The Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court gives its legal opinion on the granting of subsistence allowances to internally displaced persons

The Supreme Court ruled that an internally displaced person is entitled to subsistence allowance in accordance with the Procedure for Payment of Subsistence Allowance to Internally Displaced Persons, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 332 of 20 March 2022 "Some Issues of Payment of Subsistence Allowance to Internally Displaced Persons" (hereinafter - Procedure No. 332), regardless of the date of registration as an internally displaced person, if he or she has moved from an area that meets two conditions: hostilities are taking place in that area, and this area is included in the list approved by Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 204-p of 6 March 2022 "On Approving the List of Administrative and Territorial Units within the Territory of which Insured Persons are Provided Assistance under the ePidtrymka Programme".

At the same time, if an internally displaced person received monthly targeted assistance to cover living expenses, including housing and utility costs, as of 1 March 2022, in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 505 "On Provision of Monthly Targeted Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons to Cover Living Expenses, Including Housing and Utilities" of 1 October 2014, the subsistence allowance provided for in Procedure No. 332 will be granted automatically without further application.

The Supreme Court found that the legislator linked the case of non-payment of the subsistence allowance determined by Procedure No. 332 to the condition of non-inclusion of the region in the list approved by Order No. 204-p, to which the internally displaced person moved before 24 February 2022, except for persons who received monthly targeted assistance to internally displaced persons to cover living expenses, including housing and utilities, in accordance with Resolution No. 505, and not from the date of inclusion of a certain region in the list of administrative-territorial units in which payers of the single social contribution for compulsory state social insurance registered in the respective territory may be provided with assistance under the ePidtrymka programme.

In this case, the plaintiff, an internally displaced person, challenged in court the decision of the Social Security Department to deny her the subsistence allowance.

In dismissing the claim, the court of appeal reasoned that since the applicant was registered as an internally displaced person in the Dnipro region before 24 February 2022 and did not receive monthly assistance for internally displaced persons to cover living expenses, including housing and utilities, she could not be entitled to assistance under Procedure No. 332.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court noted that the applicant was registered as an internally displaced person by the relevant social security authority in July 2016 and received targeted assistance for internally displaced persons to cover living expenses, including housing and utilities, until 2017 pursuant to Resolution No. 505.

According to Order No. 204-p, the Donetsk region, from which the applicant moved in 2016, is included in the list of administrative-territorial units approved by this Order. At the same time, the Dnipropetrovska region, to which the applicant moved before 24 February 2022, was also included in this list.

Therefore, since the applicant has moved from an area which fulfils the two conditions set out in paragraph 2 of Procedure No. 332 (hostilities are taking place in this area and this area is included in the list approved by Order No. 204-p), she is one of the persons entitled to subsistence allowance under Procedure No. 332.

Resolution of the Supreme Court of 14 June 2023 in case No. 160/12308/22 - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/111536754.

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