Deputy Director of the Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Volodymyr Nahrebelny has said he believes that the directives of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to sign gas supply contracts with Russia in 2009 were a way to exercise the prime minister's powers.
During his interrogation as a witness at a session of Kyiv's Pechersky District Court, Nahrebelny said that he cannot be a witness, as he does not know any data directly relevant to the case and that he can only be an expert.
However, he said that, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, he had twice made a legal assessment of the gas contracts and the directives.
When asked by the prosecutor whether the premier's directives met the requirements of current legislation, Nahrebelny said that there was no clear concept of directives, so, in his opinion, it was necessary to study the content of the document, rather than its name.
He said that from a legal point of view, since the contracts were signed between Ukrainian and Russian economic entities, then legal relations fall under the effect of the law on foreign economic activities, which did not envisage the directives.
"Unfortunately, our law envisages powers, but foresees no way to implement these powers. I came to the conclusion that in this case, [the directives] are a way of exercising powers," he said.
Nahrebelny said that in terms of content, the directives were an order by the prime minister to the leadership of the national JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy for negotiations, and the company is a special business entity controlled by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Speaking directly about the gas contract, Nahrebelny noted that the document was inconsistent with the current legislation, but this does not entail any legal consequences.
"In this case, the presumption of competence exists. The contracts were not declared invalid in the courts," he said.
Thus, according to the witness, the contracts are competent and valid.
A statement posted on Tymoshenko's personal Web site notes that the Koretsky Institute of State and Law conducted a scientific and legal review of the compliance of gas contracts signed on January 19, 2009 with Ukrainian legislation.
"The indictment contains charges against Yulia Tymoshenko that she signed the government's directives to conclude gas contracts between Naftogaz and Gazprom, and she had no authority to do thus under the law on the Cabinet of Ministers and the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers. The defense team of Yulia Tymoshenko proves that Yulia Tymoshenko signed her personal instruction to the Naftogaz head, rather than a government directive," reads the report.
