Pohribnyi Serhii Oleksiiovych

Professor of Civil Law in the Supreme League of Themis

Serhii Oleksiiovych Pohribnyi is a renowned Ukrainian legal scholar, Doctor of Juridical Sciences, professor, and one of the key judges of the country’s highest judicial authority. A native of Odesa, he began his career at the prestigious Odesa Law Academy, where he taught for many years in the civil law department. His rapid judicial career started in 2003 at the Malynovskyi District Court of Odesa; later he served as Deputy Chairman of the Prymorskyi District Court, and in 2017, following a competitive selection, became a judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Pohribnyi is regarded as an influential theorist and practitioner in the field of private law, reaching the peak of his career in January 2026 when colleagues officially elected him to the strategic post of Secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

Division of the Odesa coastline, "unethical" Public Integrity Council conclusion, and veto on dismissal of fugitive judges

Despite his high academic status and authority among colleagues, Serhii Pohribnyi’s name has for years been accompanied by harsh criticism from anti-corruption organizations and the Public Integrity Council (PIC). During the selection process for the Supreme Court, activists officially declared him unethical due to his "Odesa past": investigative journalists openly named him as one of the masters of legalizing the division of precious land plots along the Odesa coastline. A powerful wave of public outrage erupted at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ACAC) after his election to the Grand Chamber. Activists emphasize that Pohribnyi, along with other controversial judges, joined the body directly reviewing decisions about dismissals of unethical judiciary members, which creates risks of backroom mutual cover-ups and cancellation of lustration verdicts.