High Council of Justice Dismisses Odesa Judge Serhiy Dranikov

The High Council of Justice has dismissed judge of the Bilyaevsky District Court Serhiy Dranikov, who was appointed chairman of the court six months ago.

The HCJ made the decision on April 29.

The judge was dismissed from his position at his own request. On March 25, 2025, Dranikov submitted his resignation, and less than a month later, the High Council of Justice considered it and upheld it.

The High Council of Justice has decided to dismiss Serhii Dranikov, a judge of the Bilyayivskyi District Court of Odesa Oblast, in connection with his resignation.

Serhiy Dranikov had been working as a judge since 2007, first on a five-year contract, and since 2012 he has held the position for an unlimited period. At the time of his resignation, he had over 18 years of judicial experience. Taking into account the period of his military service, this experience exceeded 19 years, which allowed him to retire in accordance with the law.

Along with the judicial experience, the High Council of Justice also took into account other periods of professional activity in the field of law, which are included in the total length of service for resignation by law.

In September 2024, a new chairman of the Bilyayiv District Court was elected in Odesa Oblast. It was Serhii Dranikov. He was appointed by secret ballot to replace Olga Trushina, who had been head of the Bilyaevsky District Court since 2016.

Judge Serhii Dranikov's annual declaration for 2024 did not show any changes compared to the previous year. Like last year, he declared a salary of UAH 1 million 348 thousand. The judge did not indicate any other monetary assets, including savings or bank accounts.

The real estate listed in the declaration remains unchanged: three apartments in Odesa (33.1 m², 34.2 m² and 62.2 m²) owned by the judge's wife, Tetiana Dranikova. In addition, the family uses a 235.2 m² residential building in Bilyayivka, which is registered in the name of Nadiya Dranikova, probably the judge's mother. Also, a land plot of 800 m² in Bilyayivka was declared, which also belongs to Nadiya Dranikova, but is used by Serhii Dranikov.

The cars owned by the family are two cars registered in the name of the judge's wife: A 2005 Chevrolet Aveo and a 2019 Nissan Rogue, which was purchased in 2020 for UAH 375,000.

Earlier, the High Council of Justice dismissed judge Natalia Vinogradova, who worked in the Suvoriv District Court. Prior to that, the HCJ accepted the resignation of Odesa Court of Appeal judge Anatolii Zaikin. Also, judge of the Fifth Administrative Court of Appeal Stepan Domuschi was dismissed. Before that, the judges elected him as the new chairman instead of Oleksandr Dzhaburia.

Ірина Глухова