The right of military service veterans and certain other persons to utility payment benefits must be protected and restored based on the principle of the priority of special legal provisions over general ones and of laws over subordinate legislation

The right of military service veterans and certain other persons to utility payment benefits must be protected and restored based on the principle of the priority of special legal provisions over general ones and of laws over subordinate legislation – Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court acting as a court of first instance in a model case

The entitlement of military service veterans and certain other persons to benefits for the payment of housing and utility services must be exercised pursuant to the special Law of Ukraine “On the Status of Military Service Veterans, Veterans of Internal Affairs Bodies, Veterans of the National Police and Certain Other Persons and Their Social Protection”, which takes precedence over the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025” and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 389 of 4 June 2015 “On Approval of the Procedure for Granting Benefits to Certain Categories of Citizens Based on the Average Monthly Aggregate Family Income”, which introduced an additional condition for granting such benefits.

This conclusion was reached by the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court in a model case when allowing the claim of a veteran of the internal affairs bodies against the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Poltava Region. The claimant sought recognition as unlawful of the pension authority’s refusal to restore monetary social benefits for housing and utility payments from 1 May 2025. The refusal had been based on the Law of Ukraine No. 4059-IX of 19 November 2024 “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025” and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1553 of 31 December 2024 “On Amendments to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 389 of 4 June 2015”.

The Court noted that monetary benefits for housing and utility payments for military service veterans and certain other persons are established by paragraph 6 of part 1 of Article 6 of the special Law of Ukraine No. 203/98-ВР of 24 March 1998 “On the Status of Military Service Veterans, Veterans of Internal Affairs Bodies, Veterans of the National Police and Certain Other Persons and Their Social Protection”. At the same time, the adoption of Law No. 4059-IX and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1553, insofar as they introduced additional conditions for granting such benefits – particularly making entitlement dependent on the level of family income – created a legal conflict between regulatory acts.

The panel of judges took into account the legal position of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, according to which the subject matter of the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine is clearly defined by the Constitution of Ukraine. Therefore, such a law may not repeal or alter the scope of rights and obligations, benefits, compensations, and guarantees established by other laws of Ukraine. In other words, Law No. 4059-IX, as a budget law, should not contain different or additional legal regulation of legal relations already governed by other laws of Ukraine, particularly in areas of social relations regulated by special (exceptional) legal provisions. The Constitution of Ukraine does not confer a higher legal force on the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine in relation to other laws.

Where legal provisions of equal legal force are in conflict, the principle of the priority of a special law (lex specialis) must be applied. Accordingly, Law No. 203/98-ВР should prevail as the special law, while the provisions of Law No. 4059-IX should be regarded as general provisions (lex generalis).

The judgment in this model case will enter into legal force upon the expiry of the time limit for filing an appeal, provided that no appeal is lodged. If an appeal is filed and the case undergoes appellate review, the final legal position in the model case will be set out in a judgment of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

Judgment of the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of 11 February 2026 in Case No. 440/11441/25 (Proceedings No. Пз/990/15/25): https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/134000869

This and other legal positions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.