The court has overturned the Mykolaiv City Council’s decision to open a new branch of the sports school without the approval of the Ministry of Youth and Sport

Mykolaiv City Council. Photo from open sources

The court has partially upheld the claim brought by the Deputy Prosecutor General on behalf of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and has ruled that one of the provisions of the Mykolaiv City Council’s decision in the case concerning the reorganisation of specialised children’s and youth sports schools for the Olympic reserve is unlawful.

This is reported by NikVesti, citing the ruling of the Mykolaiv District Administrative Court dated 12 June.

It should be noted that the case has been under consideration since 2024. At that time, the court of first instance dismissed the prosecution’s claim; however, in January 2025, the Fifth Administrative Court of Appeal overturned that decision and upheld the claim. Then, in June, the Supreme Court quashed both decisions and referred the case back for a fresh hearing, pointing to the need for further investigation into key circumstances.

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The crux of the matter lay in a decision by the Mykolaiv City Council dated 28 July 2022, whereby the private Mykola Hutsalenko Children’s and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve for kayaking and canoeing—founded by the public organisation «Mykolaiv Regional Organisation of the Physical Culture and Sports Society «Ukraine»», ceased to operate as an independent institution and became a structural unit of another sports school — the school of academic rowing.

The reorganisation, as the public prosecutor’s office claimed, took place without the approval of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, as back in 2021 the Mykolaiv Executive Committee had rejected the so-called ‘optimisation’, citing that merging the schools would place an excessive burden on administrative staff and worsen training conditions.

The Mykolaiv City Council refuted these arguments, asserting that what had taken place was not a reduction in the network of institutions but an optimisation. The defendant also emphasised that the change in structure and name did not affect the legal status of the legal entities and did not constitute grounds for applying procedures requiring approval from the Ministry.

In response, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Youth and Sport stated that there had in fact been a merger of the institutions and the transfer of staff from one school to another, which, in their view, indicated the de facto cessation of a separate institution’s activities without proper approval. They also pointed out that educational and training activities at the institution had ceased.

«As a result of the decision to merge the children’s and youth sports schools, the number of pupils and coaching staff has more than halved compared with the period prior to the merger, which indicates a deterioration in the conditions for conducting training sessions, a violation of children’s rights to accessible and comprehensive extracurricular sports education, and a negative impact on the leisure activities, training and self-fulfilment of children and young people in the field of sport, which is directly attributable to the contested decision,» the ministry emphasised.

The Mykolaiv City Council, however, attributed the reduction in pupil numbers to the impact of the war and funding issues on the part of the founder. Furthermore, they noted that the Hutsalenko School has not been dissolved as a legal entity.

«The Specialised Children’s and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve for Kayaking and Canoeing named after the Hero-Paratrooper has not been dissolved or liquidated as a legal entity, which, in turn, does not deprive its founder and management of the right to continue the institution’s specialised activities by ensuring its proper funding, developing and improving its material and technical base, and, accordingly, recruiting pupils and coaches. The defendant considers that a procedural irregularity in the adoption of the resolution should not, in itself, give rise to legal consequences affecting its validity, except in cases expressly provided for by law,» the city council’s response states.

Consequently, the court partially upheld the prosecution’s claim. Judge Vasyl Yaroshchuk ruled that the clause in the city council’s decision regarding the renaming of the school was lawful, but found the clause concerning the opening of a new branch to be unlawful. In this regard, the court referred to the requirements of clause 12 of Regulation No. 993, according to which the opening of new branches in specialised children’s and youth sports schools for the Olympic reserve is possible only with the consent of the relevant ministry.