A district court in Kiev Oblast has accepted a lawsuit which is setting a precedent in Ukraine. The plaintiff seeks compensation in bitcoin for “moral damages” caused by law enforcement officials. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled after the presiding judge found no legal grounds to reject the claim.
Setting a PrecedentFor the first time in Ukraine’s judicial practice, a claim for compensation in cryptocurrency has been accepted by a local court. Ukrainian citizen Dmitriy G. wants to be paid 1 BTC for “moral damages” he suffered in result of an “unlawful” search. He is suing officers from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and their colleagues from the Prosecutor’s Office who conducted the operation.
Borispolskiy District Court in Kiev Oblast has agreed to look into the case and has even scheduled a preliminary hearing, Forklog reports. Judge Zhuravskiy found no legal grounds to reject the lawsuit, according to a document, acquired by the outlet.
All applicable norms have been observed, according to the court, which has already sent a copy of its resolution to the defendants. They have 15 days to respond officially to the claims made by the plaintiff. If the government agencies fail to do so, the court proceedings will continue based on the available information.
Regardless of the end result, the legal action has already set a precedent in Ukraine’s court practice. If Dmitriy is granted the bitcoin compensation he seeks, that would de facto legalize cryptocurrencies as means of payment in the country.
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