Court Overturns Reorganization of the Odesa Law Academy

The court overturned the Cabinet of Ministers’ order on the reorganization of the National University “Odessa Law Academy” and its merger with the I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University.

This was reported by attorney Rostislav Kravets, who represents the interests of the Odessa Law Academy.

According to Kravets, the Kyiv District Administrative Court<span>granted the lawsuit filed by the academy’s employees and overturned the government decree. The text of the ruling had not been made public as of the time of publication, so the reasons why the court overturned the decree are currently unknown.</span>

On February 12, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Order No. 111-r on the reorganization of the Odesa Law Academy and its merger with the I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University. On February 13, the Ministry of Education and Science issued a corresponding order.

The Law Academy filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the contested decisions—the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree and the Ministry of Education and Science’s order—and also requested that, pending the resolution of the case, the transfer of students to Mechnikov ONU, the transfer of the university’s property, and the dismissal of employees be prohibited.

On March 10, the court denied these requests, but the institution appealed the decision. In December 2025, the appellate court overturned the lower court’s decision and partially granted the petition—it suspended the Ministry of Education and Science’s order on the academy’s reorganization and prohibited the dismissal of employees until a final decision is reached in the case.

The academy also appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, requesting that they revoke the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree on the reorganization.

On February 25, 2026, the Kyiv District Administrative Court denied a request to appoint a forensic economic expert in the case. The Primary Trade Union Organization of the Odesa Law Academy filed a motion requesting a comparison of the economic indicators of the academy and Mechnikov National University to determine whether the Cabinet of Ministers had adhered to the principles of excellence, good faith, equality before the law, and proportionality when making the decision on reorganization.

Ірина Глухова