond doubt”.

The services of Gramatskiy & Partners attorneys at law are in great demand in the sphere of administrative proceedings. The firm’s practice includes representing the interests of subjects of entrepreneurial activity in the process of dispute resolution as regards the conclusion of and compliance with administrative lease contracts of integrated property complexes and large plots of land that are in state or municipal ownership, the appeal of regulatory legal acts of central state authorities and also rendering of legal redress in reinstatement of high-ranking officials. Ernest Gramatskiy and Yuriy Zabiyaka are key specialists of Gramatskiy & Partners in the said sphere.

Pravochin attorneys at law are a team of professionals who aspire to found and develop a high-performance legal business in Ukraine. It has a broad practice in the sphere of administrative legal proceedings. Since the adoption of the Administrative Proceedings Code Pravochin attorneys at law has successfully practiced in this field. In its time it has succeeded in acquiring great experience of the Code’s application and has been successful in assisting clients with protecting their interests in relationships with public authorities. In 2007 some procedures in administrative courts were conducted by Pravochin’s attorneys as regards acts of central institutions of the state executive authorities (Government of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine), and also institutions at local level (Kiev City Council). An interesting part of the firm’s practice is dispute settlement concerning elections (suit on annulment of Dnieper District Council Chairman’s election). Oleksandr Onishchenko, managing partner, is a strong specialist in this field and was highly recommended in the poll.

Vasil Kisil & Partners is renowned for its extensive practice and expertise in administrative proceedings. Its team of talented litigators regularly represents clients in legal disputes with state and municipal agencies and other administrative bodies and officials. The firm has most recently represented Biofarma, one of the major Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies, in a tender dispute for more than USD 50 million against Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Vadym Belyanevych and Oleg Makarov are highly recommended and widely recognized professionals in this field. Yaroslav Teklyuk has been also mentioned as skilled and experienced professional in administrative proceedings.

Spenser & Kauffmann received clientele recognition as a unique law office that presents an effective mix of theoretical expertise and practical background, based on the litigation practice. The firm recently represented a market leader in alcoholic beverages production in administrative proceedings. The total value of cases won for the client topped UAH 50 million. Yuriy Petrenko, head of the practice, and company lawyers Anastasia Patova and Maksim Zubets are recommended for their professional approach.

In 2007 Volkov & Partners successfully represented PANTELE COM in a dispute with the National Commission for Communication Regulations on an issue regarding acquiring a license for use of the radio frequency resource. Besides, Volkov & Partners was also successful in 5 connected disputes of different regional branches of Kiy-Avia with the Ukrainian tax authorities in an issue regarding the registered forms of the air tickets. Ihor Martsyn, partner and Olga Galaka, senior associate, work on such matters.

The lawyers of the Kiev office of Arzinger & Partners have broad experience of representing clients and protecting their interests in national courts. The scope of projects in 2007 includes representation in cases connected to the invalidation of decisions adopted by the state in the field of land law, invalidation of the suit brought by Dnepropetrovsk City Council against a leading international company, etc. Sergey Shklyar, Oleksandr Matrosov and Anton Moskalenko are particularly strong in administrative proceedings.

The law firm Andriy Kravets & Partners represented the interests in court of a major local grain terminal in a lawsuit against the State Tax Administration of Ukraine on annulment of tax notifications-decisions. Partner Vladyslav Lyaskovskiy has a great deal of experience of administrative proceedings. The Legal Alliance Company participated in a dispute between the Scientific Institute of Micro Devices of the JSC Quasar and the Ministry of Industrial Policy on recognition of an order to be void. It also represented the Bobrov sanatorium of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health in a case on recognizing a decision to be void. Artem Bazilevich, Eugen Scheglov, Dmitriy Titarenko are top practitioners in this practice area.

The Union of Economy and Law Consultants, which is headed by Igor Godetskyi, defended the interests of workers of the Darnitsky State Administration in a corruption case and also won a case on the recalculation of pensions for retired military personnel.

The Kiev Legal Company provided support in a lawsuit against the State Tax Inspectorate of the Podil district of Kiev on compensation of VAT. Irina Padoba is the firm’s lawyer involved in administrative proceedings cases.

Lawyers of the Salkom firm headed by Evgeniy Kubko deal with current consulting and cases related to administrative proceedings. In 2007 the firm’s lawyers represented the interests of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education in legal disputes with the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management.

The practice of administrative legal proceedings is also represented in the Inyurpolis law firm. Its leading specialists in this field, namely Roman Moskal, Oleksiy Kharytonov, Sergey Silchenko, were involved in a series of cases with the authorities of Kharkov.

Konnov & Sozanovsky attorneys at law provided advice in legal controversy with the Borispol customs house, and the interests of LLC IntWestDistribution at the appeal instance. Andrey Nikonenko is a specialist practicing in administrative proceedings field of law.

In 2007 the Lawyer Group of Ukraine worked on a series of cases on annulment of land titles. Eleonora Khachaturyan was recommended as the firm’s legal expert in conducting cases with successful results.

FARGO provided legal assistance in a tax dispute between the SE Eastern Mining Company and the Zhovti Vody State Tax Inspection (representing the Eastern Mining Company). Tatiana Evtushok is acknowledged as the firm’s main lawyer in this practice area.

Lavrynovych & Partners team has significant experience of work with various state authorities. Maksym Lavrynovych and Stanislav Skrypnyck are the leading lawyers in the firm’s administrative proceedings practice.

Sergiy Koziakov & Partners, and especially Sergiy Koziakov, received excellent references from peers in the poll.

This year the lawyers of the Jurvneshservice law firm had a lot of practice within a series of administrative proceedings, including those relating to: correctness of land tax calculation; refunding of VAT to Ukrainian taxpayers; correctness of income tax accrual; application of international treaties on avoidance of double taxation as to withholding and income tax accrual; the necessity for small and medium-sized enterprises which chose the simplified tax system to pay additional contributions to the State Pension Fund of Ukraine. Partner Anna Tsirat and lawyers Dmitry Salatiuk and Taras Kulbaba represented the interests of administrative proceedings in the above-mentioned issues.

Okhrimchuk Grushyn Khandurin law firm handled a tax dispute between PE NPC Ukrenergo with the Specialised State Tax Inspectorate for Major Taxpayers in Kiev and Specialised State Tax Inspectorate for Major Taxpayers in Odessa. Denys Okhrimchuk and Roman Greba are the leading specialists in the field of administrative proceedings law.