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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
25 September 2026 of the year, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Kostyantyn Kobilyanskyi as a judge of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal for an indefinite term. The corresponding decree No. 957/2026 was published on the president's website. After Kobilyanskyi's appointment as a judge of the OACA, activists drew attention to his career, family connections, and wealth.
Prior to this, Kobilyanskyi had already been a judge at the OACA. After the court was liquidated in 2022, he remained on its payroll, not administering justice. In August 2026, the High Qualification Commission of Judges recommended transferring him to another court without a competition. The Commission noted that his qualification assessment procedure is considered completed.
Kobilyanskyi is also a member of the Council of Judges of Ukraine. At the Council’s meeting on 21 July 2026, he, among other things, brought to consideration a proposal to extend the term for selecting candidates to the Competition Commission for electing a member of the VKS by the Council of Judges quota.
What is in Kobilyanskyi’s declaration
In the declaration for 2025 year Kobilyanskyi listed several real estate objects. Among them are land plots of 1047 and 1250 square meters, a parking space, and a residential building of 270,6 square meters in Hnidyn, Kyiv region. The declaration also notes an apartment of 83,1 square meters, ownership of which was acquired in January 2025.
Separately, the judge declared coins and an antique item — an icon. The value of both items is not specified in the declaration: it is noted that the property was acquired before the submission of the first declaration in accordance with anti-corruption laws.
In the transport section of the declaration there are three cars. This is a Mercedes-Benz GLE 350D 2018 from ⟦KEEP_P_YEAR⟧, owned by another person but used by Kobilyanskyi; a Nissan X-Trail 2006 year, also owned by another person; and a Toyota RAV-4 Hybrid 2019 year, purchased by the judge himself in November 2025 for 988,8 thousand hryvnias.
For 2025 year Kobilyanskyi declared 1,74 million UAH in wages from the Kyiv Administrative Court. Also 360 thousand hryvnias are listed in the declaration as funds for child maintenance and development.
At the end of 2025 year the judge also indicated 12 thousand hryvnias, 2,9 thousand euros and 18 thousand dollars in cash. In his bank account there were more than 205 thousand hryvnias.
What the Civil Procedure Code says
After Kobilyanskyi’s appointment, the Center for Countering Corruption drew attention to his professional and family history. The organization stated that the judge is a representative of a judiciary family and recalled his father Mykola Kobilyanskyi, who also worked as a judge.
The Center also claims that Kobilyanskyi Jr. at one time wrote a dissertation under Sergei Kivalov’s supervision and accuses him of plagiarism. In addition, the organization refers to the prior conclusions of the Public Integrity Council regarding the judge’s and his family’s wealth.
Why the appointment is controversial
The appointment occurred amid a discussion about further rebooting the judiciary and the involvement of international experts in the selection of judges. Critics of the judiciary believe that returning to leadership and staffing processes to representatives of the old system may slow reforms.
Meanwhile, the legal procedure regarding Kobilyanskyi has a separate history: VQCJ indicated that his qualification assessment is considered completed, and the Supreme Court in 2026 year formed legal opinions which the Commission took into account when considering his transfer.
Thus, in Kobilyanskyi’s case we have two dimensions simultaneously — the legal procedure of his appointment and the issues raised by anti-corruption activists about his professional conduct and wealth. To assess possible violations of the declaration data themselves is not sufficient — they require separate verification by competent authorities.
Earlier we wrote that country estates with private ponds and spas, apartments in top residential complexes of the regional capital, and a grown son traveling to Europe during the war are just some attributes of the judge Mykola Oseadach and his colleagues from the Chernihiv Appeal Court that show a life of ease. Yet there is also the flip side — a number of dubious rulings issued by these same officials. For example, the release from custody of suspects in serious crimes or 7 years of imprisonment for a businessman for… selling his own car.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "6 млн грн зарплати без правосуддя: як Кобилянський із ліквідованого ОАСК знову отримав суддівське крісло". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NARDEP 24.
