Last modification: 15.06.21 14:00:44
(The Official Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (BVR), 1992, No. 6, Article 56)
{Enacted by the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada
No. 1799-XII of 6 November 1991, BVR, 1992, No. 6, Art. 57}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 3345-XII of 30 June 1993, BVR, 1993, No. 33, Art. 347
No. 82/95-VR of 2 March 1995, BVR, 1995, No. 14, Art. 90
No. 54/96-VR of 20 February 1996, BVR, 1996, No. 9, Art. 44
No. 251/97-VR of 13 May 1997, BVR, 1997, No. 25, Art. 171}
{On certain provisions recognised as constitutional, see Constitutional Court Judgment
No. 13-rp/98 dated 01.10.98}
{For an official interpretation of the Code, see Constitutional Court Judgment
No. 3-rp/99 dated 08.04.99}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 784-XIV of 30 June 1999, BVR, 1999, Nos. 42-43, Art. 378
No. 1664-III of 20 April 2000, BVR, 2000, No. 30, Art. 233
No. 2056-III of 19 October 2000, BVR, 2000, No. 50, Art. 436
No. 2181-III of 21 December 2000 - comes into force on April 1, 2001, BVR, 2001, No. 10, Art. 44
No. 2249-III of 18 January 2001, BVR, 2001, No. 11, Art. 56
No. 2413-III of 17 May 2001, BVR, 2001, No. 31, Art. 147
No. 2539-III of 21 June 2001, BVR, 2001, No. 36, Art. 188
No. 2922-III of 10 January 2002, BVR, 2002, No. 17, Art. 117
No. 3092-III of 07 March 2002, BVR, 2002, No. 32, Art. 221}
{For an official interpretation of the Code, see Judgment of the Constitutional Court
No. 13-rp/2002 of 2 July 2010}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 761-IV of 15 May 2003, BVR, 2003, No. 30, Art. 246
No. 850-IV of 22 May 2003, BVR, 2003, No. 35, Art. 271
No. 1255-IV of 18 November 2003, BVR, 2004, No. 11, Art. 140
No. 1892-IV of 24 June 2004, BVR, 2004, No. 50, Art. 538
No. 2456-IV of 3 March 2005, BVR, 2005, No. 16, Art. 260
No. 2705-IV of 23 June 2005, BVR, 2005, No. 33, Art. 427
No. 2875-IV of 8 September 2005, BVR, 2005, No. 52, Art. 562
No. 2900-IV of 22 September 2005, BVR, 2006, No. 1, Art. 1
No. 3538-IV of 15 March 2006, BVR, 2006, No. 35, Art. 295
No. 3541-IV of 15 March 2006, BVR, 2006, No. 35, Art. 296
No. 424-V of 1 December 2006, BVR, 2007, No. 9, Art. 67
No. 483-V of 15 December 2006, BVR, 2007, No. 9, Art. 77
No. 1012-V of 11 May 2007, BVR, 2007, No. 35, Art. 483
No. 513-VI of 17 September 2008, BVR, 2008, No. 49, Art. 361
No. 1076-VI of 5 March 2009, BVR, 2009, No. 30, Art. 421
No. 1720-VI of 17 November 2009, BVR, 2010, No. 8, Art. 51
No. 1837-VI of 21 January 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 12, Art. 120
No. 1875-VI of 11 February 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 18, Art. 138
No. 1876-VI of 11 February 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 18, Art. 139
No. 1914-VI of 18 February 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 20, Art. 200
No. 2289-VI of 1 June 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 33, Art. 471
No. 2453-VI of 7 July 2010, BVR, 2010, No. 41-42, No. 43, No. 44-45, Art. 529
No. 2677-VI of 04 November 2010, BVR, 2011, No. 19-20, Art. 142
No. 2980-VI of 3 February 2011, BVR, 2011, No. 33, Art. 331
No. 3329-VI of 12 May 2011, BVR, 2011, No. 45, Art. 482
No. 3382-VI of 19 May 2011, BVR, 2011, No. 45, Art. 491
No. 3445-VI of 31 May 2011, BVR, 2011, No. 50, Art. 544
No. 3674-VI of 8 July 2011, BVR, 2012, No. 14, Art. 87
No. 3932-VI of 20 October 2011, BVR, 2012, No. 22, Art. 221}
{On certain provisions recognised as constitutional, see Judgments of the Constitutional Court
No. 16–RP/2011 of 8 December 2011,
No. 17–RP/2011 of 13 December 2011}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 4176-VI of 20 December 2011, BVR, 2012, No. 29, Art. 340
No. 4190-VI of 20 December 2011, BVR, 2012, No. 29, Art. 342
No. 4212-VI of 22 December 2011, BVR, 2012, No. 32-33, Art. 413
No. 4452-VI of 23 February 2012, BVR, 2012, No. 50, Art. 564}
{For an official interpretation of the Code, see Judgment of the Constitutional Court
No. 11-rp/2012 of 25 April 2012}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 4847-VI of 24 May 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 16, Art. 139
No. 5029-VI of 3 July 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 23, Art. 218
No. 5041-VI of 4 July 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 25, Art. 247
No. 5076-VI of 5 July 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 27, Art. 282
No. 5288-VI of 18 September 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 37, Art. 490
No. 5405-VI of 2 October 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 40, Art. 540
No. 5477-VI of 6 November 2012, BVR, 2013, No. 50, Art. 693
No. 5518-VI of 6 December 2012, BVR, 2014, No. 8, Art. 90
No. 245-VII of 16 May 2013, BVR, 2014, No. 12, Art. 178
No. 406-VII of 4 July 2013, BVR, 2014, No. 20-21, Art. 712
No. 642-VII of 10 October 2013, BVR, 2014, No. 22, Art. 773
No. 721-VII of 16 January 2014, BVR, 2014, No. 22, Art. 801 - ceased to be effective pursuant to Law No. 732-VII of 28 January 2014
No. 767-VII of 23 February 2014, BVR, 2014, No. 17, Art. 593
No. 1206-VII of 15 April 2014, BVR, 2014, No. 24, Art. 885
No. 1226-VII of 17 April 2014, BVR, 2014, No. 26, Art. 898
No. 1697-VII of 14 October 2014, BVR, 2015, No. 2-3, Art. 12
No. 192-VIII of 12 February 2015, BVR, 2015, No. 18, No. 19-20, Art. 132
No. 289-VIII of 7 April 2015, BVR, 2015, No. 25, Art. 188
No. 484-VIII of 22 May 2015, BVR, 2015, No. 33, Art. 323
No. 541-VIII of 18 June 2015, BVR, 2015, No. 32, Art. 315
No. 629-VIII of 16 July 2015, BVR, 2015, No. 43, Art. 386
No. 772-VIII of 10 November 2015, BVR, 2016, No. 1, Art. 2
No. 835-VIII of 26 November 2015, BVR, 2016, No. 2, Art. 17
No. 922-VIII of 25 December 2015, BVR, 2016, No. 9, Art. 89
No. 1404-VIII of 2 June 2016, BVR, 2016, No. 30, Art. 542
No. 1977-VIII of 23 March 2017, BVR, 2017, No. 20, Art. 240
No. 1982-VIII of 23 March 2017, BVR, 2017, No. 18, Art. 222
No. 1983-VIII of 23 March 2017, BVR, 2017, No. 25, Art. 289
No. 2136-VIII of 13 July 2017, BVR, 2017, No. 35, Art. 376}
{As amended by Law
No. 2147–VIII of 3 October 2017, BVR, 2017, No. 48, Article 436}
{As amended by the Laws
No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017, BVR, 2018, No. 6-7, Art. 40
No. 2475-VIII of 3 July 2018, BVR, 2018, No. 36, Art. 272
The Code
No. 2597-VIII of 18 October 2018, BVR, 2019, No. 19, Art. 74
The Laws
No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019, BVR, 2019, No. 46, Art. 299
No. 142-IX of 2 October 2019, BVR, 2019, No. 45, Art. 291
No. 155-IX of 3 October 2019, BVR, 2019, No. 48, Art. 325 - concerning the enactment, please refer to Paragraph 1, section XII
No. 390-IX of 18 December 2019, BVR, 2020, No. 15, Art. 95
No. 440-IX of 14 January 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 28, Art. 188
No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 29, Art. 194
No. 540-IX of 30 March 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 18, Art. 123
No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 40, Art. 314
No. 720-IX of 17 June 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 47, Art. 408
No. 731-IX of 18 June 2020, BVR, 2020, No. 46, Art. 399
No. 738-IX of 19 June 2020}
Article 1. Purpose of the Code of Commercial Procedure of Ukraine
1. The Code of Commercial Procedure of Ukraine determines the jurisdiction and powers of commercial courts, establishes the procedure for administering proceedings in commercial courts.
Article 2. Tasks and main principles of commercial proceedings
1. The task of commercial proceedings is a fair, impartial and timely resolution by the court of disputes related to economic activities and consideration of other cases within the commercial court jurisdiction in order to effectively protect violated, unrecognised or disputed rights and legitimate interests of individuals, legal entities and the state.
2. The court and the trial participants should be guided by the task of commercial proceedings that prevails over any other grounds in a trial.
3. The main principles of commercial proceedings are as follows:
2) equality before the law and the court of all trial participants;
3) publicity and openness of a trial and its complete recording by technical means;
4) adversarial character of the parties;
7) binding nature of judgments;
8) enforcement of the right to appellate review;
9) ensuring the right to cassation appeal against the judgment in cases defined by law;
10) reasonability of time limits for case consideration by the court;
11) inadmissibility of abuse of procedural rights;
12) reimbursement of court costs of a party in whose favour the judgment was adopted.
Article 3. Legislation on commercial proceedings
1. Proceedings in commercial courts shall be administered in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, this Code, the Law of Ukraine “On Private International Law”, the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”, as well as international treaties that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine agrees are binding.
2. If an international treaty of Ukraine establishes rules of proceedings other than those envisaged by this Code and other laws of Ukraine, the rules of an international treaty shall apply.
3. Proceedings in commercial courts shall be administered in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of an individual procedural action, consideration and resolution of a case.
4. The High Intellectual Property Court shall consider cases within its competence in the manner prescribed by this Code.
Article 4. The right to appeal to the commercial court
1. The right to appeal to the commercial court in the manner prescribed by this Code shall be guaranteed. No one shall be deprived of the right to have their case considered in the commercial court to whose jurisdiction it is assigned by law.
2. Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, individuals who are not entrepreneurs, state bodies and local governments shall have the right to apply to the commercial court to protect their violated, unrecognised or disputed rights and legitimate interests in cases which by law come under the jurisdiction of the commercial court, as well as to take measures defined by law to prevent offences.
3. Persons who have been granted by law the right to apply to the court in the interests of other persons shall also have the right to apply to the commercial court in cases which by law come under its jurisdiction.
4. The waiver of the right to apply to the commercial court shall not be valid.
5. The agreement of the parties on the transfer of a dispute to arbitration (international commercial arbitration) shall be allowed.
Any dispute that meets the requirements defined by the legislation of Ukraine on international commercial arbitration may be transferred to international commercial arbitration by agreement of the parties, except as defined by law.
Any dispute arising from a civil or commercial legal relationship may be transferred to the arbitration court by agreement of the parties, except as provided by law.
6. No person shall be deprived of the right to participate in the consideration of their case in the manner prescribed by law.
1. In administering justice, the commercial court shall protect the rights and interests of individuals and legal entities, state and public interests in the manner prescribed by law or contract.
2. If the law or contract does not define an effective way to protect the violated right or interest of a person appealed to the court, the court in accordance with the claims of such a person may determine in its judgment a remedy that does not contradict the law.
3. The only way to protect the rights of persons who are (were) members of a bank and whose rights and interests were violated as a result of exclusion of an insolvent bank from the market or liquidation of a bank by virtue of illegal individual act of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Individuals, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall be compensation for damage in cash.
{Article 5 has been supplemented with Part 3 under the Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
4. Recognition of an individual act/judgment specified in Part 3 of this Article as illegal shall not constitute grounds for the application of remedies in the form of recognition as invalid, void, illegal and cancellation of any judgments, transactions or other actions/recognition as illegal of inaction, accepted, committed or admitted in the procedure of exclusion of an insolvent bank from the market/liquidation of a bank.
{Article 5 has been supplemented with Part 4 under the Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
Article 6. The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System
1. The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall operate in commercial courts.
2. Claims and other statements, complaints and other procedural documents provided for by law that are submitted to the commercial court and may be the subject of legal proceedings are subject to mandatory registration in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System on the day of receipt of these documents.
3. A judge or a panel of judges (judge-rapporteur) for consideration of a specific case shall be assigned by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System in accordance with the procedure defined by this Code (automated distribution of cases).
4. The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System under the law shall ensure the exchange of documents (sending and receiving documents) in electronic form between the courts, between the court and the trial participants, between the trial participants, as well as the recording of a trial and participation of the trial participants in a court by means of videoconference.
5. The court shall send judgments and other procedural documents to the official e-mail addresses of the trial participants, take other procedural actions in electronic form via the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System in the manner prescribed by this Code and the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
6. The lawyers, notaries, private bailiffs, trustees in bankruptcy, judicial experts, state bodies, local governments, economic entities of state and communal sectors of the economy and persons conducting clearing activities in the meaning given in the Law of Ukraine “On Capital Markets and Organised Commodity Markets” must register official e-mail addresses in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System. Other persons shall register their official e-mail addresses in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System on a voluntary basis.
{Part 6, Article 23 as amended by the Law No. 738-IX of 19 June 2020}
7. The court shall serve to the persons who have registered official e-mail addresses in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System any documents on cases in which such persons participate exclusively in electronic form by sending them to the official e-mail addresses of such persons, which does not deprive their right to receive a copy of a judgment in paper form upon a separate request.
8. Registration in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall not deprive the right to submit documents to the court in paper form.
Persons who have registered official e-mail addresses in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System may submit procedural and other documents, take other procedural actions in electronic form only with the help of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System using their own electronic digital signature equivalent to a handwritten signature in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Digital Signature”, unless otherwise provided by this Code.
Specific aspects of the use of electronic digital signature in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall be determined by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
9. The court shall consider a case on the basis of the case files in electronic form. Procedural and other documents and evidence in paper form shall be converted into electronic form and attached to the materials of the electronic court case not later than three days from the date the court receives them in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
If it is impossible for the court to consider a case in electronic form for technical reasons for more than five days, which may prevent consideration of a case within the time limits established by this Code, the case shall be considered in paper form, for which the case files shall be immediately converted into paper form in the manner established by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
10. Procedural and other documents and evidence in paper form shall be kept in an appendix to a case in the court of first instance and, if necessary, may be reviewed by the case parties or the court of first instance or requested by the court of appeal or cassation after receiving the relevant appeal or cassation appeal.
11. Unauthorised interference in the work of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System and in the automated distribution of cases between the judges shall entail responsibility established by law.
12. The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall be subject to protection with the application of a comprehensive information protection system with verified compliance.
13. The Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall be approved by the High Council of Justice upon recommendation of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine and after consultations with the Council of Judges of Ukraine.
Article 7. Equality before the law and the court
1. Justice in the commercial courts shall be administered on the basis of equality of all legal entities regardless of organisational and legal form, form of ownership, subordination, location, place of establishment and registration, legislation according to which a legal entity was established and other circumstances; equality of all individuals regardless of race, colour, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social background, property status, place of residence, language or other characteristics; equality of individuals and legal entities regardless of any characteristics or circumstances.
Article 8. Publicity of the trial
1. The cases shall be considered in commercial courts orally and openly, except for the cases provided for by this Code.
2. Any person shall have the right to be present at an open court hearing. It is prohibited to require any documents from a person wishing to be present at a court hearing, except for an identity document.
3. Persons wishing to be present at a court hearing shall be admitted to the courtroom before the beginning of a court hearing or during a break.
4. The court may remove from the courtroom persons who obstruct the conduct of a court hearing, the exercise of the rights or performance of duties of the trial participants or a judge, breach the procedure in the courtroom. The court may decide to restrict access to the court hearing of persons who are not trial participants during the quarantine established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine under the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Population against Infectious Diseases” if participation in the court hearing poses a threat to life or health of a person.
{Part 5, Article 8 as amended by the Law No. 540-IX of 30 March 2020}
5. Persons present in the courtroom and members of the media may take photographs, make video and audio recordings in the courtroom using portable video and audio equipment without obtaining a separate judicial authorisation, but subject to restrictions established by this Code.
6. The court hearing may be live-streamed upon judicial authorisation. If all trial participants participate in the court hearing by videoconference, the court meeting must be live-streamed on the Internet.
7. Taking photographs and recording video in the courtroom, as well as live-streaming of the court hearing, shall be carried out so as not to obstruct the conduct of the hearing and the exercise by trial participants of their procedural rights.
8. A case shall be considered in the closed court hearing if the open court hearing may result in the disclosure of confidential or other information protected by law, there is need to protect personal and family life of a person, as well as in other cases established by law.
9. A ruling shall be delivered on the consideration of the case in a closed court hearing. The court may declare the court hearing closed in full or in part.
10. A case shall be considered and certain procedural actions shall be taken in the closed court hearing in compliance with the rules of administering proceedings in commercial courts. Only case parties and, if necessary, witnesses, experts, specialists and interpreters may be present at such a hearing. The court shall warn these persons about the obligation not to disclose information, for the protection of which a case is heard or certain procedural actions are taken in the closed court hearing.
11. The use of video conferencing systems and livestreaming of the court hearing on the Internet in the closed court hearing shall not be allowed.
12. If during the closed court hearing it is established that the information, for the non-disclosure of which the case or particular procedural actions are held closely, is already publicly available, or the restriction of access to information is groundless or inconsistent with the law, the court adopts an order as of the further open court hearing.
13. A case shall be heard in accordance with the written proceedings based on the available case files if this Code does not provide for notification of the case parties. In this case, the court hearing shall not be held.
14. During the consideration of a case in the court hearing, the court shall make a full recording of the hearing by means of video and (or) audio recording equipment, except for the cases provided by this Code. The procedure for such recording shall be established by this Code.
15. Only technical record made by the court in the manner prescribed by this Code shall be the official record of the court hearing.
16. A judgment (full or brief) adopted in the open court hearing shall be publicly announced in accordance with the procedure established by this Code.
17. If the trial was held in the closed court hearing, only the introductory and operative parts of a judgment shall be announced publicly if such parts do not contain information, for the protection of which a case was heard or certain procedural actions were taken in the closed court hearing. If the introductory and (or) operative parts of a judgment contain such information, they shall be declared in the closed court hearing.
18. If the judgment is announced publicly, the trial participants, other persons present in the courtroom and media representatives may take photographs, record video and livestream the announcement of a judgment in the courtroom by radio and television and on the Internet.
Article 9. Openness of case information
1. No one shall be deprived of the right to information on the date, time and venue where their case will be considered or of the right to receive in court oral or written information on the results of the consideration of their case. Any person who is not a party to a case has the right to access judgments in the manner prescribed by law.
2. Persons who did not take part in a case, if the court made a decision on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, who have submitted an appeal or cassation appeal against the relevant judgment, have the right to review the case files, abbreviate them, make copies of the documents attached to a case, receive copies of judgments in the manner prescribed by this Code.
3. Information on the court that considers a case, the parties to a case and the subject of claim, the date of receipt of the statement of claim (complaint) or any other statement or motion in the case, including the person who filed such a claim, the measures taken to secure the claim and (or) evidence, the stage of the case consideration, the venue, date and time of the court hearing, the transfer of a case from one court to another shall be open and is subject to immediate publication on the official web portal of the Ukrainian judiciary in the manner prescribed by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
4. If the court delivers a ruling on the case consideration in the closed court hearing, information on a case shall not be disclosed, except for information on the trial participants, the subject of claim, the date of receipt of the statement of claim, the stage of the case consideration, the venue, date and time of the court hearing, the transfer of a case from one court to another.
5. When disclosing information on a case provided for in Parts 3 and 4 of this Article, the following information shall not be disclosed:
1) place of residence or stay of individuals with address, telephone numbers or other means of communication, e-mail address, taxpayer identification numbers, details of identity documents, unique record numbers in the Unified State Demographic Register;
2) registration numbers of vehicles;
3) bank account numbers, payment card numbers;
4) information, for the protection of which a case was considered or the certain procedural actions were taken in the closed court hearing.
Such information shall be replaced with alphanumeric symbols.
Article 10. Language of commercial proceedings
1. Commercial proceedings in the courts shall be administered in the state language.
2. The courts shall ensure equality of rights of trial participants regardless of the language.
3. Courts shall use the state language in judicial proceedings and guarantee the right of trial participants to use in court their native language or the language they speak.
4. The trial participants who are not proficient or insufficiently proficient in the state language have the right to make statements, provide explanations, appear in court and put motions in their native language or the language they speak using the services of an interpreter in the manner established by this Code.
Article 11. Rule of law and sources of law applied by the court
1. When considering a case, the court shall be guided by the principle of the rule of law.
2. The court shall consider cases in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, laws of Ukraine, international treaties that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine agrees are binding.
3. The court shall apply other regulatory acts adopted by the relevant body on the basis, within the powers and in the manner prescribed by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
4. When considering cases, the court shall apply the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the protocols thereto ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights as a source of law.
5. The court shall apply the rules of law of other states if it is provided for by the law of Ukraine or an international treaty that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine agrees is binding.
6. If the court concludes that a law or other legal act contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine, the court shall not apply such law or other legal act, but shall apply the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine as norms of direct effect.
In this case, after approval of the case judgment, the court appeals to the Supreme Court to resolve an issue of submitting to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine a petition concerning the constitutionality of a law or other legal act, the resolve of an issue concerning constitutionality of which falls within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.
7. In case of non-compliance of a legal act with a legal act of higher legal force, the court shall apply the norms of a legal act of higher legal force.
8. In case of non-compliance of a legal act with an international treaty that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine agrees is binding, the court shall apply the international treaty of Ukraine.
9. If the disputed relationship, including that with the participation of a foreign entity, is not governed by law, the court shall apply the customs that are used in business conduct.
10. If the disputed relationship is not governed by law and there is no custom of business conduct that can be applied to them, the court shall apply the law governing such relations (analogy of statute) or proceeds on the basis of the general principles and content of law (analogy of law) in the absence of such a law.
11. Denial of justice on the grounds of incompleteness, ambiguity, inconsistency or absence of legislation governing the disputed relationship shall be prohibited.
Article 12. Forms of commercial proceedings
1. Commercial proceedings shall be administered according to the rules provided for in this Code in accordance with the procedures of:
2) action proceedings (general or simplified).
2. The writ proceedings are intended for consideration of cases upon applications for recovering insignificant amount of money, which are undisputed or the applicant is not aware of their existence.
3. Simplified action proceedings are intended for consideration of insignificant cases, minor cases and other cases, for which prompt case resolution is the priority.
The general action proceedings are intended for consideration of cases, the consideration of which is inexpedient in the simplified action proceedings due to complexity or other circumstances.
4. The conditions, under which the court has the right to consider claims for recovery of money in writ proceedings and cases in general or simplified action proceedings, shall be determined by this Code.
5. For the purposes of this Code, insignificant cases are:
1) cases whose cost of claim does not exceed one hundred times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons;
2) minor cases recognised by the court as insignificant, except for cases that are subject to consideration only under the rules of general action proceedings and cases in which the cost of claim does not exceed five hundred times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons.
6. Commercial courts shall consider bankruptcy cases in the manner prescribed by this Code for action proceedings, taking into account the specific aspects established by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
7. For the purposes of this Code, the subsistence level for able-bodied persons shall be calculated as of 1 January of the calendar year, in which the relevant application or complaint is filed, a procedural action is taken or a judgment is made.
Article 13. Adversarial character of the parties
1. Judicial proceedings in commercial courts shall be conducted on the basis of adversarial character of the parties.
2. The parties to a case shall have equal rights to exercise all procedural rights and obligations provided for in this Code.
3. Each party shall prove the circumstances relevant to a case and to which it refers as a basis of its claims or objections, except as provided for by the law.
4. Each party bears the risk of implications associated with the commission or non-commission of procedural actions.
5. While maintaining objectivity and impartiality, the court shall:
1) govern the trial procedure;
2) promote the settlement of a dispute by reaching an agreement between the parties;
3) if necessary, explain to the trial participants their procedural rights and obligations, the implications of commission or non-commission of procedural actions;
4) assist trial participants in exercising their rights provided for by this Code;
5) prevent the abuse by the trial participants of their rights and take measures to fulfil their obligations.
Article 14. Discretionary nature of commercial proceedings
1. The court shall consider cases only upon an application of a person filed in accordance with this Code within their claims and on the basis of evidence submitted by the case parties or required by the court in the cases provided for by this Code. The collection of evidence in commercial cases shall not be the responsibility of the court, except as provided for by this Code.
2. The trial participant disposes of their rights in relation to the subject of a dispute at their own discretion. Persons in whose interests the claims have been filed also have this right, except for those persons who do not have legal capacity.
Article 15. Pro rata principle in commercial proceedings
1. The court shall determine, within the limits established by this Code, the procedure for administering proceedings in accordance with the pro rata principle, taking into account: the tasks of commercial proceedings; ensuring of a reasonable balance between private and public interests; specific aspects of the subject of a dispute; cost of claim; case complexity; importance of the case consideration for the parties, time required to take certain actions, amount of court costs associated with the relevant procedural actions, etc.
1. The case parties shall have the right to legal aid.
2. Representation in court, as a type of legal aid, shall be carried out exclusively by a lawyer (professional legal assistance), except in cases established by law.
Article 17. The right to case review and appeal of the court judgment
1. The trial participants, as well as persons who did not participate in a trial, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) responsibilities, shall have the right to appeal the case and, in cases defined by law, to appeal the judgment.
2. Cassation claim against the judgment of the court of first instance without its appellate review shall not be allowed.
Article 18. The binding nature of court judgments
1. The judgments that have entered into force are binding on all government authorities, local governments, their officials and employees, individuals and legal entities and their associations throughout Ukraine.
2. Failure to comply with a judgment shall be the basis for liability established by law.
3. The binding nature of a judgment shall not deprive persons who did not participate in a case of the opportunity to apply to court if the judgment resolved an issue of their rights or interests.
Article 19. The main provisions of the pre-trial dispute settlement
1. The parties shall take measures for the pre-trial dispute settlement by mutual agreement or in cases where such measures are required by law.
2. Persons who have violated the rights and legitimate interests of other parties shall restore them without waiting for a claim or lawsuit.
§ 1. Subject jurisdiction of commercial courts
Article 20. Cases related to the jurisdiction of commercial courts
1. Commercial courts shall consider cases in disputes arising in connection with the conduct of economic activities (except for cases provided for in Part 2 of this Article) and other cases specified by law, in particular:
1) cases in disputes arising from the conclusion, amending, termination and execution of transactions in economic activities, except for transactions, in which an individual is a not an entrepreneur, as well as in disputes concerning transactions concluded to ensure the fulfilment of obligations, the parties to which are legal entities and (or) individual entrepreneurs;
2) cases in disputes concerning the privatisation of property, except for disputes over the privatisation of the state housing stock;
3) cases in disputes arising from corporate relations, including disputes between participants (founders, shareholders, members) of a legal entity or between a legal entity and its participant (founder, shareholder, member), including a terminated participant, related to the establishment, activities, management or termination of such a legal entity, except for labour disputes;
4) cases in disputes arising from transactions concerning shares, stakes, stock, other corporate rights in a legal entity, except for transactions in family and inheritance relations;
5) cases in disputes concerning securities, including those related to rights to securities and rights arising from them, issue, placement, circulation and redemption of securities, accounting for rights to securities, obligations under securities, except for debt securities owned by an individual who is not an entrepreneur and promissory notes used in tax and customs relations;
6) cases in disputes concerning the right of ownership or other real rights to property (real and personal, including land), registration or accounting of rights to property, which (rights to which) are the subject of dispute, invalidation of acts violating such rights, except for disputes, to which an individual who is not an entrepreneur is a party, and disputes concerning the seizure of property for public needs or for reasons of public necessity, as well as cases in disputes over property that is the subject of securing an obligation, the parties to which are legal entities and (or) individual entrepreneurs;
7) cases in disputes arising from relations related to the protection of economic competition, restriction of monopoly in economic activities, protection against unfair competition, including in disputes related to appeals against the judgments of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine, as well as cases filed by the bodies of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine on issues referred by law to their competence, except for disputes referred to the jurisdiction of the High Intellectual Property Court;
8) bankruptcy cases and cases in disputes with property claims against the debtor, in respect of which bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated, including cases in disputes on invalidation of any transactions (agreements) concluded by the debtor; recovery of wages; reinstatement of officials and employees of the debtor, except for disputes over the definition and payment (recovery) of monetary obligations (tax debt) determined in accordance with the Tax Code of Ukraine, as well as disputes over the invalidation of transactions at the request of the supervisory authority defined by the Tax Code of Ukraine;
9) cases on approval of plans to financial recovery of the debtor before initiating bankruptcy proceedings;
10) cases in disputes concerning appeals against acts (judgments) of economic entities and their bodies, officials and employees in the field of organisation and conducting economic activities, except for acts (judgments) of authorities adopted to exercise their managerial functions, as well as disputes, to which an individual who is not an entrepreneur is a party;
11) cases on appeals against judgments of arbitration courts and on issuance of an order for enforcement of arbitration judgments made in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Courts of Arbitration” if such judgments are made in disputes defined in this Article;
12) cases in disputes between a legal entity and its employee (including an employee whose powers have been terminated) on compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by action (inaction) of such an employee at the request of the owner (participant, shareholder) of such a legal entity filed in its interests;
13) requirements for registration of property and property rights, other registration activities, invalidation of acts violating property rights, if such requirements are derived from a dispute over such property or property rights or a dispute arising from corporate relations, if this dispute is subject to consideration in the commercial court and transferred to its consideration together with such requirements;
14) cases in disputes concerning the protection of business reputation, except for disputes, to which an individual who is not an entrepreneur or an individual entrepreneur is a party;
15) other cases in disputes between business entities;
16) cases on applications for the issuance of a court order if an applicant and a debtor are a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur;
17) cases arising from the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of agreements concluded within the framework of public-private partnership, including concession agreements, except for disputes, which are considered as part of other proceedings.
{Part 1 of Article 20 has been supplemented with Clause 17 under Law No.155-IX of 03 October 2019}
2. The High Intellectual Property Court shall consider cases concerning intellectual property rights, in particular:
1) cases in disputes concerning the rights to invention, utility model, industrial design, trademark (trademark for goods and services), commercial name and other intellectual property rights, including the right to prior use;
2) cases in disputes concerning registration, accounting of intellectual property rights, invalidation, renewal, early termination of patents, certificates, other acts certifying such right or on the basis of which such rights arise, or which violate such rights or related legal interests;
3) cases concerning recognition of a trademark as well known;
4) cases in disputes concerning copyright and related rights, including disputes concerning collective management of the author's proprietary rights and related rights;
5) cases in disputes concerning the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of an agreement on the disposal of intellectual property rights, commercial concession;
6) cases in disputes arising from relations related to protection against unfair competition concerning: illegal use of markings or goods of another manufacturer; copying of product appearance; collection, disclosure and use of trade secrets; appeal against the judgments of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine on the issues specified in this Paragraph.
Article 21. Jurisdiction of commercial courts over several interconnected claims
1. It shall not be allowed to combine several claims into one proceeding, which are subject to consideration as part of different proceedings, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
Article 22. The right of the parties to refer the dispute to arbitration court, international commercial arbitration
1. A dispute falling within the jurisdiction of the commercial court may be referred by the parties to the arbitration court or to the international commercial arbitration, except for the following:
1) disputes on invalidation of acts, disputes on state registration or recording of rights to immovable property, rights to intellectual property, rights to securities, as well as disputes arising from the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of public procurement contracts, taking into account Part two of this Article;
2) disputes provided for in Paragraphs 2, 3, 7–13 of Part 1, Paragraphs 2, 3, 6, Part 2 of Article 20 of this Code, taking into account Part two of this Article;
3) other disputes which may not be referred to arbitration court or international commercial arbitration in accordance with the law.
2. Disputes provided for in Paragraph 3, Part 1 of Article 20 of this Code arising from the contract may be referred to international commercial arbitration only by virtue of an arbitration agreement concluded between a legal entity and all its participants.
Civil law aspects of disputes specified in Paragraphs 2, 7, Part 1, Paragraph 6, Part 2 of Article 20 of this Code, disputes arising from the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of public procurement contracts may be referred to international commercial arbitration.
3. Any inaccuracies in the text of an agreement on the transfer of a dispute to arbitration court, international commercial arbitration and (or) doubts regarding its validity and enforceability must be interpreted by the court in favour of its validity and enforceability.
4. The judgment of the arbitral court, international commercial arbitration may be appealed (disputed) in the manner prescribed by law.
Article 23. The right of the parties to refer the dispute to a foreign court
1. In cases established by law or an international treaty that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine agrees is binding, a dispute falling within the jurisdiction of a commercial court may be referred by agreement of the parties to a court of another state.
Article 24. Court of first instance
1. All cases to be settled in commercial proceedings shall be considered by local commercial courts as courts of first instance, except for the cases specified in Parts 2 and 3 of this Article.
2. Cases on appeal of judgments of arbitration courts, on issuance of orders on enforcement of judgments of arbitration courts shall be considered by the appellate commercial courts as courts of first instance at the venue of proceedings administered by the arbitration court.
3. The High Intellectual Property Court shall consider cases in disputes specified in Part 2 of Article 20 of this Code as a court of first instance.
1. The appellate commercial courts shall review on appeal the judgments of local commercial courts located within the relevant appellate circuit (territory to which the powers of the relevant commercial court of appeal apply).
2. The Supreme Court shall review on appeal the judgments of the commercial courts of appeal rendered by them as courts of first instance.
3. The Appeals Chamber of the High Intellectual Property Court shall review on appeal the judgments adopted by the High Intellectual Property Court.
Article 26. Court of cassation
1. The Supreme Court shall review through the appeal procedure the judgments adopted by the courts of appeal as the courts of first instance.
Article 27. Filing a claim at the location or place of residence of the defendant
1. A claim shall be filed to the commercial court at the location or place of residence of the defendant, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
2. For the purposes of determining the jurisdiction under this Code, the location of a legal entity and an individual entrepreneur shall be determined in accordance with the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Associations.
3. For the purposes of determining the jurisdiction under this Code, the place of residence of an individual who is not an entrepreneur shall be the place of their residence or stay registered in accordance with the procedure established by law.
Article 28. Jurisdiction of cases, in which one of the parties is a court or a judge
1. The jurisdiction of a commercial case, in which one of the parties is a commercial court or a judge of a commercial court, to which the case falls under the general rules, shall be determined by a decision of a court of higher instance delivered without notice to the parties.
2. The jurisdiction of cases, in which one of the parties is the Supreme Court, shall be determined by the general rules of the jurisdiction.
Article 29. Jurisdiction of cases at the claimant's choice
1. The right to choose among the commercial courts, within the jurisdiction of which a case falls under this Article, shall belong to a plaintiff, except for the exclusive jurisdiction established by Article 30 of this Code.
2. Claims in disputes involving several defendants may be filed to the commercial court at the location or place of residence of one of the defendants.
3. Claims in disputes arising from the activities of a branch or a representative office of a legal entity, as well as a separate structural unit of a public authority without the status of a legal entity may also be filed at their location.
{Part 3 of Article 29 as amended by Law No. 440-IX of 14 January 2020}
4. Claims to the claimant concerning recognition of the notary's executive writ as unenforceable or for the return of the notary's fee collected under the executive writ may also be filed at the place of its execution.
5. Claims in disputes arising from contracts, in which the place of performance is determined or which due to their specifics can be performed only in a certain place may also be filed at the place of performance of these contracts.
6. Claims against a defendant, whose place of registration or residence is unknown, shall be filed at the location of the defendant's property or at the last known registered place of residence or stay or their permanent activity.
7. Claims for damages caused by claim protection measures may also be filed at the place of application of claim protection measures (to the court that applied the relevant measures).
8. Claims for damages to property may also be filed at the place of damage.
9. Claims for compensation for damage caused by a collision of vessels, as well as for recovery of compensation for rescue at sea, may also be filed at the location of the defendant's vessel or the port of registration of the vessel.
10. Claims against a defendant who does not have a location or place of residence in Ukraine may be filed at the location of their property.
Article 30. Exclusive jurisdiction of cases
1. Disputes arising from the cargo transportation agreement, if one of the defendants is the carrier, shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of the carrier.
2. Cases of arrest of a vessel executed to secure a maritime claim shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a seaport of Ukraine, in which the vessel is located or to which it is heading, or the port of registration of a vessel.
3. Disputes arising regarding immovable property shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a property or its main part. If interconnected claims are filed against several objects of immovable property simultaneously, the dispute shall be considered at the location of an object with the highest value.
4. Disputes over the rights to sea and air vessels, inland navigation vessels, space objects shall be resolved by the commercial court at the place of their state registration.
5. Disputes, in which a defendant is the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a ministry or other central executive authority, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Accounting Chamber, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, Kyiv and Sevastopol city councils and oblast, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, as well as cases, the materials of which contain a state secret, shall be considered by a local commercial court, the jurisdiction of which extends to the city of Kyiv, regardless of other grounds for exclusive jurisdiction of such a dispute to another commercial court.
{Part 5 of Article 30 as amended by the Law No. 469-IX of 15 January 2020}
6. Disputes arising from corporate relations, including disputes between the participants (founders, shareholders, members) of a legal entity or between a legal entity and its participant (founder, shareholder, member), including a terminated participant, related to the establishment, activities, management or termination of such a legal entity, except for labour disputes, as well as disputes arising from transactions concerning corporate rights (except for shares) in a legal entity, shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a legal entity.
7. Disputes between a legal entity and its official (including an official whose powers have been terminated) on compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by the actions (inaction) of its official shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a legal entity.
8. Disputes related to the issuance, placement or redemption of securities shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of an issuer.
9. Cases provided for in Paragraphs 8 and 9, Part 1 of Article 20 of this Code shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a debtor.
10. A counter-claim and a claim of a third party declaring independent claims on the subject of a dispute, regardless of their jurisdiction, shall be filed to the commercial court at the venue of the original claim. This rule shall not apply in cases, when, in accordance with the other rules of exclusive jurisdiction set out in this Article, such a claim is to be considered by a court other than the one considering the original claim.
11. In case of combining claims concerning the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of a transaction with claims concerning another transaction concluded to secure the main obligation, the dispute shall be considered by the commercial court at the location of a defendant, who is a party to the main obligation.
12. Requirements for registration of property and property rights, other registration actions, if the consideration of such claims falls within the jurisdiction of the commercial court, shall be considered by the commercial court determined by the rules of jurisdiction for a dispute, from which such claims derive.
Article 31. Transfer of cases from one court to another court
1. The court shall transfer a case to another court in the following cases:
1) a case belongs to the territorial jurisdiction of another court;
2) it is impossible to form a new court for consideration of a case after satisfaction of recusals (self-recusals) or on other grounds;
3) the work of the court that considered a case has been liquidated or terminated on the grounds specified by law.
2. A case received by a court for its proceedings in compliance with the rules of jurisdiction shall be considered by it also in the case when during the consideration of a case it became subject to the jurisdiction of another court, except for cases when due to changes in the composition of defendants the case is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of another court.
3. A case shall be transferred to another court under the jurisdiction established by this Code on the grounds provided for in Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article by virtue of a judgment no later than five days after the expiration of the period for appeal, and in case of filing a claim – no later than five days after dismissing it.
4. A case shall be transferred on the grounds provided for in Paragraph 2, Part 1 of this Article by virtue of an order of the chairperson of the court for consideration by the commercial court related to that court.
5. In case of liquidation or termination of the court, the cases that were in its proceedings shall be immediately transferred to the court determined by the relevant law or judgment on termination of the court, and if such court is not determined – to the court closest to the court that was liquidated or the work of which was terminated.
6. Disputes between the courts concerning jurisdiction shall not be allowed.
7. A case transferred from one court to another in accordance with the procedure established by this Article shall be received for proceedings by the court, to which it is sent.
8. A case, in which one of the parties is a court, to the jurisdiction of which the case falls under the general rules, or a judge of this court, not later than five days from the date of receipt of a statement of claim shall be transferred to the court of higher instance to determine jurisdiction.
9. The rules established by Parts 1, 3 and 8 of this Article shall also apply to the High Intellectual Property Court.
Chapter 3. Composition of the court. Recusals
Article 32. Determining the composition of the commercial court
1. A judge and, in the case of a panel hearing, a judge-rapporteur to consider a particular case shall be appointed by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System during the registration of documents specified in Part 2, Article 6 of this Code, as well as in cases of determining the composition of the court at any stage of a trial, taking into account the specialisation and uniform workload of each judge on a random basis and in chronological order of receipt of cases.
2. A case, which according to this Code is considered by the panel of judges on a mandatory basis, shall be considered by the permanent panel of judges of the relevant court, which shall include a judge-rapporteur determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
3. The personal composition of the permanent panels of judges shall be determined by the conference of judges of the relevant court.
4. The joint chamber shall consist of two judges elected by the conference of judges of the Commercial Court of Cassation from each of the judicial chambers of the Commercial Court of Cassation and the chairperson of the Commercial Court of Cassation.
5. If the case is to be considered by a panel comprising more than three judges, such panel shall consist of judges from the permanent panel of judges, which includes the judge-rapporteur determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System and a judge additionally determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
6. If the case is to be considered in the Supreme Court by a panel of judges in the relevant chamber, the judge presiding on the conferences of a panel shall be a judge-rapporteur determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System during the initial distribution of cases.
7. If a case shall be considered by a judge individually, but this Code provides for the possibility of consideration of such a case by a panel of judges and a judgment was adopted on this, such a case shall be considered in a court of first instance by a panel of judges that includes a judge determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System during automated distribution of cases and two judges additionally determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System after the judgment is adopted on the consideration of a case by the panel of judges.
8. In the case provided for in Part 7 of this Article, the judge-rapporteur and the presiding judge in the panel shall be a judge determined by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System during automated distribution of cases.
9. Unresolved court cases by a reasoned order of the chief of the court's staff attached to a case file shall be transferred for automated re-distribution of cases only if a judge (if a case is considered alone) or a judge-rapporteur from the panel of judges (if a case is considered by the panel of judges) in cases provided for by the law may not continue the consideration of a case for more than fourteen days, which may impede the consideration of a case within the time limits established by this Code.
10. For each permanent panel of judges, the conference of judges of the relevant court shall appoint substitute judges for a term of one year.
If a judge who is not a judge-rapporteur in a case from a panel of judges cannot continue to consider such a case, which may impede the consideration of a case within the time limits established by this Code, such a judge shall be replaced at the initiative of a judge-rapporteur by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System by one of the substitute judges.
11. If it is impossible to replace a judge terminated from among substitute judges, they shall be replace by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System in accordance with the procedure provided for in Part 1 of this Article.
A judge appointed to replace a terminated judge shall consider in the panel of judges all unresolved cases considered by such panel of judges, as well as cases, which due to the absence of a substitute judge cannot be considered within the time limits established by this Code.
12. The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall not be used to determine a judge (composition of a panel of judges, if the case is considered by one) to consider a particular case only in circumstances that objectively make its work impossible and last more than five working days.
13. A case initiated by a single judge or a panel of judges shall be considered by the same judge or panel of judges, except in cases that make it impossible for a judge to participate in the case consideration, as well as other cases provided for by this Code.
14. In the event of a change in the composition of the court at the stage of preparatory proceedings, consideration of a case shall begin at the beginning, except as provided for by this Code.
In the event of a change in the composition of the court at the stage of consideration of a case on the merits, the court shall reopen the consideration of the case on the merits again, unless the court decides to reopen the preparatory proceedings.
15. An application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered circumstances shall be considered by the same composition of the court that adopted the judgment under review if the case was considered by a judge alone or as a member of a panel of judges. If it is impossible to form such a court, a judge or a panel of judges shall be determined under the procedure established by Part 1 of this Article to consider an application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered circumstances.
An application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered circumstances shall be considered by a chamber, a joint chamber or the Grand Chamber if the judgment under review is adopted by the chamber, the joint chamber or the Grand Chamber, respectively.
16. The results of the automated distribution (re-distribution) of a case shall be recorded in a protocol.
17. The protocol should contain the following information:
1) date, time of beginning and end of automated distribution;
2) number of a court case, category and coefficient of its complexity, name (title) of the parties to a case;
3) information on determining the list of judges to participate (grounds, on which judges do not participate) in the automated distribution; information on the appointment of a judge, a judge-rapporteur;
4) grounds for the implementation of automated distribution (automated re-distribution);
5) last name, initials and position of the authorised person of the court staff responsible for the implementation of automated distribution of court cases.
18. A copy of such a protocol in electronic or paper form shall be signed by the authorised persons of the court staff and issued (sent) to the interested person no later than on the next day after the submission of the relevant application to the court.
19. Specifics of the division of court cases shall be established by the Regulation on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
Article 33. Consideration by a judge alone or a panel of judges
1. Cases shall be considered in the courts of first instance by a judge alone, except in cases specified by this Code.
Any case subject to the jurisdiction of the court of first instance, depending on the category and complexity of a case, may be considered by a panel comprising three judges, except for cases that are considered in writ and simplified proceedings.
2. Cases shall be considered in the High Intellectual Property Court by a panel of three judges.
3. Appellate review of judgments of the courts of first instance shall be carried out by a panel of judges of the court of appellate instance consisting of three judges.
4. The review of judgments of the courts of first and appellate instances shall be carried out by a panel of judges of the court of cassation comprising three or more odd number of judges.
5. In the cases specified by this Code, the judgments by the court of cassation shall be reviewed by the judicial chamber of the Commercial Court of Cassation (chamber), the joint chamber of the Commercial Court of Cassation (joint chamber) or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court (Grand Chamber).
6. A hearing of the chamber in the court of cassation shall be deemed quorate provided that more than half of its members are present.
7. A session of the joint chamber or the Grand Chamber shall be deemed quorate if at least two-thirds of its members are present.
8. The judgments shall be reviewed due to newly-discovered circumstances by the court in the same quantitative composition, in which these judgments were adopted (by a judge alone or a panel of judges).
9. Irrespective of the composition, in which a case was considered, the judgments shall be reviewed in exceptional circumstances by a panel of three or more odd number of judges on the grounds specified in Paragraphs 1, 3, Part 3 of Article 320 of this Code and by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court on the grounds specified in Paragraph 2, Part 3 of Article 320.
10. If a case is to be considered by a judge alone, but this Code provides for the possibility of consideration of such a case by a panel of judges, the issue of holding a panel session shall be decided before the end of a preparatory meeting on a case (before the consideration of a case if a preparatory meeting is not held) upon its own initiative or at the request of a party to a case, on which a ruling shall be delivered.
11. The issue of consideration of a case by a panel of more than three judges shall be resolved by a panel of judges determined in accordance with the procedure established by Part 2, Article 32 of this Code prior to consideration of a case, taking into account the category and complexity of a case, on which a ruling shall be delivered.
Article 34. Procedure for resolving issues in the consideration of a case by a panel of judges
1. Issues arising during the consideration of a case by a panel of judges shall be resolved by a majority vote of the judges. Presiding judge shall be the last to vote.
2. When adopting a judgment on each issue, none of the judges shall have the right to refrain from voting and signing a judgment or a ruling. Judges shall not have the right to disclose opinions expressed in the deliberation room.
3. A judge who does not agree with a judgment may express their dissenting opinion in writing. The case parties shall be notified of the existence of a dissenting opinion without announcing its content at a court hearing. A dissenting opinion shall enter into the case file and shall be open for review.
Article 35. Grounds for recusal (self-recusal) of a judge
1. A judge may not consider a case and shall be subject to recusal (self-recusal) in the following cases:
1) they are a family member or a close relative (husband, wife, father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, adoptive parent or adopted child, guardian or trustee, a family member or a close relative of these persons) of the party or other participants in the proceedings, or persons who provided legal aid to the party or other participants in a case, or another judge who is a member of the court that considers a case;
2) they participated in a case as a witness, expert, specialist, interpreter, representative, lawyer, secretary of the court hearing or provided legal assistance to the party or other participants in any case;
3) they are directly or indirectly interested in the outcome of a case;
4) the procedure for appointing a judge to consider a case was violated;
5) there are other circumstances that cast doubt on the impartiality or objectivity of a judge.
2. A judge shall also be subject to recusal (self-recusal) under circumstances established by Article 36 of this Code.
3. The court shall not include persons who are family members, relatives of each other or relatives of the spouses.
4. Disagreement of a party with procedural judgments of a judge, judgment or dissenting opinion of a judge in other cases, publicly expressed opinion of a judge on a particular legal issue shall not constitute grounds for recusal.
Article 36. Inadmissibility of a judge's participation in a case they have already considered
1. A judge who participated in the case consideration by the court of first instance shall not participate in the consideration of the same case in the courts of appeal and cassation, as well as in a new case consideration by the court of first instance after cancellation of a judgment or an order to close the proceedings in a case.
2. A judge who participated in the settlement of a dispute in a case involving a judge shall not take part in the consideration of a case on the merits or in the review of any judgment adopted therein.
3. A judge who participated in the case consideration by the court of appeal shall not participate in the consideration of the same case by the courts of cassation or first instance, as well as in a new case consideration following the cancellation of a judgment of the court of appeal.
4. A judge who participated in the case review by the court of cassation shall not participate in the consideration of this case by the court of first or appellate instance, as well as in its new consideration following the cancellation of a decision of the court of cassation.
5. A judge who participated in the case consideration, in which the judgment was subsequently cancelled by a court of higher instance, shall not participate in the consideration of an application for review of a judgment in this case due to newly-discovered circumstances.
6. A judge who participated in the case consideration by the court of first, appellate, cassation instances shall not participate in the consideration of an application for review of a judgment due to exceptional circumstances in this case.
Article 37. Grounds for recusal (self-recusal) of a court secretary, expert, specialist, interpreter
A secretary, expert, specialist, interpreter of the court hearing shall not participate in the consideration of a case and shall be subject to recusal (self-recusal) on the grounds specified in Article 35 of this Code.
2. An expert, specialist, interpreter shall not participate in the consideration of a case if they were or are in official or other dependence on the trial participants.
3. The participation of a secretary of a court hearing, expert, specialist, interpreter in a court hearing during the preliminary consideration of a case, respectively as a secretary of a court hearing, expert, specialist, interpreter shall not constitute ground for their recusal.
Article 38. Statements of self-recusals and recusals
1. On the grounds specified in Articles 35, 36 and 37 of this Code, a judge, secretary of a court hearing, expert, specialist, interpreter must recuse themselves.
2. On the grounds specified in Articles 35, 36 and 37 of this Code, a judge, secretary of a court hearing, expert, specialist, interpreter shall be recused by the trial participants.
3. The recusal shall be motivated and declared within ten days from the date of receipt by a case party of a resolution on commencement of proceedings, but not later on than the beginning of a preparatory hearing or the first court hearing, if a case is considered in accordance with the simplified action proceedings. Self-recusal shall be declared no later than on the beginning of a preparatory meeting or the first court hearing, if the case is considered in accordance with the simplified action proceedings.
Upon expiration of the specified period, recusal (self-recusal) shall be allowed only in exceptional cases when the grounds for recusal (self-recusal) could not be known to an applicant before the expiration of the specified period, but not later than two days from the day such grounds became known to an applicant.
4. The establishment of the circumstances specified in Paragraphs 1–4, Part 1, Article 35 of this Code, Article 36 of this Code, release an applicant from the obligation to provide other proof of impartiality of a judge for the purposes of recusal.
5. If the recusal is declared again on the grounds considered earlier, the court that considers a case shall leave such application without consideration.
Article 39. The procedure for resolving the declared recusal and self-recusal
1. The issue of recusal (self-recusal) of a judge shall be resolved both before and after the commencement of proceedings.
2. The issue of recusal of a judge shall be resolved by the court that considers a case. The court shall satisfy the recusal if it concludes that it is justified.
3. If the court concludes that the recusal is unjustified and the application for such recusal was received by the court three working days (or earlier) before the next session, the issue on recusal shall be resolved by a judge who is not a member of the court that considers a case, and is defined in the manner prescribed by Part 1, Article 32 of this Code. A recusal of such a judge shall not be declared.
If the application for recusal of a judge is received by the court later than three working days before the next hearing, such an application shall not be referred for consideration to another judge, and the issue of recusal of a judge shall be resolved by the court that considers a case.
{Part 3, Article 39 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
4. If the issue of recusal of a judge in the manner prescribed by Part 3 of this Article cannot be resolved by the court that considers a case, the case for recusal shall be referred to the court of the relevant instance closest to that court.
5. If at the time of submitting an application for recusal less than three judges administer justice in the court, the issue of recusal shall be resolved in the deliberation room by a judge who considers a case or performs another procedural action, on which a ruling shall be delivered. In such case the provisions of Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article shall not apply.
6. The issue of recusal of a judge of the Grand Chamber shall not be referred to another judge and shall be resolved by the Grand Chamber.
{Part 6, Article 39 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
7. The issue of recusal shall be resolved immediately. The issue of recusal by a judge who is not a member of the court shall be resolved within two working days, but not later than the scheduled trial. In the case of consideration of the application for recusal by a judge of another court, it shall be resolved not later than ten days from the date of receipt of the application for recusal. A recusal received not during the court hearing shall be considered by the court in accordance with the written procedures.
{Part 7, Article 39 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
8. The court shall resolve the issue of recusal without notifying the trial participants. At the initiative of the court, the issue of recusal may be resolved at a court hearing with the notification of the trial participants. Failure by the trial participants to attend a court hearing, in which the issue of recusal is being resolved, shall not prevent the court from considering the issue of recusal.
9. The issue of self-recusal of a judge shall be resolved in the deliberation room by a ruling of the court that considers a case.
10. The issue of recusal of a secretary of a court hearing, expert, specialist, interpreter shall be resolved by the composition of the court that considers a case. The court that considers an application for recusal shall hear a person against whom the recusal has been filed if they wish to provide an explanation, as well as the opinion of the case parties. Failure by a person against whom the recusal has been filed to attend a court hearing, in which the issue of recusal is being resolved, shall not prevent the court from considering the issue of recusal.
11. Based on the outcome of the resolution of an application for recusal, the court shall deliver a ruling.
Article 40. Implications of court (judge) recusal
1. If an application for recusal of a judge who considers a case alone is satisfied, a case shall be considered in the same court by another judge who shall be determined in accordance with the procedure established by Article 32 of this Code.
2. If one or more judges who consider a case in a panel are satisfied, a case shall be considered in the same court by the same panel of judges with the replacement of the recused judge or judges or by another panel of judges determined in accordance with Article 32 of this Code.
3. If after satisfaction of recusals (self-recusals) or due to the grounds specified in Article 36 of this Code it is impossible to form a new court for consideration of a case, a case shall be referred to another court determined in accordance with this Code.
Article 41. The composition of case parties
1. In cases of action proceedings, the trial participants include the parties and third parties.
2. When considering the claims in the writ proceedings, the case parties include an applicant and a debtor.
3. Bodies and persons authorised by law to apply to the court in the interests of other persons may also participate in trials.
4. In cases of appeal against a judgment of the arbitral tribunal and the issuance of an order for enforcement of a judgment of the arbitral tribunal, the trial participants include participants in the arbitration, as well as persons who did not participate in the arbitration, if the arbitral tribunal adopted a judgment on their rights and/or obligations.
5. In bankruptcy cases, the composition of trial participants shall be determined by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
Article 42. Rights and responsibilities of case parties
1. The case parties shall have the right to:
1) review the case files, abbreviate them, make duplicates, receive duplicates of judgments;
2) submit evidence; participate in court hearing, unless otherwise provided by law; participate in the examination of evidence; ask questions to other case parties, as well as witnesses, experts, specialists;
3) submit applications and petitions, provide explanations to the court, provide their arguments, considerations on issues that arise during a trial, as well as objections to the applications, petitions, arguments and considerations of other persons;
4) review the minutes of a court hearing, record a court hearing by technical means, make copies of them, submit written comments on their inaccuracy or incompleteness;
5) appeal against judgments in cases specified by law;
6) use other procedural rights defined by law.
1) show respect to the court and to other trial participants;
2) promote the timely, comprehensive, complete and objective establishment of all the case circumstances;
3) appear in court upon its summon, if their appearance is recognised by the court as mandatory;
4) submit all available evidence in the manner and within the time limits established by law or the court, not to hide the evidence;
5) provide the court with full and reliable explanations on issues raised by the court, as well as the participants in a court hearing;
6) perform procedural actions within the time limits established by law or the court;
7) perform other procedural duties determined by law or the court.
3. If a case party fail to fulfil his/her obligations, the court shall apply to such a case party the procedural coercion measures provided for by this Code.
4. The guilty persons shall bear the responsibility established by law for misleading the court regarding the factual circumstances of a case.
5. Documents (including procedural documents, written and electronic evidence, etc.) may be submitted to the court, and procedural actions may be performed by the trial participants in electronic form using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System, except as provided for by this Code.
6. Procedural documents in electronic form shall be submitted by the trial participants using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System by filling in the forms of procedural documents in accordance with the Regulation on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
7. If this Code stipulates the obligation of a trial participant to send copies of documents to other trial participants, such documents shall be sent to these persons using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System in electronic form, unless the other party does not have an official e-mail address.
8. If the documents are submitted by the case parties to the court or sent to other case parties in electronic form, such documents shall be sent with the electronic digital signature of a case party (their representative).
If the documents are submitted by the case parties to the court or sent to other case parties in paper form, such documents shall be sent with the handwritten signature of a case party (their representative).
9. If a claim, appeal, cassation appeal is filed to the court in electronic form, a plaintiff, a person who filed an appeal shall submit to the court statements on the merits, petitions and written evidence in electronic form only, unless the court grants permission for their submission in paper form.
Article 43. Inadmissibility of abuse of procedural rights
1. Trial participants and their representatives must exercise procedural rights in good faith; abuse of procedural rights shall not be allowed.
2. Depending on the specific circumstances, the court may recognise actions that contradict the task of commercial proceedings as an abuse of procedural rights, in particular:
1) filing an appeal against a judgment that is not subject to appeal, is not valid or the effect of which has expired (exhausted), filing a petition (application) to resolve an issue that has already been resolve by the court, in the absence of other grounds or new circumstances; or committing other similar actions aimed at unreasonably delaying or obstructing the consideration of a case or the execution of a judgment;
2) filing several claims against the same defendant (defendants) with the same subject and on the same grounds or filing several claims with a similar subject and on similar grounds, or committing other actions aimed at manipulating the automated distribution of cases between the judges;
3) filing a knowingly groundless claim, a claim in the absence of the subject of a dispute or in a dispute that is obviously artificial in nature;
4) unreasonable or artificial combination of claims in order to change the jurisdiction of a case, or knowingly groundless involvement of a person as a defendant (co-defendant) for the same purpose;
5) concluding a settlement agreement aimed at harming the rights of third parties, intentional failure to notify the persons who are to be involved in a case.
3. If the filing of an appeal, application, petition is recognised as an abuse of procedural rights, the court, taking into account the case circumstances, shall have the right to leave without consideration or return appeal, application, petition.
4. The court is obliged to take measures to prevent abuse of procedural rights. In case of abuse of procedural rights by a trial participant, the court shall apply to them the measures specified by this Code.
Article 44. Procedural legal and dispositive capacity
1. All individuals and legal entities shall be able to have procedural rights and obligations of a party, third party, applicant, debtor (procedural legal capacity).
2. Individuals who have reached the age of majority, as well as legal entities shall be able to personally exercise procedural rights and perform their duties in the court (procedural dispositive capacity).
3. Minors between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, as well as persons with limited civil capacity, may personally exercise procedural rights and perform their duties in the court in cases arising from the relationship, in which they are personally involved, unless otherwise established by law. The court may involve in such cases a legal representative of a minor or a person whose civil dispositive capacity is limited.
4. In the case of registration of marriage of an individual who has not reached the age of majority, it shall acquire legal capacity from the moment of registration of marriage. A minor who acquired full civil capacity in accordance with the procedure established by law shall also acquire procedural legal capacity.
5. A legal entity shall acquire procedural rights and obligations in the manner prescribed by law and exercises them through its representative.
6. A legal entity may acquire procedural rights and obligations and exercise them through its trial participants when, in accordance with the law or a constituent document, such legal entity acquires and exercises rights, as well as bears the obligations through its participants.
Article 45. Parties to the proceedings
1. The parties to the proceedings, plaintiffs and defendants, may be persons defined in Article 4 of this Code.
2. Plaintiffs are persons who have filed a claim or in whose interests a claim has been filed to protect the violated, unrecognised or disputed right or interest protected by law.
3. Defendants are persons against whom the proceedings were filed.
Article 46. Procedural rights and obligations of the parties
1. The parties shall enjoy the same procedural rights.
2. In addition to the rights and obligations specified in Article 42 of this Code:
1) a plaintiff shall have the right to drop a claim (all or part of the claims) and a defendant shall have the right to admit a claim (all or part of the claims) at any stage of a trial;
2) a plaintiff shall have the right to increase or decrease the size of claim before the end of a preparatory meeting or before the first court hearing if a case is considered in accordance with the simplified action proceedings;
3) a defendant shall have the right to file a counter-claim within the time limits established by this Code.
3. Before the end of a preparatory meeting, a plaintiff shall have the right to change the subject or grounds of a claim by submitting a written application. In a case considered under the rules of the simplified action proceedings, a change in the subject or grounds of a claim shall be allowed no later than five days before the first court hearing in a case.
4. If a case is referred for retrial to the court of first instance, a change of subject, grounds of a claim shall not be allowed, except as provided for in this Article.
A change in the subject or grounds of a claim in a retrial shall be allowed within the period established by Part 3 of this Article only if it is necessary to protect the rights of a plaintiff in connection with the changes in the factual circumstances of a case after the preparatory meeting, or after the beginning of the first court hearing of the original trial if the case was considered in accordance with the rules of the simplified action proceedings.
{Paragraph 2, Part 4 of Article 12 as amended by the Law No. 2234-VIII of 17 December 2017}
5. In case of submission of any application provided for in Paragraph 2, Part 2, 3 or 4 of this Article, evidence of sending a copy of such application and documents attached to it to other trial participants shall be submitted to the court. In case of failure to submit such evidence, the court shall not accept for consideration and the relevant application and returns it to an applicant, which shall be stated in the ruling.
6. The court shall not accept the waiver of a claim, reduction of the size of claim, recognition of a claim by a defendant in a case, in which the person is represented by their legal representative, if their actions contradict the interests of a person they represent.
7. The parties may conclude a settlement agreement at any stage of the proceedings.
Article 47. Participation of several plaintiffs or defendants in a case
1. A claim may be filed jointly by several plaintiffs or against several defendants. Each of the plaintiffs or defendants acts in court independently in relation to the other party.
2. Participation of several plaintiffs and (or) defendants in a case (joinder) shall be allowed if:
1) the subject of dispute is the joint rights or obligations of several plaintiffs or defendants;
2) the rights or obligations of several plaintiffs or defendants arose on the same grounds;
3) the subject of dispute are homogeneous rights and obligations.
Article 48. Involvement of a co-defendant in a case. Substitution of improper defendant
1. The court of first instance has the right to involve a co-defendant at the request of a plaintiff until the end of the preliminary proceedings, and before the first court hearing if a case is considered under the rules of the simplified action proceedings.
2. If a claim is filed not against a person who must defend an action, the court replaces the original defendant with the appropriate defendant at the request of a plaintiff without closing proceedings in a case before the end of the preliminary proceedings, and before the first court hearing if a case is considered under the rules of the simplified action proceedings.
3. After the expiration of a period specified in Parts 1 and 2 of this Article, the court may involve a co-defendant in a case or replace the original defendant with the appropriate defendant only if a plaintiff proves that they did not know and could not know before filing a claim the basis for the involvement of such a co-defendant or the replacement of an improper defendant.
4. A ruling shall be delivered on the involvement of a co-defendant or replacement of an improper defendant. At a request of a new defendant or a co-defendant involved, a case shall begin from the start.
5. A defendant replaced by another defendant shall have the right to claim compensation for court costs incurred by them as a result of plaintiff's unjustified actions. The issue of distribution of court costs shall be resolved in a ruling to replace an improper defendant.
Article 49. The third parties who declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute
1. Third parties declaring independent claims on the subject of a dispute may intervene in a case before the end of the preparatory proceedings or before the first court hearing if a case is considered in the simplified action proceedings by filing a claim against one or more parties.
2. The court shall deliver a ruling on the acceptance of a statement of claim and the intervention of a third party into a case.
3. Third parties declaring independent claims on the subject of a dispute shall enjoy all the rights and bear all the obligations of a plaintiff.
4. After the third party declaring independent claims on the subject of a dispute intervenes in a case, a case shall begin at the beginning at a request of a trial participant.
5. The provisions of Article 180 of this Code shall apply to the claims of third parties declaring independent claims on the subject of a dispute in a case, in which the proceedings have been initiated.
Article 50. The third parties who do not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute
1. Third parties who do not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute may intervene in a case on the part of a plaintiff or a defendant before the end of the preliminary proceedings or before the first court hearing if a case is considered in the simplified action proceedings, if the court ruling may affect their rights or obligations towards one of the parties. They may also be involved in a case at a request of the case parties.
2. If the court when resolving an issue on the commencement of proceedings or when preparing a case for consideration establishes that a ruling of the commercial court may affect the rights and obligations of the persons who are not trial participants, the court shall involve such persons in a case as third parties who do not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute.
3. Applications for the involvement of third parties and applications of third parties for interference in a case on the part of a plaintiff or a defendant shall indicate grounds, on which the third parties should be involved in a case.
4. The court shall deliver a ruling on the involvement of third parties in a case, in which it specifies the rights or obligations of such person and how the court's ruling in a case may be affected.
5. Third parties who do not declare independent claims shall have the procedural rights and obligations established by Article 42 of this Code.
6. The interference in a case of a third party who does not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute shall not entail consideration of a case at the beginning.
Article 51. Consequences of non-involvement in a case of a third party who does not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute
1. If as a result of a court ruling a party may acquire a right in relation to a third party or a third party may file claims against a party, such party shall notify that person of the proceedings commencement and submit to the court an application for their participation in a case as a third party who does not declare independent claims on the subject of a dispute. Such an application must be accompanied by evidence that a copy of it has been sent to the person, on the involvement of whom as a third party an application was filed.
2. If a case is considered without notification of a third party on the consideration of a case, the circumstances of a case established by a court ruling have no legal consequences when considering a claim filed by a party involved in this case, against this third party, or a claim declared by that third party to such a party.
Article 52. Procedural succession
1. In case of death or declaration of an individual as dead, termination of a legal entity by reorganisation (merger, acquisition, separation or transformation), substitution of a creditor or debtor in an obligation, as well as in other cases of substitution of a person in a disputed relationship, the court shall involve the relevant trial participant at any stage of a trial.
2. All actions committed in the proceedings before the successor intervenes in a case are binding on them in the same way they were binding on the person whom the successor substituted.
3. The court shall deliver a ruling on the substitution or refusal to substitute a trial participant with their legal successor.
Article 53. Participation in the proceedings of bodies and persons who by law have the right to apply to the court on behalf of others
1. In cases established by law, state authorities, local governments, individuals and legal entities may apply to the court on behalf of others, in the state or public interests and participate in these cases.
2. State authorities, local governments, which apply to the court to protect the rights and interests of other persons, must provide the court with the documents confirming the existence of grounds envisaged by the law for applying to the court on behalf of such persons.
3. In cases specified by law, a prosecutor shall apply to the court with a statement of claim, participate in the consideration of cases on their claims, as well as may intervene on their own initiative in a case, in which the proceedings have been initiated upon a claim of another person, before the consideration of a case on the merits, shall file an appeal, cassation petition, application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances.
4. A prosecutor who refers to the court on behalf of the state shall substantiate in a statement of claim or other statement, or the petition the violation of the state interests, the need to protect them, the grounds for referral of a prosecutor to the court, as well as shall specify the body authorised by the state to exercise relevant functions in disputed legal relations. Failure to comply with these requirements shall result in the application of the provisions of Article 174 of this Code.
5. In case of initiating proceedings in accordance with a statement of claim of a person who is granted by law the right to refer to the court on behalf of other persons (except for a prosecutor), a person on behalf of whom the claim is filed shall acquire the status of plaintiff.
In case of initiating proceedings in accordance with a statement of claim filed by a prosecutor on behalf of the state in the person of a body authorised to exercise the functions of the state in disputed legal relations, the stated body shall acquire the status of plaintiff. In the absence of such a body or in the absence of its power to refer to the court, the prosecutor shall state this in the statement of claim, in which case they acquire the status of a plaintiff.
Article 54. Specifics of participation in court proceedings of persons who by law have the right to refer to the court on behalf of a legal entity in disputes over compensation for damages caused by its official
1. The owner (participant, shareholder) of a legal entity who owns 10 or more percent of the share capital of a company (except for preferred shares) or a share of 10 or more percent in the property of a legal entity may file on behalf of such legal entity a claim for compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by its official.
2. In case of initiating proceedings on such a claim, the stated legal entity shall acquire the status of a plaintiff, but shall not be entitled to exercise its procedural rights and obligations without the consent of the owner (participant, shareholder) who filed a claim. The official against whom a claim is filed shall not be entitled to represent a legal entity and appoint another person to represent a legal entity in this case.
3. Until the end of the preparatory meeting in a case, another co-owner (participant, shareholder) of this legal entity, who owns 10 or more percent of the share capital of a company (except for preferred shares) or a share of 10 or more percent in the property of a legal entity shall have the right to join to the filed claim by submitting a relevant application to the court, after which they acquire the same procedural rights and obligations as the owner (participant, shareholder) who filed a claim.
4. In disputes concerning compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by its official, waiver of a claim filed under this Article, reduction of the size of claims, change of the subject or grounds of a claim, conclusion of settlement agreement, waiver of appeal or cassation appeal, application for review of the court ruling due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances shall be possible only with the written consent of all owners (participants, shareholders) who act in this case on behalf of a legal entity.
Article 55. Procedural rights of bodies and persons who by law have the right to refer to the court on behalf of other persons
1. Bodies and persons who referred to the court under this Code on behalf of other persons shall have procedural rights and obligations of the person, on behalf of whom they act, except for the restrictions provided for in Part 2 of this Article.
2. Bodies and persons who in accordance with this Code have the right to refer to the court on behalf of persons, except for persons who are entitled by law to refer to the court on behalf of a legal entity in disputes concerning compensation of damages caused by its official, shall have no right to conclude a settlement agreement.
3. Waiver by the bodies and persons who referred to the court on behalf of other persons in accordance with this Code of an application filed by them or change of claims shall not deprive the person for protection of rights and interests of an application, the right to demand case consideration from the court and satisfaction of a request in the original volume.
4. If a person who has legal capacity and on behalf of whom an application is filed does not support the stated claims, the court shall leave an application without consideration, except for a claim concerning compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by its official filed by the owner (participant, shareholder) of this legal entity on its behalf, as well as the prosecutor's claim on behalf of the state.
5. Refusal of a body authorised to exercise the relevant functions in the disputed legal relationship from a claim (application) filed by a prosecutor on behalf of the state, submission of an application to leave a claim without consideration shall not deprive a prosecutor of the right to support a claim (application) and demand consideration of a case on the merits.
6. A prosecutor and another person who by law has the right to refer to the court on behalf of other persons, in order to resolve an issue of the existence of grounds for review of court rulings in a case without their participation, shall have the right to review case files in the court and receive copies of them. A prosecutor enjoys the same right in order to resolve an issue of intervening in a case on a claim (application) filed by other person.
Article 56. Participation of a representative in a case
1. A party, a third party, as well as a person who by law has the right to refer to the court on behalf of the other person, may participate in the proceedings in person (self-representation) and (or) through a representative.
2. Personal participation in a person's case shall not deprive them of the right to have a representative in this case.
3. A legal entity, regardless of the procedure of its establishment, shall participate in a case through its head, member of executive body, other person authorised to act on its behalf under the law, statute, regulations, employment agreement (contract) (self-representation of a legal entity) or through a representative.
{Part 3, Article 56 as amended by the Law No. 390-IX of 18 December 2020}
4. The state, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the territorial community shall participate in a case through the relevant state authority, the authority of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the local government within its competence, on whose behalf its head or another authorised person acts under the law, statute, regulations, employment agreement (contract) (self-representation of a state authority, authority of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local government) or through a representative.
{Part 4, Article 56 as amended by the Law No. 390-IX of 18 December 2020}
Article 57. Legal representatives
1. The interests of minors under the age of fourteen, as well as incapacitated individuals, shall be represented in the court by their parents, adoptive parents, guardians or other persons defined by law.
2. The interests of minors aged fourteen to eighteen, as well as persons with limited civil capacity, may be represented in the court by their parents, adoptive parents, guardians or other persons defined by law. The court may involve a minor or a person with limited civil dispositive legal capacity in such cases.
3. Legal representatives may entrust the administration of a case in court to other persons who have the right to represent in court under the law.
4. The court shall involve the relevant body or person, which by law has the right to protect the rights and interests of other persons, if the actions of a legal representative contradict the interests of a person they represent.
Article 58. Persons who can be representatives
1. A lawyer or a legal representative may act as a representative in the court.
2. When considering cases in minor disputes (minor cases), a representative may be a person who has reached eighteen years of age and has civil procedural capacity, except for persons specified in Article 59 of this Code.
3. Bodies and other persons authorised by law to refer to the court on behalf of minors or persons who have been declared incompetent or whose legal capacity is limited shall be represented in the court by their officials, except in cases when such bodies and persons are a party or a third party in a case.
4. The same person may simultaneously represent several plaintiffs or several defendants or several third parties on one side, given the absence of a conflict of interest between them.
Article 59. Persons who cannot be representatives
1. A person who participates in a case as a court secretary, expert, specialist, interpreter and witness or is an assistant judge who is considering a case may not be a representative in court.
2. A person may not be a representative if he represents or has represented in this case another person whose interests in this case contradict the interests of their principal.
3. Judges, prosecutors, investigators, employees of operative-investigative units may not be representatives in court, except in cases when they act on behalf of the relevant body, which is a party or a third party in a case, or as legal representatives.
Article 60. Documents confirming the representatives' powers
1. The powers of representatives of the parties and other case parties must be confirmed by the following documents:
1) power-of-attorney of an individual or a legal entity;
2) a child's birth certificate or a judgment on appointment of a guardian, trustee or protector of the hereditary property.
2. A power-of-attorney of a legal entity shall be certified by a notary or by another person in cases specified by law.
3. A power-of-attorney on behalf of a legal entity shall be issued under the signature (electronic digital signature) of the official authorised under law and the constituent documents.
4. The powers of a lawyer as a representative shall be confirmed by a power-of-attorney or a warrant issued under the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Legal Practice”.
5. A power-of-attorney of an individual, upon whose application a ruling was delivered to provide them with free secondary legal aid, may be certified by an official of the body (institution) that delivered such a ruling.
6. The conformity of the copy of the document confirming the authority of a representative may be certified by the signature of a judge.
7. The originals of the documents referred to in this Article, copies of them, certified by a judge, or copies of them, certified in the manner prescribed by law, shall be attached to the case files.
8. If a representative submits an application on the merits in electronic form, they may attach to it a power-of-attorney or a warrant in electronic form, signed with an electronic digital signature under the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
9. If a representative submits an application, complaint, petition to the court, they shall attach a power-of-attorney or other document certifying their power, if the case does not confirm such power at the time of filing the relevant application, complaint, petition.
10. Powers-of-attorney or other documents that confirm the representative's power and have been certified in other states must be legalised in the manner prescribed by law, unless otherwise provided by international treaties, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Article 61. Powers of a representative in court
1. A representative empowered to conduct a case in court shall exercise, on behalf of the person he represents, his/her procedural rights and obligations.
2. Restrictions on the representative's powers to perform a certain procedural action must be provided for in the power-of-attorney or warrant issued to him.
3. The grounds and procedure for termination of representation by power-of-attorney shall be determined by the Civil Code of Ukraine, while termination of representation by warrant shall be determined by the law on the bar.
4. It is required to notify the court by submitting a written application on the termination of representation or limitation of the representative's powers by submitting power-of-attorney.
5. If the representative's powers to represent the person in the case are terminated, the representative may not be in the same case a representative of another party, a third party on the other party or a third party with independent claims on the subject matter of the dispute.
Article 62. Composition of other trial participants
1. In addition to case parties and their representatives, the trial participants shall be as follows: assistant judge, secretary of the court hearing, court administrator, witness, expert, legal expert, interpreter, specialist.
Article 63. The assistant judge
1. The assistant judge shall ensure the preparation and organisational support of the trial.
1) participate in the registration of court cases, on behalf of the judge prepares drafts of inquiries, letters, other materials related to the consideration of a particular case, executive documents;
2) draw up copies of judgments to be sent to the case parties and other case participants under the requirements of procedural law, control the timeliness of sending copies of judgments;
3) execute other instructions of the judge related to the organisation of judicial proceedings.
3. An assistant judge may, on behalf of a judge (presiding judge), in the absence of the secretary of the court hearing, exercise his/her powers. In the exercise of such powers, the assistant judge may be lodged a recusal due to the grounds provided for in this Code to recuse the secretary of the court.
1) check the trail participants appeared for court hearing, the participants who take part in a court hearing by a videoconference, and shall report to the presiding judge;
2) provide control over the complete recording of the court hearing by technical means and the conduct of the court hearing by videoconference;
3) ensure keeping of the court hearing minutes and draw up reports of certain procedural actions;
4) provide registration of case files;
5) execute other instructions of a judge related to the case consideration.
2. The secretary of the court hearing may clarify the essence of the procedural action in order to properly reflect it in the court hearing minutes.
3. The secretary of the court hearing shall act as a court administrator if the latter is absent.
Article 65. Сourt administrator
1. The court administrator shall:
1) ensure the proper condition of the courtroom and invites the trial participants;
2) determine the possible number of persons who may be present in the courtroom, taking into account the number of seats and ensuring discipline during the court hearing;
3) announce the entrance and leave of the court from the courtroom and invite all present to stand up;
4) monitor the observance of discipline by the persons present in the courtroom;
5) receive documents and other materials from the trial participants present in the courtroom and submit them to the court, during the court hearing;
6) invite witnesses to the courtroom and follow the presiding judge's instructions to bring them to the oath;
7) execute other presiding judge's instructions, related to the creation of conditions necessary for the case consideration.
2. The court administrator's requirements related to the performance of the duties specified in Part 1 of this Article shall be binding upon the trial participants and other persons present in the courtroom.
3. Complaints against the actions or omissions of the court administrator shall be considered by the court in the same process.
1. Any able-bodied individual who is aware of any circumstances relating to the case may be a witness.
2. A witness shall appear in court upon his/her summons at a certain time and give truthful testimony about the circumstances known to him/her. If the case parties do not have any objections, the witness may participate in the hearing by videoconference. The court may allow a witness to attend the hearing by videoconference, regardless of the objections of the parties, if the witness is unable to appear in court due to illness, old age, disability or other valid reasons.
3. In case of impossibility to appear in court and participate in the court hearing by videoconference at the summons of the court, the witness shall inform the court in advance.
4. A witness shall have the right to testify in his or her native language or in the language he or she speaks, to use written records, to refuse to testify in cases established by law, as well as the right to obtain compensation for the costs associated with the summons.
Article 67. Persons who cannot be interrogated as witnesses
1. The following persons may not be interrogated as witnesses:
1) incapable individuals, as well as persons who are registered or treated in a psychiatric medical facility and are not able due to their physical or mental disabilities to correctly perceive the circumstances relevant to the case or to testify;
2) persons who are obliged by law to keep secret information that was entrusted to them due to provision of professional legal aid or mediation services during the out-of-court settlement of the dispute, about such information;
3) clergy, about the information received by them at the confession of believers;
4) judges and jurors, about the circumstances of discussion in the deliberation room of issues that arose during the judgment, or about the information that became known to the judge during the dispute settlement with his/her participation;
5) other persons who cannot be interrogated as witnesses in accordance with the law or an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, without their consent.
2. Persons with diplomatic immunity may not be interrogated as witnesses without their consent, and representatives of diplomatic missions may not be interrogated without the diplomatic representative's consent.
Article 68. Refusal of a witness to testify at the request of the court
1. A witness summoned by the court shall have no right to refuse to testify, except for testimony about himself or herself, family members or close relatives (husband, wife, father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, adoptive parent or adopted child, guardian or trustee, a person under guardianship or trusteeship, a family member or a close relative of these persons), who may be legally liable for him or her or such family members or close relatives.
2. A witness summoned by the court who refuses to testify must inform about the reasons of refusal.
1. A person who has the special knowledge necessary to clarify the relevant circumstances of the case may be an expert.
2. The expert may be appointed by a court or involved by a case party.
3. The expert shall give a reasoned and objective written opinion on the questions posed to him or her.
4. The expert shall appear in court upon his/her summons and explain his/her conclusion and answer the questions of the court and the case parties. If the case parties do not have any objections, the expert may participate in the hearing by videoconference.
5. The expert shall have no right to delegate the expert examination to another person.
6. The expert shall have the right to:
1) get acquainted with the case files;
2) apply for additional files and samples, if the expert examination is appointed by the court;
3) state in the expert examination conclusion the facts revealed during its conduct, which are relevant to the case and about which he/she was not interrogated;
4) be present during the performance of procedural actions related to the subject matter and objects of examination;
5) file a petition for interrogating the case parties and witnesses, for the purposes of expert examination;
6) enjoy other rights provided for by the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Examination”.
7. The expert shall have the right to get paid for the works performed, as well as to obtain compensation for the costs related to the expert examination and summons to court.
8. An expert appointed by the court may refuse to provide an opinion if the files provided at his/her request are insufficient to perform his/her duties. The statement of refusal shall be motivated.
1. A person with a scientific degree and a recognised specialist in the field of law may be involved as a legal expert. The judgment to admit a legal expert to participate in the case and attach his/her opinion to the case-file shall be made by the court.
2. The legal expert shall appear in court upon his/her summons, answer questions asked by the court, and provide clarifications. If the case parties do not have any objections, the legal expert may participate in the hearing by videoconference.
3. A legal expert shall have the right to know the purpose of his or her summons, to refuse to take part in the trial if he or she does not have the relevant knowledge, as well as the right to get paid for services and obtain compensation for the costs related to the summons.
1. A specialist shall mean a person who has special knowledge and skills necessary for the use of technical means, and shall be appointed by the court to provide advice and technical assistance in performing procedural actions related to the use of such technical means (photography, drawing up plans, plans, drawings, sampling for expert examination, etc.).
2. The help and advice of a specialist shall not replace the expert conclusion.
3. The specialist shall appear in court upon his/her summons, to answer the questions asked by the court, to provide consultations and clarifications, if necessary to provide the court with other technical assistance. If the case parties do not have any objections, the specialist may participate in the hearing by videoconference.
4. The specialist shall have the right to know the purpose of his/her summons to court, to refuse to participate in the trial if he/she does not have the appropriate knowledge and skills, to draw the court's attention to the characteristic circumstances or features of evidence, as well as the right to remuneration and compensation for the costs related to the summons.
Article 72. Interpreter/translator
1. The interpreter is a person who is fluent in the language of proceedings and another language which is necessary for interpretation or translation from one language to another, as well as a person who is qualified to communicate with the deaf, dumb or deaf-and-dumb.
2. The interpreter shall be allowed by a court ruling upon the case party's application or shall be appointed at the court initiative.
The participation of an interpreter who is qualified to communicate with the deaf, dumb or deaf-and-dumb is mandatory in the cases, where one of the participants is a person with a hearing impairment. The qualification of such an interpreter shall be confirmed by the relevant document issued in the manner prescribed by law.
3. The interpreter shall have the right to ask questions in order to clarify the interpreted material, to refuse to participate in the proceedings if he or she does not have sufficient knowledge of the language required for interpretation, as well as to get paid for the works performed and to obtain the compensation for the costs related to the summons.
4. The interpreter shall appear in court upon his or her summons, to provide a complete and accurate interpretation, to certify the correctness of the interpretation with his or her signature on the procedural documents served on the parties in a translated version into their native language or the language they speak. If the case parties do not have any objections, the interpreter may participate in the hearing by videoconference.
Chapter 5. Evidence and proving
§ 1. Main provisions on evidence
1. Evidence shall mean any data used by the court to establish the presence or absence of circumstances (facts) that substantiate the claims and objections of the case parties, and other circumstances that are relevant to the case.
2. These data shall be established by the following means:
1) written, physical and electronic evidence;
Specific aspects for determining damage caused as a result of withdrawal of a bank from the market or liquidation of a bank on the basis of illegal (unlawful) individual acts of the National Bank of Ukraine, Deposit Guarantee Fund, Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which on the date of adoption of such individual acts or judgments, respectively, had the status of participants of such bank, shall be determined by the Law of Ukraine “On Banks and Banking” and the Law of Ukraine “On the Individual Deposit Guarantee System”.
{Part 2 of Article 73 has been supplemented with the Paragraph 5 under Law No. 2119-VIII of 13 May 2020}
Article 74. The burden of proof and presenting evidence
1. Each party shall prove the circumstances, to which it refers as the basis of its claims or objections.
2. In the event that a case party refers to the failure of another party to take certain actions or the absence of a certain event, the court may oblige such other case party to provide relevant evidence of the commission of these actions or the existence of a certain event. In case of failure to provide such evidence, the court may recognise the circumstance of failure to take appropriate action or the absence of the event as established.
3. Evidence shall be submitted by the parties and other trial participants.
4. The court may not collect evidence relating to the subject of a dispute on its own initiative, except for the demand of evidence by the court if it has any doubts about the conscientious exercise by the trial participants of their procedural rights or performance of duties on evidence.
Article 75. Grounds for exemption from proof
1. Circumstances recognised by the trial participants shall not be subject to proof if the court has no reasonable grounds to consider them unreliable or coercion of their recognition. Circumstances that are recognised by case parties may be specified in the statements on the merits of the case, explanations of the trial participants, their representatives.
{Part 1 of Article 75 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
2. Refusal to recognise the circumstances shall be accepted by the court if the refusing party proves that it has recognised these circumstances as a result of a material error, deception, violence, threat or serious circumstance, or that the circumstances were recognised as a result of malicious agreement of its representative with the other party. The court shall issue a ruling on accepting the party's refusal to recognise the circumstances. If the court accepts the party's refusal to recognise the circumstances, they shall be proved in the general procedure.
3. Circumstances recognised by the court as well-known shall not require proof.
4. Circumstances established by a judgment in a commercial, civil or administrative case that has entered into force shall not be proved in another case consideration involving the same persons or a person in respect of whom these circumstances have been established, unless otherwise provided for by law.
5. Circumstances established in respect of a certain person by a judgment in a commercial, civil or administrative case that has entered into force may be refuted in general procedure by a person who did not participate in the case where such circumstances were established.
6. A guilty verdict of the court in criminal proceedings or a court ruling, under which a person is brought to administrative responsibility in a case of administrative offence that has entered into force, shall be binding on the commercial court considering the case on the legal consequences of actions or inaction of the person, against whom a verdict or court ruling has been passed, only regarding the question whether these actions (inaction) took place and whether they were committed by this person.
{Part 6, Article 75 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
7. A legal assessment given by a court to a particular fact in another case shall not be binding upon the commercial court.
8. The circumstances established by a ruling of an arbitral tribunal or international commercial arbitration, a court acquittal in criminal proceedings, a ruling to close criminal proceedings and release a person from criminal liability shall be subject to proof in accordance with the procedure established when the case is considered by the commercial court.
{Part 8, Article 75 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
Article 76. Adequacy of evidence
1. Proper evidence shall be those, on the basis of which it is possible to establish the circumstances that are the subject of proof. The court shall not consider evidence that does not relate to the subject of proof.
2. The subject of proof shall be the circumstances confirming the stated claims or objections or having other significance for the consideration of the case and being subject to establishment when approving a judgment.
Article 77. Admissibility of evidence
1. Circumstances which under the law must be confirmed by certain means of proof may not be confirmed by other means of proof.
2. Evidence obtained in violation of the law shall not be accepted by the court.
Article 78. Reliability of evidence
1. Evidence shall be considered reliable if created (obtained) in the absence of influence aimed at forming a misconception about the circumstances of the case that are relevant to the case.
{Part 1, Article 78 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
Article 79. Probability of evidence
1. The presence of a circumstance, on which a party relies as the basis of its claims or objections, shall be deemed to have been proved if the evidence provided to substantiate such a circumstance is more plausible than the evidence provided to refute it.
2. The issue of the reliability of evidence for establishing the circumstances relevant to the case shall be addressed in accordance with its internal convictions.
{Article 79 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
Article 80. Submission of evidence
1. The trial participants shall submit evidence in the case directly to the court.
2. The plaintiff or the persons who have been entitled to apply to court in the interests of other persons, shall submit evidence together with the statement of claim.
3. The defendant, the third party who does not make independent claims on the dispute subject matter, shall submit evidence to the court together with the submission of a defence or the third party's written explanations.
4. In case of failure to submit the evidence within the period established by law for objective reasons, the case party shall notify the court in writing and indicate the following: evidence that cannot be submitted; reasons for the failure to submit the evidence within the specified period; evidence confirming that the person has taken every possible actions aimed at obtaining the specified evidence.
5. If the reasons for failure to submit evidence by the case party within the period established by law are recognised as valid, the court may set an additional term for the submission of such evidence.
6. In case the court accepts the party's refusal to recognise the circumstances, the court may set a period for the submission of evidence in respect of such circumstances.
7. If with the change of the claim subject or grounds or the counter-claim filing, the circumstances to be proved have changed, the court shall, depending on such circumstances, set a period for the submission of additional evidence.
8. Evidence not submitted within the period established by law or by the court shall not be accepted for consideration by the court, unless the person submitting it has justified the impossibility of submitting it within the specified period for reasons beyond its control.
9. Copies of evidence (except for physical evidence) submitted to the court shall be sent in advance or provided by the person submitting them to other case parties. The court shall not take into account the relevant evidence if the fact of sending (providing) of their copies to other case parties has not been confirmed, unless such evidence is available to the relevant case party or the amount of evidence is excessive, or they are submitted to the court electronically or are publicly available.
10. Evidence that is not attached to the statement of claim or to its defence, unless otherwise provided for by this Code, shall be submitted through the court office, using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System or in court hearing with a request to join them to the case files.
11. In the case of filing a statement that the document attached to the case or submitted to the court by the party for examination raises doubts about its authenticity or is forged, the person who submitted the document may ask the court to exclude it from the list of evidence before the end of preparatory hearing, and request to consider the case based on other evidence.
Article 81. Request for evidence
1. If it is impossible to provide evidence independently, a trial participant shall have the right to file a petition to demand evidence by the court. Such a request must be filed within the period specified in Parts 2 and 3 of Article 80 of this Code. If such a petition is filed with a delay, the court shall dismiss it, unless the person filing it justifies the impossibility of filing it within the set period for reasons beyond its control.
2. The motion to call evidence filed by the court to demand evidence must include the following information:
{Paragraph 1, Part 2 of Article 81 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
1) what evidence is requested (except for the motion to call to demand a group of similar documents as evidence filed by the court);
{Paragraph 2, Part 2 of Article 81 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2020}
2) the circumstances that can be confirmed with this evidence, or arguments that can be refuted by it;
3) the grounds explaining the fact that the relevant person has this evidence;
4) the measures taken by the person submitting the application to obtain this evidence independently, the evidence of taking such measures and (or) the reasons for the impossibility of obtaining this evidence independently.
5) the reasons for the impossibility of the person filing the application to obtain this evidence by their own efforts.
3. In the motion of the court to call a group of similar documents as evidence, the features that allow to identify the relevant group of documents shall be additionally indicated.
{Article 81 has been supplemented with a new Part under Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
4. In case of satisfaction of the petition the court by the decision demands the relevant evidence.
5. The court may also demand evidence before filing a statement of claim as a measure to secure evidence under the procedure established by Articles 110-112 of this Code.
6. The court may authorise the interested party to obtain the evidence it requested.
7. Any person who has evidence shall provide it at the court's request.
8. Persons who do not have the opportunity to submit evidence required by the court or the opportunity to submit such evidence within the set period shall notify the court stating the reasons within five days from the date of service of the ruling.
9. In case of failure to notify the court of the impossibility to submit evidence required by the court, or failure to submit such evidence without reasonable excuse, the court shall apply to the relevant person procedural coercive measures provided for by this Code.
10. If the party fails to submit the evidence required by the court without reasonable excuse or without notifying the reasons, the court, depending on which person evades their submission and what significance this evidence has, may recognise the circumstance, for the clarification of which the evidence was required, or refuse its recognition, or to consider the case on the evidence available in it, and in case the plaintiff fails to submit such evidence, the statement of claim shall also be left without consideration.
Article 82. Examination of evidence at their location
1. Written, physical and electronic evidence that cannot be brought to court shall be examined at their location.
2. The case parties shall be notified of the date, time and place of examination of the evidence at their location. The absence of these persons shall not constitute an obstacle to the examination.
3. If necessary, including at the request of a trial participant to participate in the examination of evidence at their location, witnesses, interpreters, experts, specialists may be involved, as well as photography, sound and video recording may be authorised.
4. A report shall be drawn up on the examination of evidence at their location, to be signed by all persons participating in the examination. All plans, drawings, copies of documents drawn up or verified during the on-site inspection, as well as photographs, electronic copies of evidence, video recordings, etc. made during the inspection shall be attached to the protocol together with the description.
5. If the examination is carried out in the absence of at least one of the parties, as well as in other cases when the court deems it necessary, a video recording of the examination shall be made by technical means.
6. Persons involved in the examination of evidence at their location shall have the right to draw the court's attention to a circumstance that, in their opinion, is important for a full examination, to establish the circumstances relevant to the case, as well as to make their comments on the examination protocol.
7. Under the procedure provided for in this Article, the court may, at the request of a case party or on its own initiative, examine the website (page), other places of data storage on the Internet, in order to establish and record the content thereof. If necessary, the court may engage a specialist to conduct such an examination.
8. The court may appoint an expert examination to establish and record the content of the website (page), other places of data storage on the Internet, provided that this requires special knowledge and cannot be carried out by the court alone or with the involvement of a specialist.
Article 83. Examination of perishable physical evidence
1. Perishable physical evidence shall be immediately examined by a court with a notification on the scheduled examination of the case parties. The absence of these persons shall not preclude the examination of physical evidence.
2. If necessary, including at the request of a trial participant, the witnesses, interpreters, experts, specialists may be involved in the review of perishable physical evidence, as well as photography and video recording may be authorised.
3. Examination of perishable physical evidence at their location shall be carried out under the procedure established by Article 82 of this Code, taking into account the peculiarities specified in this Article.
4. After inspection, this physical evidence shall be returned to the persons who provided it.
Article 84. Court orders to collect evidence
1. The court considering the case or the application for the provision of evidence, in the event of the need to collect evidence outside its territorial jurisdiction, may instruct the relevant court to take certain procedural actions.
2. The ruling on the court order shall briefly state the essence of the case under consideration, indicate the persons involved in it, the circumstances to be clarified, the evidence to be collected by the court executing the order, in particular the list of questions to the witness asked by the trial participants and the court.
Article 85. Enforcement of court orders to collect evidence
1. A ruling on a court order shall be immediately executed by the court to which it is addressed, under the rules of this Code, establishing procedure for taking the relevant procedural actions.
2. A ruling on the enforcement or impossibility to enforce the court order for objective reasons shall be enforced and attached to the procedural actions protocols and all materials collected for the court order enforcement, and shall be then immediately sent to the court considering the case.
3. If it is necessary to enforce court orders to collect evidence, it shall be carried out in a court hearing under the procedure established by this Code. The case parties shall be notified of the date, time and place of the procedural action by the court enforcing the order, but their absence shall not be an obstacle to the order enforcement.
Article 86. Evaluation of evidence
1. The Court shall evaluate the evidence on the basis of its internal conviction, based on a comprehensive, complete, objective and direct examination of the case evidence.
2. No evidence shall have the preliminary determined force to the court. The court shall evaluate the relevance, admissibility, reliability of each piece of evidence, as well as the probability and interrelationship of the evidence as a whole.
{Part 2 of Article 86 as amended by the Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
3. The court shall evaluate both the evidence collected in the case as a whole and each piece of evidence (group of identical evidence) contained in the case, motivate the rejection or consideration of each piece of evidence (group of evidence).
Article 87. Testimony of a witness
1. The testimony of a witness shall mean a statement of circumstances relevant to the case, he/she is aware of. The testimony of a witness who cannot name the sources of their awareness of a certain circumstance, or which are based on the reports of other persons, shall not be considered evidence.
2. The circumstances (facts) that are recorded (accounted) in the relevant documents in accordance with the legislation or customary business practices may not be established on the basis of the testimony of the witnesses. The law may specify other circumstances that cannot be established on the basis of the testimony of the witnesses.
3. Parties, third parties and their representatives may, with their consent and on their own initiative, unless otherwise provided by this Code, be interrogated as witnesses about circumstances known to them that are relevant to the case.
4. The testimony of a witness based on the reports of other persons shall not be taken into account by the court.
1. The testimony of a witness shall be set out by them in writing in the witness statement.
2. The witness statement shall indicate the name (surname, name and patronymic), place of residence (stay) and place of work of the witness, postal code, taxpayer identification number (if any) or passport number and series, contact details and e-mail address (if any), the circumstances known to the witness, sources of the witness's knowledge of these circumstances, as well as confirmation of the witness's knowledge of the content of the law on criminal responsibility for false testimony and readiness to appear before the court upon its summons to confirm their testimony.
3. The signature of a witness on the statement shall be certified by a notary. Notarial attestation of the signature of the parties, third parties, their representatives who have consented to the interrogation of them as witnesses shall not be required.
4. The witness statement must be submitted to the court within the time limit set for the submission of evidence.
1. A witness shall be summoned by the court for interrogation at the initiative of the court or at the request of a trial participant if the circumstances set forth by a witness in the statement contradict other evidence or raise doubt of the court regarding their content, accuracy or completeness.
2. The court shall have the right to oblige a trial participant who submitted the witness statement to ensure the appearance of the witness in the court or their participation in the court hearing by videoconference. If a witness without reasonable excuse does not appear in the court or does not participate in the court hearing by videoconference, the court shall not take their testimony into account.
3. In the ruling to summon a witness, the court shall warn a witness of criminal liability for knowingly false testimony. ==
Article 90. Interrogatory of the case parties as witnesses
1. The case party shall have the right to ask in the first statement on the merits of the case or in appendix to it no more than ten questions to the other trial participant about the circumstances relevant to the case.
2. The party to the case, who is asked a question by another trial participant, shall be obliged to provide a comprehensive answer to each question on the merits.
Questions to the case party, which is a legal entity, shall be answered by its head or another official on his/her behalf.
3. Answers to questions shall be submitted to the court by a case party, which is an individual, head or other official of a legal entity in the form of a witness statement not later than five days before the preparatory hearing, and in a case under simplified proceedings, these shall be submitted five days before the first court hearing.
A copy of such witness statement shall be sent to the case party who asked the questions in writing, within the same period.
5. If the question is related to the provision of evidence confirming the relevant circumstances, the case party shall provide such evidence together with the witness statement.
5. The case party shall have the right to refuse to provide answers to the following questions:
1) on the grounds specified in Articles 67 and 68 of this Code;
2) if the question is not related to the circumstances relevant to the case;
3) if the case party asked more than ten questions.
6. If there are grounds for refusal to answer, the case party shall notify the other party and the court of the refusal within the period for answering the question. At the request of another case party, the court may declare the grounds for refusal absent and order the party to respond.
1. Written evidence shall mean documents (except for electronic documents) that contain information about the circumstances relevant to the proper dispute resolution.
2. Written evidence shall be submitted in the original or in a duly certified copy, unless otherwise provided for by this Code. If only a part of the document is relevant for resolving the dispute, a certified extract from it shall be submitted.
3. The case parties shall have the right to submit written evidence in electronic copies, certified by an electronic digital signature, equivalent to a handwritten signature under the law. An electronic copy of a written evidence shall not be considered as electronic proof.
4. Copies of documents shall be considered duly certified if they are certified in the manner prescribed by applicable law.
5. A party to the case who submits written evidence in copies (electronic copies) shall indicate that he/she or another person has the original written evidence.
The case party shall acknowledge the conformity of the copy of the written evidence from the original possessed by him/her, with his/her signature indicating the date of such certification.
6. If a copy (electronic copy) of the written evidence is submitted, the court may, at the case party's request or on its own initiative, demand from the relevant person the original written evidence.
If the original written evidence is not submitted, and the case party or the court casts doubt on the conformity of the submitted copy (electronic copy) to the original, such evidence shall not be taken into account by the court.
7. Documents received by facsimile or other similar means of communication shall be accepted by the court for consideration as written evidence in cases and in the manner prescribed by law or contract.
8. A foreign official document subject to diplomatic or consular legalisation may be a written evidence if it is legalised in the prescribed manner. Foreign official documents shall be recognised as written evidence without their legalisation in cases provided by international treaties, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Article 92. Storage and return of originals of written evidence
1. Originals of written evidence shall be stored in court in the case files.
2. On the basis of an application of a person who provided the court with the original written evidence, the court shall return the original evidence to that person after its examination if it is possible without prejudice to the case consideration or after the court ruling enters into force. A copy of the written evidence certified by the judge or an extract therefrom shall remain in the case files.
1. Physical evidence shall refer to objects of the physical world, the existence, qualities, properties, location and other features of which allow to establish the circumstances relevant to a case.
Article 94. Storage of physical evidence
1. Physical evidence shall be stored in the case files or shall be handed over to the court evidence storage chamber before the entry into force of the judgment.
2. Physical evidence that cannot be delivered to the court shall be stored at their location. Physical evidence must be described in detail in the examination report and, if necessary and possible, its essential features shall be photographed or recorded in a video recording or in another similar manner, after which they shall be sealed. Examination protocols and images of physical evidence shall be attached to the case file.
3. The court shall take measures to ensure the preservation of physical evidence in an unaltered state.
Article 95. Return of physical evidence
1. The physical evidence after examination and investigation shall be returned to the persons who have provided it, if such persons have submitted the relevant petition and if it can be satisfied without prejudice to the case consideration.
2. Physical evidence that includes objects withdrawn from civil circulation or restricted in civil circulation shall be transferred to the relevant persons who have the right to own them under the law. At the request of state expert institutions, such physical evidence may be transferred to them for use in expert and scientific work under the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
3. Evidence shall be returned to the persons who have provided it, or shall be transferred to the persons entitled to posses these things upon a court recognition, after the judgment is entered into force.
Article 96. Electronic evidence
1. Electronic evidence shall mean the information in electronic (digital) form containing data on the circumstances relevant to the case, in particular, electronic documents (including text documents, graphics, plans, photographs, video and audio recordings, etc.), websites (pages), text, multimedia and voice messages, metadata, databases and other data in electronic form. Such data can be stored, in particular, on portable devices (memory cards, mobile phones, etc.), servers, backup systems, other places of data storage in electronic form (including the Internet).
2. Electronic evidence shall be submitted in the original or in an electronic copy certified by an electronic digital signature, equated to a handwritten signature under the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Digital Signature”. The law may provide for a different procedure for certifying an electronic copy of an electronic evidence.
3. The case parties shall have the right to submit electronic evidence in paper copies, certified in the manner prescribed by law. A paper copy of an electronic evidence shall not be considered a written evidence.
4. A case party who submits a copy of the electronic evidence shall indicate that he/she or another person possesses the original electronic evidence.
5. If a copy (paper copy) of the electronic evidence is submitted, the court may, at the request of the case party or on its own initiative, demand the original electronic evidence from the relevant person. If the original electronic evidence is not submitted, and the case party or the court casts doubt on the conformity of the submitted copy (paper copy) to the original, such evidence shall not be taken into account by the court.
Article 97. Storage and return of originals of electronic evidence
1. Originals or copies of electronic evidence shall be stored in court in the case files.
2. At the request of the person who provided the court with the original electronic evidence on a physical storage medium, the court shall return such a physical storage media containing the original evidence to that person after examining the said electronic evidence, if this is possible without prejudice to the case, or after the judgment enters into force. A copy of the electronic evidence certified by the judge or an extract therefrom shall remain in the case files.
Article 98. Requirements for expert conclusion
1. The expert conclusion shall mean a detailed description of the research conducted by the expert, the resulting conclusions and substantiated experts' answers to the questions he/she was asked, drawn up in the manner prescribed by law.
2. The subject of the expert conclusion may be the study of the circumstances being part of the proof subject and the establishment of which requires the expert's special knowledge.
Issues of law cannot be the subject of the expert conclusion.
3. The expert conclusion may be submitted at the request of the case party or by virtue of a court ruling on the appointment of an expert examination.
4. The expert conclusion shall be set out in writing and attached to the case.
5. The court shall have the right at the request of the case parties or on its own initiative to summon an expert to provide oral explanations on his/her opinion.
6. The expert conclusion shall indicate: when, where, by whom (surname, name and patronymic, education level, qualification, as well as a certificate of a forensic expert qualification (if any), experience of work as expert, scientific degree, academic title, position of expert), on what basis the expert examination was conducted, who were present during the expert examination, the questions that the expert was asked, and the materials the expert used. Other requirements for the expert conclusion may be established by law.
7. The expert conclusion shall stipulate that the expert was warned (is aware) of the responsibility for a knowingly false conclusion, as well as that the expert was warned (is aware) of the responsibility for refusing to perform his or her duties without good reason in the case if the court appoints the expert examination.
8. If the expert during the preparation of the conclusion establishes the circumstances relevant to the case, about which he/she was not interrogated, he/she shall have the right to supplement the conclusion with his/her views relating to these circumstances.
Article 99. Appointment of expert examination by the court
1. The court at the request of a case party or on its own initiative shall appoint an expert examination of a case subject to the following conditions:
1) in order to clarify the circumstances relevant to the case, special knowledge in a field other than law is required, without which it is impossible to establish the relevant circumstances;
2) no party has provided an expert conclusion on the same issues, or the expert conclusions provided by the parties give grounds for doubts regarding their correctness, or at the request of a case party motivated by the impossibility to provide an expert conclusion within the time limits for submission of evidence for reasons deemed sufficient by the court, in particular due to the impossibility of obtaining the materials necessary to conduct the examination.
2. If necessary, the court may order several expert examinations, additional or repeated expert examination.
3. When the court appoints the expert examination, the expert or expert institution shall be elected by the parties by mutual consent, and if they fail to reach the mutual consent within the period set by the court, the expert or expert institution shall be determined by the court. Taking into account the circumstances of the case, the court shall have the right to determine the expert or expert institution independently. If necessary, several experts may be appointed to prepare one conclusion (single-discipline or multi-discipline expert examination).
4. The issues subject to the expert examination appointed by the court shall be determined by the court.
5. The case parties shall have the right to propose to the court questions which, in their opinion, shall be clarified by the expert conclusion. In case of rejection or change of the questions proposed by the case parties, the court shall motivate such rejection or change.
6. The questions posed to the expert and his conclusion thereon may not go beyond the expert's special knowledge.
7. The expert appointed by the court shall immediately inform the court of the impossibility to conduct the expert examination due to the lack of necessary knowledge or without the involvement of other experts.
Article 100. A ruling on the appointment of examination
1. Regarding the appointment of the examination the court shall issue a ruling stating the grounds for the examination, the questions on which the expert must provide the court with an opinion, the person (persons) entrusted with the conduct of expert examination, the list of materials provided for research and other data relevant data for examination.
2. If the court entrusts the expert examination to several experts or expert institutions, the court shall appoint a leading expert or expert institution in the ruling.
3. A ruling on the appointment of the expert examination shall be sent to the persons entrusted with the expert examination and to the case parties. The objects and materials to be examined shall be sent to the person entrusted with the expert examination (leading expert or expert institution).
4. If necessary, the court may hear an expert on the wording of the issue that needs to be clarified and, at his/her request, provide appropriate clarifications on the issues raised. The court shall inform the case parties about the commission of these actions, but their non-appearance shall not prevent the commission of these actions.
5. In the ruling to appoint an expert examination, the court shall warn the expert of criminal responsibility for a knowingly false conclusion and for refusal without the reasonable excuse to perform his/her duties.
6. In case of doubt as to the content and scope of the power-of-attorney, the expert appointed by the court shall immediately submit to the court a request for clarification or notify the court of the impossibility of conducting an expert examination of the raised issues.
Article 101. Conducting an expert examination at the request of the case parties
1. A case party shall have the right to submit to the court an expert conclusion drawn up at his/her request.
2. The procedure for conducting the expert examination and drawing up the expert conclusions based on the results of the conducted expert examination shall be determined under the current legislation of Ukraine on conducting forensic expert examinations.
3. The expert conclusion based on the expert examination results, during which the object of examination, which is evidence in the case, was completely or partially destroyed, or its properties were changed, shall not replace the evidence itself and shall not be grounds for exemption from the burden of proof.
4. The expert conclusion based on the expert examination results, during which the object of examination was completely or partially destroyed or its properties changed, shall not be considered by the court, except in cases when the person submitting it proves the possibility of additional and repeated expert examination on the issues investigated in the expert conclusion.
5. The expert conclusion shall state that the conclusion has been prepared for submission to the court and that the expert is aware of the criminal responsibility for a knowingly false conclusion.
6. An expert who has drawn up a conclusion on the application of a case party shall have the same rights and obligations as an expert who carries out the expert examination on the basis of a court ruling.
7. Upon the case party's application on the existence of grounds for dismissal of the expert who prepared the conclusion on behalf of another person, such conclusion shall not be accepted by the court for consideration if the court recognises the existence of such grounds.
Article 102. Collection of materials for expert examination
1. The materials necessary for the expert examination shall be provided to the expert by the court, if the expert examination is appointed by the court, or by the case party, if the expert examination is carried out at his/her request. When appointing an expert examination, the court, taking into account the opinion of the case parties, shall determine exactly what materials are needed to conduct the expert examination. The court may also hear the experts appointed by court on the issue. Copies of the materials provided to the expert may remain in the case files.
2. The expert shall have no right on his/her own initiative to collect materials for the examination, to disclose information that became known to him/her in connection with the examination, or to inform anyone, except the court and the case party, upon whose request the examination was conducted, about its results. An expert appointed by the court shall have no right to communicate with the trial participants outside the court hearing.
3. In determining the materials provided to the expert or expert institution, the court shall, if necessary, decide on requesting of the relevant materials under the rules provided for in this Code for the requesting for evidence.
4. In case of evasion of a case party from providing the court at its request with the materials or documents necessary to conduct an examination or in case of evasion from other participation in the examination, which precludes its conduct, the court may declare the fact that was subject to the expert examination as established or to refuse to establish it, depending on who evades and what importance this expert examination has.
5. In case the court revokes the ruling on the appointment of examination, the expert appointed by the court shall immediately return to the court the materials and other documents used for the expert examination.
Article 103. Execution of expert examination
1. The examination shall be executed in a court hearing or outside the court, if this is necessary due to the nature of the research, or if the object of research cannot be brought to court, or if the examination is ordered by a case party.
2. If the court has appointed an expert institution to conduct an examination, the head of such institution shall entrust the expert examination to one or more experts. These experts shall provide an opinion on their own behalf and shall be personally responsible for it.
3. The expert shall be liable for preservation of the examination object.
4. If the expert examination is related to the complete or partial destruction of examination object or change of its properties:
1) the expert appointed by the court shall obtain the relevant court permission, which is issued by a ruling;
2) the expert involved in the case shall inform the relevant party about the consequences of the expert examination provided for in this Code and obtain written permission to execute it from such party.
Article 104. Evaluation of the expert conclusion by the court
1. An expert conclusion for a court shall not have the preliminary determined force and shall be evaluated by the court together with other evidence under the rules established by Article 86 of this Code. The court's rejection of the expert conclusion must be motivated in the judgment.
Article 105. Single-discipline expert examination
1. Single-discipline examination shall be executed by at least two experts in the same field of special knowledge.
2. If, according to the results of the conducted research, the opinions of the experts coincide, they shall sign a single conclusion. An expert who does not agree with the conclusion of another expert (experts) shall provide a separate conclusion on all issues or on issues that have caused disagreement.
Article 106. Multi-discipline expert examination
1. Multi-discipline expert examination shall be executed by at least two experts from different fields of knowledge or from different areas within one field of knowledge.
2. The expert's conclusion shall indicate the kinds of research executed and the scope of the research, what facts were established and what conclusions were reached. Each expert shall sign the part of the conclusion that contains a description of his or her research, and shall be responsible for it.
3. Based on the results of research, generalisation and evaluation of the results obtained by experts, a single conclusion shall be drawn up and signed, where a general conclusion shall be formulated on the issue or issues raised for examination. In case of disagreement between the experts, the conclusions shall be drawn up under Part 2, Article 105 of this Code.
Article 107. Additional or repeated expert examination
1. If an expert conclusion is incomplete or unclear, the court at the request of a case party or on its own initiative may order an additional examination that is entrusted to the same or another expert (experts).
2. If there are doubts regarding the correctness of an expert conclusion (insufficiency, contradiction with other case files, etc.) the court at the request of a case party or on its own initiative may order a repeated expert examination that is entrusted to other experts.
§ 7. Expert conclusion in the field of law
Article 108. Contents of the expert conclusion in the field of law
1. The case parties shall have the right to submit to the court expert conclusion in the field of law on:
1) the application of analogy of statute, analogy of law;
2) the content of the foreign law norms in view of their official or generally accepted interpretation, practice, doctrine in the relevant foreign state.
2. The expert conclusion in the field of law may not contain an evaluation of the evidence, instructions on the reliability or unreliability of a particular piece of evidence, the advantages of some pieces of evidence over others, as well as what kind of judgment should be made based on the case.
Article 109. Evaluation of the expert conclusion in the field of law by the court
1. The expert conclusion in the field of law shall not mean evidence, but it shall be of an auxiliary (advisory) nature, not binding on the court.
2. The Court may, in its judgment, refer to the expert conclusion in the field of law as the source of the information contained therein and shall draw its own conclusions on the relevant issues.
Article 110. Grounds and procedure for securing of evidence
1. At the case party's request or of a person who may acquire the status of plaintiff, the court shall provide evidence if there is reason to believe that the means of proof may be lost or that the collection or submission of relevant evidence will subsequently become impossible or difficult.
2. Ways of providing evidence by the court shall be the interrogation of witnesses, appointment of examination, requesting for and (or) examination of evidence, including at their location, prohibition to take certain actions on evidence and obligation to take certain actions on evidence. If necessary, the court may use other methods of securing evidence determined by the court.
3. An application for the provision of evidence may be filed with the court both before and after the filing of the statement of claim.
4. Provision of evidence prior to the filing of a statement of claim shall be carried out by the court of first instance at the location of the means of proof or at the place where the relevant procedural action must be performed. Provision of evidence after the filing of a statement of claim shall be carried out by the court hearing the case.
5. In case of filing an application for provision of evidence before filing a statement of claim, the applicant shall file a statement of claim within ten days from the date of the ruling on the provision of evidence. In case of failure to file a statement of claim within the specified period, return of the statement of claim or refusal to initiate proceedings, the court shall revoke the ruling on taking measures to provide evidence no later than the next day after expiration of such period or the if the court decides to return the statement of claim or refuse to initiate proceedings.
If a ruling on the provision of evidence at the time of its revocation was executed in whole or in part, the evidence obtained by the court (testimony of witnesses, expert conclusions, etc.) may be used in another case.
6. A person who has filed an application for the provision of evidence shall be obliged to reimburse the court costs, as well as damages caused in connection with the provision of evidence, in case of failure to file a statement of claim within the period specified in Part 5 of this Article, as well as in case of rejection of the claim.
Article 111. Application on provision of evidence
1. The application on provision of evidence shall stipulate:
1) name of the court where the application is filed;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the applicant, his/her location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address (if any);
3) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the other party (parties), if it is known to the applicant, as well as if the information identifying it is known: its location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail addresses;
4) evidence, which are required to be provided, as well as the circumstances to be proved by these evidence;
5) substantiation of the need to provide evidence;
6) the manner by which the applicant asks the court to provide evidence, and if necessary the person who has the evidence;
7) a list of documents attached to the application.
2. The application shall be signed by the applicant or his/her representative. The application submitted by the applicant's representative shall be accompanied by a document confirming his/her powers.
3. A court fee in the amount established by law shall be paid for the submission of an application for the provision of evidence. The document confirming the payment of the court fee shall be attached to the application.
4. Having established that the application for provision of evidence was submitted in violation of the requirements of this Article, the court shall return it to the applicant and issue a ruling thereof.
Article 112. Consideration of the application for provision of evidence
1. An application for the provision of evidence shall be considered in a court hearing in the general manner provided for by this Code, with regard to special provisions established by this Article.
2. The application shall be considered no longer than five days from the date of its receipt by the court.
3. The applicant and other persons who may obtain the status of case parties shall be notified of the date, time and place of the court hearing, but their absence shall not preclude consideration of the submitted application.
4. At the applicant's request, the court may provide evidence without notifying other persons who may obtain the status of case parties:
2) if it is impossible to establish who are or will become such persons;
3) if the notification of the other party may make it impossible or significantly obstruct obtaining the relevant evidence.
5. Based on the results of consideration of the application for securing evidence, the court shall issue a ruling to satisfy or dismiss the application.
6. If the application is satisfied, the court shall indicate in the ruling the evidence, as well as the actions that must be taken to ensure it.
7. An appeal against a ruling on the provision of evidence shall neither suspend its enforcement, nor shall it impede the consideration of the case.
8. When deciding on the provision of evidence, the court may order the applicant to provide compensation for damages that may be caused in connection with the provision of evidence. Such compensation shall be provided under the rules of counter-security provided for by Chapter 10 of this Code. Damages caused by the provision of evidence shall be reimbursed in the manner prescribed by law, taking into account the provisions of Article 146 of this Code.
9. If, after taking procedural actions on provision of evidence, the statement of claim is filed with another court, the minutes and other materials on provision of evidence shall be sent to the court hearing the case.
10. A ruling on the provision of evidence (except for provision of evidence by questioning witnesses, appointing an expert examination, reviewing evidence) shall constitute an executive document and shall be executed immediately under the procedure established for the execution of judgments.
Article 113. Types of procedural period
1. The period for performance of procedural actions shall be established by law, and if such period is not determined by law, it shall be established by the court.
Article 114. Reasonableness of procedural period
1. The court shall set reasonable period for implementing the procedural actions.
2. A period shall be reasonable if it provides for the sufficient time, taking into account the circumstances of the case, to implement the procedural action, and corresponds to the task of commercial proceedings.
Article 115. Calculation of procedural period
1. The period established by law or by a court shall be calculated in years, months and days, and may also be determined by reference to an event that will inevitably occur.
Article 116. Beginning and ending of procedural terms
1. The procedural period shall begin on the day following the relevant calendar date or the occurrence of the event to which it begins.
2. The period calculated in years shall end in the respective month and on the day of the last year in the period.
3. The period calculated in month shall end on the respective day of the last month of the period. If the expiration of the period calculated in months falls on a month without the respective day, the period shall expire on the last day of this month.
4. If the expiration of the period falls on a weekend, holiday or other non-working day, the last day of the period shall be the first working day after it.
5. The period, the expiration of which is associated with an event that must inevitably occur, shall end on the day after the event.
6. The last day of the period shall last up to 24 hours, but when during this period it was necessary to take procedural action only in the court, where the working hours end earlier, the period shall ends at the end of this time.
7. The period shall not be considered missed if before its expiration the application, complaint, other documents or materials or funds have been submitted by mail or transferred by other appropriate means of communication.
Article 117. Suspension of procedural period
1. Suspension of proceedings in the case shall suspend the course of procedural period.
2. From the day of resumption of proceedings the course of procedural period shall continue.
Article 118. Consequences of missing procedural period
1. The right to take procedural actions shall be lost upon the expiration of the term established by law or by the court.
2. Complaints, appeals and documents submitted after the expiration of the procedural period shall remain without consideration, except for the cases provided for by this Code.
Article 119. Renewal and extension of procedural period
1. The court on the case party's application shall renew the missed procedural period established by law, if it finds the reasons for its omission valid, except in cases where this Code establishes the impossibility of such renewal.
2. The procedural period established by the court may be extended by the court upon the case party's application, submitted before the expiration of this period, or on the initiative of the court.
3. Unless otherwise provided for by law, the application for renewal of the procedural period established by law shall be considered by the court where the procedural action on the missed period is to be performed, and the application for extension of the procedural period established by the court shall be considered by the court that determined the period, without a notification of the case parties.
{Part 3 of Article 119 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
4. Concurrently with the submission of the application for renewal of the procedural period, a procedural action must be performed (application, complaint, documents, etc. submitted) in respect of which the period has been missed.
5. The omission of the period established by law or court to the case party for the submission of evidence, other materials or performance of certain actions shall not release such party from the obligation to take the appropriate procedural action.
6. The court shall issue a ruling on the renewal or extension of the procedural period.
7. The court shall issue a ruling on the refusal to renew or extend the procedural period, which shall be sent to the person who filed the relevant application no later than the next day from the day of its ruling.
8. A ruling to dismiss the renewal or extension of a procedural term may be appealed under the procedure established by this Code.
Chapter 7. Court summons and notifications
Article 120. Notifications and summons issued by the court
1. The court shall summon the case parties to a court hearing or to participate in the performance of a procedural action, if it finds their appearance obligatory.
2. The court shall notify the case parties of the date, time and place of the court hearing or the performance of the relevant procedural action, if their appearance is not obligatory.
3. Summons and notifications shall be issued by serving a ruling in the manner prescribed by this Code for the delivery of court rulings.
4. A ruling of the commercial court on the date, time and venue of taking the relevant procedural action must be served in advance, so that the summoned persons have sufficient time, but not less than five days, to appear in court and prepare for participation in the trial or taking of relevant procedural action.
This term may be shortened by the court if required by the urgency of taking the relevant procedural action (examination of perishable evidence, impossibility to protect the rights of an individual in case of delay, etc.).
5. Service of a ruling to summon a witness or expert to a party who filed a witness statement or expert conclusion, notification of such participant on the date, time and venue of the court hearing, to which the witness, expert is summoned, shall be considered appropriate summons, notification of such witness, expert.
6. The court shall summon or notify an expert, interpreter, specialist, and in cases of urgency provided for by this Code it shall also summon or notify the case parties by telephone, telegram, facsimile, e-mail or message via other means of communication (including mobile), which provide recording of the notification or the call.
7. The trial participants shall be obliged to inform the court about the change of their location or place of residence during the case consideration.
In the absence of an application for a change of place of residence, the notification or summons ruling shall be sent to the trial participants who do not have an official e-mail address, and, in the absence of the possibility to notify them by other means of recording the notification or summons, to the last address known to the court, and is deemed to have been served even if the relevant trial participant no longer resides at that address.
8. If a trial participant informs the court of telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address or other similar information, he or she shall inform the court of any relevant change during the proceedings.
The provisions of Part 7 of this Article shall also apply in the absence of an application for a change of telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, whereof the case party has informed to the court.
9. In the presence of a relevant written application of the case party and a technical feasibility, a notification of the appointment of the case and the date, time and place of the hearing or appropriate procedural action may be executed by the court using mobile communication ensuring the recording of a notification or a summons by sending text messages to such a case party, with the indication of the web address of the relevant ruling in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
Article 121. Contents of the notification of summons ruling
1. A ruling that is used by the court to summon the trial participants to a court hearing or for participation in taking the relevant procedural action must contain:
1) name (surname, name and patronymic) of an individual or name of a legal entity, to which the ruling is addressed;
2) name and address of the court;
3) indication of the place, day and time of appearance according to the summons;
4) name and number of the case for which the summons is executed;
5) indication of the summoned person's function;
6) indication of whether the person is summoned to a preparatory hearing, a court hearing or to participate in taking certain procedural actions (with their indication);
7) explanation of the consequences of non-appearance depending on the procedural status of the summoned person and the obligation to inform the court of the reasons for non-appearance.
2. A ruling of the court to notify the appointment of a court hearing or the taking of another procedural action must contain the name and address of the court, name of a case, indication of the procedural status of the notified person, indication of what action will be taken, date, time and place of taking it, as well as the fact that participation in its taking is not obligatory for this person.
3. If the copies of the relevant documents are sent together with a summons or notification ruling, the ruling shall specify which documents are sent and the right to file objections and relevant evidence to confirm them.
{Part 3 of Article 121 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
Article 122. Official publication of case announcements
1. In the cases of compensation for damage caused to a legal entity by its official and recognition of a trademark (trademark for goods and services) well known, a ruling on commencement of proceedings and information on postponement of case consideration or announcement of session break shall be published by the court on the official web portal of the judiciary of Ukraine.
2. A ruling on commencement of proceedings in the cases referred to in Part 1 of this Article shall be published within two days from the date of its delivery, but not later than twenty calendar days before the date of the preparatory meeting.
Information on the announcement of a break during a session shall be published within two days from the date of such announcement, but not later than five days before the next court hearing.
3. A ruling (or its web address in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions) or the information specified in Part 1 of this Article shall be posted on the official web portal of the judiciary of Ukraine on a single web page indicating the date of publication, case number, name and address of the court, amount of claim, name of the plaintiff, their location and identification code, names of other trial participants.
4. A defendant, third party, witness, registered place of residence (stay), location or place of work of whom is unknown, shall be summoned to the court through an announcement on the official website of the judiciary of Ukraine, which must be posted no later than ten days before the date of the relevant court hearing. With the publication of the announcement on the summons, the defendant shall be deemed to have been notified of the date, time and venue of the court consideration.
The announcement on summons shall indicate the data specified in Part 1, Article 121 of this Code.
5. The procedure for publishing announcements on the web-portal of the Ukrainian Judiciary shall be determined by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
Article 123. Types of court costs
1. Court costs shall consist of court fees and costs related to the proceedings.
2. The amount of the court fee, the procedure for its payment, refund and exemption from payment shall be established by law.
3. The costs associated with the case consideration shall include the costs:
1) for professional legal aid;
2) related to the involvement of witnesses, specialists, interpreters, experts and execution of expert examination;
3) related to the request for evidence, inspection of evidence at their location, provision of evidence;
4) related to the performance of other procedural actions necessary for the consideration of the case or preparation for its consideration.
Article 124. Preliminary determination of the court costs amount
1. Together with the first statement on the merits of the dispute, each party shall submit to the court a preliminary (indicative) calculation of the court costs amount that it has incurred and expects to incur due to the case.
2. If a party fails to submit a preliminary calculation of the court costs amount, the court may refuse to reimburse the relevant court costs, except for the amount of court fees paid by it.
3. The preliminary calculation of the court costs amount shall not limit the party in proving another actual amount of the court costs, which are subject to distribution between the parties based on the results of the case.
4. The court may determine in advance the amount of court costs (other than the costs of professional legal aid) related to the case proceedings or a particular procedural action. Such the amount preliminary determined by the court shall not limit the court in the final determination of the court costs amount to be distributed between the parties based on the results of the case.
Article 125. Security and prepayment for court costs
1. The court may oblige the parties to deposit into the court's deposit account a predetermined amount of court costs related to the proceedings or a certain procedural action, subject to execution of a ruling (provision of court costs).
2. The court may oblige the case party, who filed a petition to summon a witness, appoint an expert, involve a specialist, interpreter, provision, request for or review of evidence at their location, to pay beforehand (in advance) the costs associated with the relevant proceedings.
If the petition is filed by several case parties, the required amount of money shall be paid in advance in equal shares by the relevant case parties, and in cases where the relevant procedural action is carried out on the initiative of the court, the parties shall pay in equal shares.
3. In case of non-payment of the relevant funds within the period set by the court or non-payment of the relevant amounts in advance within the period set by the court, the court may reject the petition to summon a witness, appoint an expert, involve a specialist, interpreter, provide, request for or review of evidence and to adopt the judgment by virtue of other evidence submitted by the case parties or to cancel the previously issued ruling to summon a witness, appoint an expert, involve a specialist, interpreter, provide, request for or review of evidence at their location.
4. As a measure of securing court costs, the court, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, shall have the right, at the defendant's request to oblige the plaintiff to deposit money in the court's deposit account to secure possible reimbursement of future defendants' costs for professional legal aid and other costs to be incurred by the defendant due to the case consideration (security for costs of professional legal aid).
Such security for court costs shall be applied if:
1) the claim has signs of knowingly unfounded claim or other signs of abuse of the right to claim; or
2) the plaintiff does not have a registered place of residence (stay) or location on the territory of Ukraine and property located on the territory of Ukraine, in the amount sufficient to reimburse the defendant's court costs in case of the claim dismissal.
Such security for court costs may also be applied if the court is provided with evidence that the plaintiff's property status or actions to alienate property or other actions may complicate or make it impossible to enforce the judgment to reimburse the defendant for court costs in case of the claim dismissal.
5. The amount of the security for costs related to the professional legal aid shall be determined by the court taking into account the provisions of Part 4 of Article 126, Part 7 of Article 127 and Part 5 of Article 129 of this Code, as well as their documentary rationale.
6. In case of non-payment of funds for professional legal aid within the period specified by the court, the court shall have the right to leave the claim without consideration at the defendant's petition.
7. In case of satisfaction of the claim the court shall decide to return the amount paid to the plaintiff, and in case of the claim dismissal, closing the proceedings or leaving the claim without consideration, it may decide on reimbursement of defendant's costs in whole or in part at the expense of this amount pursuant to Articles 129, 130 of this Code. The unused part of the amount paid by the plaintiff shall be returned to the plaintiff not later than five days from the date of resolving the issues specified in this part, subject to execution of a ruling by the court.
Article 126. Costs for the professional legal aid
1. The costs related to the legal aid of a lawyer shall be borne by the parties, except in cases of providing legal aid at the expense of the state.
2. As a result of the proceedings, the costs for the professional legal aid of a lawyer shall be divided between the parties together with other court costs.
For the division of the court costs:
1) the amount of costs for the professional legal aid of a lawyer, including the lawyer's fees for representation in court and other legal aid related to the case, including preparation for its consideration, collection of evidence, etc., as well as the cost of legal aid shall be determined pursuant to the contract on the provision of legal aid and by virtue of relevant evidence regarding the scope of services provided and works performed and their value, which is paid or payable by the relevant party or a third party;
2) the amount to be paid in order to reimburse the lawyer's costs necessary for the provision of legal aid shall be established according to the terms of the contract on the provision of legal aid on by virtue of relevant evidence confirming the payment of relevant costs.
3. In order to determine the amount of the costs of the professional legal aid for the purpose of division of the court costs, a case party shall submit a detailed description of the works (services provided) performed by the lawyer and the costs incurred by him or her to provide legal aid.
4. The amount of costs for the lawyer's services shall be commensurate with:
1) the complexity of the case and the works performed by the lawyer (services rendered);
2) the time spent by the lawyer to perform the relevant works (rendering of services);
3) the volume of services rendered and works performed by the lawyer;
4) cost of claim and (or) the significance of the case to the party, including the impact of the case proceedings on the party's reputation or the public interest in the case.
5. In case of non-compliance with the requirements of Part 4 of this Article, the court may, at other party's request, reduce the amount of the costs of the professional legal aid of a lawyer to be distributed between the parties.
6. The burden of proving the incommensurability of the costs shall lie upon the party filing a petition to reduce the costs to be paid for the legal aid by the lawyer, which shall be divided between the parties.
Article 127. Costs associated with the involvement (summons) of witnesses, experts, specialists, interpreters, execution of expert examinations
1. A witness shall be reimbursed for the costs of the summons related to moving to another settlement and renting accommodation, as well as compensation for lost earnings or time-off from regular employment.
Compensation for lost earnings shall be calculated in proportion to the amount of average monthly earnings, and compensation for break in traditional occupation shall be compensated in proportion to the amount of the minimum wage.
2. An expert, specialist or interpreter shall be remunerated for works performed in relation to the case, if this is not part of their official duties.
3. In cases where the amount of costs for the services of an expert, specialist, interpreter, or costs of a person who provided evidence at the request of the court, was not fully paid by the parties in advance or in the procedure of securing the court costs, the court shall collect these amounts in favour of the specialist, an interpreter, expert or expert institution from a party designated by the court under the rules on the court costs distribution established by this Code.
4. The amount of costs for the preparation of an expert conclusion upon the request of the party, execution of expert examination, involvement of a specialist, payment for the interpreters' services shall be established by the court by virtue of contracts, invoices and other evidence.
5. The amount of costs for the work of the expert, specialist, interpreter involved by the party shall be commensurate with the complexity of the work, its volume and time spent by him or her to fulfil the work.
6. In case of non-compliance with the requirements for commensurability of costs, the court may, at the request of the other party, reduce the amount of costs for the services of an expert, specialist, interpreter, which are subject to distribution between the parties.
7. The burden of proving the incommensurability of the costs shall lie upon the party filing a petition to reduce the costs, which shall be divided between the parties.
Article 128. Costs associated with obtaining evidence, reviewing the evidence at its location, providing evidence and taking other actions necessary for case consideration
1. A person who has provided evidence at the request of a court shall have the right to demand payment of monetary compensation for his/her expenses related to the provision of such evidence. The amount of monetary compensation shall be determined by the court by virtue of the evidence of payment for the relevant costs, provided by such a person.
2. The amount of costs related to the examination of evidence at their location, provision of evidence and other actions related to the consideration of the case or preparation for its consideration shall be established by the court by virtue of contracts, invoices and other evidence.
3. In cases where the amount of costs associated with the recovery of evidence, examination of evidence at its location, provision of evidence and other actions related to the consideration of the case or preparation for its consideration, has not been fully paid by the case parties or in order to secure court costs, the court shall collect these amounts from the party determined by the court under the rules on the distribution of court costs established by this Code.
4. The maximum amount of compensation for costs related to the examination of evidence at their location and the performance of other actions necessary for the consideration of the case shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Article 129. Distribution of court costs
1. The court fee shall be imposed:
1) in disputes arising from the conclusion, amendment and termination of contracts on the party that evades the acceptance of proposals of the other party for no good reason, or on both parties if the court rejected part of the proposals of each party;
2) in disputes arising from the execution of contracts and on other grounds on the parties proportionally to the amount of satisfied claims.
2. The court fee, from which the plaintiff is duly exempted, shall be charged from the defendant to the budget revenue proportionally to the amount of satisfied claims if the defendant is not exempt from paying the court fee.
3. Unless otherwise provided by law, in case of leaving of the claim without consideration, termination of the proceedings on the case or dismissal of the claim of the plaintiff exempt from paying court fees, the court fees paid by the defendant shall be reimbursed by the state in the manner prescribed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
4. Other court costs related to the proceedings shall be borne by:
1) the defendant, in case of the claim satisfaction;
2) the plaintiff, in case of the claim dismissal;
3) on both sides in proportion to the amount of satisfied claims, in the case of partial claim satisfaction.
5. When resolving the issue of the distribution of court costs, the court shall take into account:
1) whether these costs are related to the case;
2) whether the amount of such costs is reasonable and proportionate to the subject of the dispute, taking into account the cost of the claim, the significance of the case for the parties, including whether the outcome of its decision could affect the reputation of the party or whether the case aroused public interest;
3) conduct of the party during the consideration of the case, which led to the delay of the case consideration, in particular, submission by the party of obviously unfounded statements and motions, unfounded statement or objection by the party of certain circumstances relevant to the case, unjustified overstatement by the plaintiff of the claims, etc.;
4) actions of the party on the pre-trial settlement of the dispute and on the settlement of the dispute amicably during the case consideration, the stage of case consideration when such actions were performed.
6. If the amount of court costs claimed for reimbursement significantly exceeds the amount stated in the preliminary (approximate) calculation, the court may refuse the party in whose favour the judgment was adopted to reimburse court costs in part of such excess, unless the party proves that he or she could not provide for such costs at the time of submission of the preliminary (approximate) calculation.
7. If the amount of court costs claimed for reimbursement and supported by relevant evidence is incommensurably less than the amount claimed in the preliminary (approximate) calculation, the court may refuse the party in whose favour the judgment was adopted to reimburse court costs (except court fees) in whole or in part, unless such party proves valid reasons for reducing that amount.
8. The amount of court costs that the party has paid or must pay in connection with the case shall be established by the court on the basis of evidence submitted by the parties (contracts, invoices, etc.).
Such evidence shall be submitted before the end of the court debate in the case or within five days after the judgment, provided that before the end of the court debate in the case, the party has made a statement to that effect.
In case of failure to submit the relevant evidence within the prescribed period, such statement shall not be considered.
9. In case of abuse of procedural rights by a party or his or her representative, or if the dispute arose as a result of incorrect actions of a party, the court shall have the right to impose on such party the court costs in whole or in part, regardless of the outcome of the dispute.
10. If in a dispute over compensation for damages caused to a legal entity by its official, the court costs under the rules of this Article must be charged in favour of a legal entity, they shall be charged in favour of the owners (participants, shareholders) who filed a claim on behalf of such legal entity to an extent they are incurred by these owners (participants, shareholders).
11. In case of partial satisfaction of the claim, in case of imposition of court costs on both parties in proportion to the amount of satisfied claims, the court may oblige the party on which a larger amount of court costs is imposed to pay the difference to the other party. In this case, the parties shall be released from the obligation to pay each other the other part of the court costs.
12. The court shall have the right to seize the money or property of the party on which the judgment has incurred costs associated with the involvement of witnesses, specialists, interpreters, experts and execution of expert examination; requesting for evidence, reviewing evidence at their location, provision of evidence; within the limits of the amounts awarded for recovery, under the procedure established by this Code to secure the claim.
13. Legal costs of a third party who does not make independent claims on the subject of the dispute shall be collected in his or her favour from the party determined under the requirements of this Article, depending on whether such person denied or supported the claims.
14. If the court of appellate, cassation instances changes the judgment or adopts a new one without referring the case for retrial, this court shall accordingly change the distribution of court costs.
Article 130. Distribution of costs in the event of recognition of the claim, closure of the proceedings or leaving the claim without consideration
1. In the case of concluding a settlement agreement before the court of first instance approves a judgment, as well as in case of the plaintiff's waiver of the claim, recognition of the claim by the defendant before the trial on the merits, the court in the relevant ruling or judgment in the manner prescribed by law, shall decide to return the plaintiff from the state budget 50 percent of the court fee paid when filing a lawsuit.
2. In case of concluding a settlement agreement, waiver of the claim, recognition of the claim by the defendant at the stage of review of the judgment under appeal or cassation procedure, the court in the relevant ruling in the manner prescribed by law, shall decide to return the complainant (applicant) from the state budget 50 percent of court fees, paid by him or her when filing a relevant appeal or cassation petition.
3. In the event of the plaintiff's waiver of the claim, the costs incurred by him/her shall not be reimbursed by the defendant, and the costs of the defendant relating to his/her application shall be collected from the plaintiff. However, if the plaintiff does not support his/her claims due to satisfaction thereof by the defendant after filing a claim, the court at the plaintiff's request shall award recovery of costs incurred by him/her in the case from the defendant.
4. If the parties at the time of concluding the settlement agreement did not provide for the order of the court costs distribution, each case party shall bear half of the court costs.
5. In case of closing the proceedings or leaving the claim without consideration, the defendant shall have the right to claim compensation for the costs incurred by him/her in relation to the proceedings, as a result of unreasonable actions of the plaintiff.
6. In the cases established by Parts 3–5 of this Article, the court may decide on the court costs distribution within fifteen days from the date of the decision to close the proceedings or leave the claim without consideration, the decision to satisfy the claim due to its recognition, provided that the relevant party complies with the requirements of Part 8 of Article 129 of this Code.
Chapter 9. Procedural coercion measures
Article 131. Grounds and procedure for applying measures of procedural coercion
1. Measures of procedural coercion shall mean the procedural actions taken by a court in cases specified by this Code in order to induce the relevant persons to comply with the rules established by the court, to perform the procedural duties in good faith, to cease abusing rights and to prevent illegal obstacles to the administration of justice.
2. Measures of procedural coercion shall be applied by the court by issuing a ruling.
Article 132. Types of measures of procedural coercion
1. Measures of procedural coercion shall be as follows:
2) removal from the courtroom;
3) temporary seizure of evidence for examination by a court;
2. The application of coercive measures to a person shall not release him/her from the performance of the obligations established by this Code.
Article 133. Warning and removal from the courtroom
1. A warning shall be applied to the trial participants and other persons present at the court hearing for violation of the discipline during the court hearing or non-compliance with the instructions of a judge (presiding judge), and in case of repeated actions, the removal from the courtroom shall be applied.
2. In case of repeated performance of the actions specified in Part 1 of this Article, by the interpreter or specialist, the court shall announce a break and provide a time for his or her replacement.
Article 134. Temporary seizure of evidence for examination by a court
1. In case of non-submission of written, material or electronic evidence required by the court, without valid reasons or without notification of the reasons, the court may order the temporary seizure of this evidence by the state executor for examination by the court.
2. The ruling on temporary seizure of evidence for examination by the court shall stipulate the following:
1) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic for individuals) of the person possessing the evidence, its location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail addresses, if any;
2) name or description of written, material or electronic evidence;
3) the grounds for its temporary seizure;
4) the person who is entrusted with the seizure.
3. A ruling on the temporary seizure of evidence for examination by the court shall be the executive document subject to immediate execution and must meet the requirements for the executive document established by law.
1. The court may rule to impose a fine in the amount of from one to ten times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons on the relevant person into the state budget revenue in the following cases:
1) failure to perform procedural duties, in particular evasion of actions imposed by the court on the trial participant;
2) abuse of procedural rights, actions or omissions in order to obstruct the proceedings;
3) failure to notify the court of the impossibility to submit evidence required by the court, or failure to submit such evidence without a reasonable excuse;
4) non-enforcement of the ruling on securing the claim or evidence, failure to provide a copy of the statement of defence, appeal or cassation appeal, response to the defence, objection to another case party within the period prescribed by the court;
5) violation of the prohibitions established by Part 10 of Article 188 of this Code.
2. In case of repeated or systematic non-fulfillment of procedural obligations, recurrent or repeated abuse of procedural rights, recurrent or systematic non-submission of evidence demanded by the court without reasonable excuses or without the due notification thereof, continued non-execution of the ruling on securing the claim or evidence, the court shall impose a fine in the amount of from 5 to 50 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons on the relevant trial participant or other relevant person into the state budget revenue, with regard to certain circumstances.
3. In case of non-fulfillment of procedural obligations, abuse of procedural rights by the case party's representative, the court, taking into account the certain circumstances of the case, may impose a fine on both the case party and his or her representative.
4. The ruling to impose a fine may be appealed to a court of higher instance. An appeal against such a ruling shall not preclude consideration of the case. The resolution of the court of appeal based on the results of the review of the ruling to impose a fine shall be final and not subject to appeal.
A ruling of the Supreme Court to impose a fine shall not be subject to appeal.
5. A ruling to impose a fine shall be an executive document and must meet the requirements for the executive document established by law. The State Judicial Administration of Ukraine shall be a recoverer under such an executive document.
6. The court may revoke its decision to impose a fine if the person against whom it is imposed has remedied the breach and (or) provided evidence of the reasonableness of the excuses for non-compliance with the relevant requirements of the court or its procedural obligations.
Chapter 10. Security for claim
Article 136. Grounds for securing the claim
1. Upon the party's application, a case party shall have the right to take the measures provided for in Article 137 of this Code to secure the claim.
2. Security for claim shall be allowed both before filing a statement of claim and at any stage of the proceedings, if a failure to take such measures may significantly complicate or prevent the execution of a judgment or efficient protection, or restoration of violated or disputed rights or interests of the plaintiff who has applied or intends to apply to the court.
Article 137. Measures to secure the claim
1. The claim may be secured by:
1) seizure of property and (or) funds belonging to or subject to transfer or payment to the defendant and held by them or other persons;
2) prohibiting the defendant to perform certain actions;
{Clause 3, Part 1, Article 137 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
4) a prohibition on other persons to perform actions in relation to the subject of the dispute or to make payments, or to transfer property to the defendant or perform other obligations relating to the subject of the dispute;
5) suspension of recovery on the basis of an executive document, according to which the recovery is carried out in an undisputed order;
6) suspension of the sale of the property, if a claim has been filed for recognition of the ownership right to this property, or for its diversion and for lifting the seizure from it;
{Clause 7, Part 1, Article 137 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
8) suspension of customs clearance of goods or items, which contain intellectual property items;
9) arrest of a seagoing vessel carried out to secure the maritime claim;
10) other measures in cases provided for by law, as well as international treaties, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
{Clause 10, Part 1 of Article 137 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. Perishable items may not be seized.
3. The court may apply several measures to secure the claim.
4. Measures to secure the claim, other than the seizure of a sea-going vessel carried out to secure the maritime claim, shall be commensurable to the plaintiff's claims.
5. It shall not be allowed to secure a claim in disputes arising from corporate relations by prohibiting:
1) to hold the general meetings of shareholders or members of a company and make decisions by them, except for the prohibition to make specific decisions determined by the court, which directly relate to the subject of the dispute;
2) to provide the issuer, custodian, depository with a register of owners of registered securities, information on shareholders or members of a company for the purpose of holding the general meeting of a company;
3) participation (registration for participation) or non-participation of shareholders or participants in the general meeting of a company, determination of the eligibility of the general meeting of shareholders or participants of a company;
4) for the state authorities, local governments, the Deposit Guarantee Fund of individuals to exercise the powers entrusted to them under the law, except for the prohibition to make specific decisions defined by the court, to take specific actions directly related to the subject of the dispute.
6. It shall not be allowed to secure a claim by suspending the decisions (regulatory acts or individual acts) of the National Bank of Ukraine, as well as establishing for the National Bank of Ukraine, its officials and officers a ban or obligation to perform certain actions, the obligation to refrain from performing certain actions.
{Part 6 of Article 137 as revised by Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
7. It shall not be allowed to secure the claim by:
1) seizure of property (assets), including funds of the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Individuals or a bank classified as insolvent or a bank that is being liquidated under the Law of Ukraine “On the System of Guaranteeing Natural Person Deposits”, which belongs to or subject to transfer or payment to the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Individuals or a bank classified as insolvent, a bank that is being liquidated under the Law of Ukraine “On the System of Guaranteeing Natural Person Deposits” and is possessed by them or other persons;
2) imposing a ban or obligation of the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Individuals, a bank classified as insolvent, a bank that is being liquidated under the Law of Ukraine “On the System of Guaranteeing Natural Person Deposits”, their officials, other persons during the disposal by the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Individuals of the property (assets) of a bank classified as insolvent to take certain actions or to establish an obligation for such persons to refrain from taking certain actions;
3) suspension of decisions approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on state participation in excluding an insolvent bank from the market, individual acts of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine adopted to implement such decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, individual acts of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission adopted in the process of excluding an insolvent bank from the market, as well as the establishment for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, their officials and employees of a ban or an obligation to take certain actions, an obligation to refrain from certain actions arising from such decisions/acts.
{Part 7 of Article 137 as revised by Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
8. The property (assets), including cash, of a client of a bank seized by a court before the day of classifying the bank as insolvent or the day of delivering the ruling to revoke a banking licence and liquidate the bank on the grounds specified in Article 77 of the Law of Ukraine “On banks and banking” (except for liquidation of a bank by the decision of its owners), may be transferred to the host or transitional bank in the manner prescribed by the legislation on the Individual Deposit Guarantee System with a written notification of a person, in whose interests the seizure was imposed, by the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund. In this case, the transferred property (assets), including cash, shall remain encumbered in accordance with the court ruling on the seizure.
{Part 8 of Article 137 as revised by Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
9. The court that decides on the dispute over the ownership of shares (equities) of a company, the rights of a shareholder (participant), the disposal of which depends on the relative value of shares (share size) in the authorised capital, may deliver a ruling to secure a claim by prohibiting to amend the charter of this company in terms of the authorised capital amount.
10. Measures to secure the claim must not violate the rights of other shareholders (participants) of a company. In particular, except as provided in Part 9 of this Article, the prohibition to take actions shall apply only to shares or corporate rights directly related to the subject of the dispute.
11. It shall not be allowed to take measures to secure the claim, which in essence are identical to the satisfaction of the stated claims, unless the dispute is resolved on the merits.
12. It shall not be allowed to take measures to secure the claim, which consist in (or result in) suspension, postponement, discontinuation or other interference in the process of tender, auction, bidding, tender or other public tender procedures conducted on behalf of the state (state body), territorial community (local government) or with the participation of an entity appointed by a state body as a member of a commission conducting a tender, auction, bidding, tender or other public tender procedure.
{Article 137 has been appended with Part 12 under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 138. The procedure for filing an application for securing a claim
1. The application for securing a claim shall be filed:
1) before filing a statement of claim, according to the rules of jurisdiction established by this Code for the relevant claim, or to the court at the location of the subject matter of the dispute, if the court to whose jurisdiction the case relates cannot be determined;
2) concurrently with the filing of a statement of claim, to the court to which the statement of claim is filed, according to the rules of jurisdiction established by this Code;
3) after the opening of proceedings in the case, to the court where the case is being stored.
2. An application for the seizure of a seagoing vessel shall be filed at the location of the port of registration of the vessel or at the location of the seaport in which the vessel is located or sailing, regardless of whether such court has jurisdiction to consider the merits of the maritime claim, which is a ground for seizure.
3. In case of filing an application for securing the claim before filing a statement of claim, the applicant shall file a statement of claim within ten days, and in the case of filing an application for seizure of a seagoing vessel, within thirty days from the date of the decision to secure the claim.
Article 139. Content and form of the application
1. The application of the security for claim shall be submitted in writing, signed by the applicant and shall stipulate the following:
1) name of the court where the application is filed;
2) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic for individuals) of the applicant, his or her location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address (if any);
3) the subject of the claim and the justification of the need to secure the claim;
4) the measure to secure the claim to be applied, with a justification of its necessity;
5) cost of claim, to be secured upon the applicant's request;
6) the applicant's proposals for counter-security;
7) other information required to secure the claim.
2. If the application for securing the claim is filed before the opening of proceedings, such application shall additionally stipulate the full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of other persons who may obtain the status of a case party, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address.
The taxpayer identification number or passport data of other individuals who are not entrepreneurs, being parties to the case, shall be indicated if they are known to the applicant.
3. An application for securing a claim in the form of seizure of a seagoing vessel shall be submitted in writing and shall stipulate the following:
1) name of the court where the application is filed;
2) full name (for legal entity) or name (surname, name and patronymic for individual) of a person who is responsible for the maritime claim, their location (for legal entity) or place of residence or stay (for individual), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine taxpayer identification number (for individual) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address (if any);
3) the size and essence of the maritime claim, which is the basis for the seizure of a seagoing vessel;
4) name of the vessel in respect of which the application for arrest is filed, other information about the vessel, if they are known to the applicant.
4. The statement may indicate several measures to secure the claim to be taken by the court, justifying the appropriateness of each of these measures.
5. The application shall be accompanied by documents confirming the payment of the court fee in the prescribed manner and amount.
Article 140. Consideration of the application for securing the claim
1. The application for securing the claim shall be considered by the court no later than two days from the date of its receipt without notifying the case parties.
2. An application for securing the claim in the form of seizure of a seagoing vessel shall be considered by the court no later than two days from the date of its receipt after its submission without notifying the person who filed the application and the person responsible for the maritime claim.
3. The court, considering the application for securing the claim, may summon the person who filed the application for securing the claim, to provide explanations or additional evidence confirming the need to secure the claim, or to clarify issues related to counter-securing.
4. In exceptional cases, when the explanations and evidence provided by the applicant are insufficient for the application for securing the claim to be considered, the court may order its consideration in a court hearing with the summons of the parties.
5. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the court may secure the claim in whole or in part.
6. The court shall issue a ruling on securing the claim or refusing to secure the claim. In the ruling on securing the claim, the court shall indicate the type of securing the claim and the grounds for its election and shall resolve the issue of counter-securing. The court may also specify the procedure for enforcing the ruling on securing the claim.
If at the time of the approving the ruling to seize the vessel the claim on the merits of the maritime claim against the person responsible for the maritime claim is not filed, the court shall specify in the ruling on the seizure of the vessel the period during which the person who filed the seizure is obliged to file such a claim and provide appropriate confirmation to the court.
7. Having established that the application for securing the claim was submitted in violation of the requirements of Article 139 of this Code, the court shall return it to the applicant and issue a ruling thereof.
8. The ruling to secure the claim or to refuse to secure the claim may be appealed. An appeal against a ruling on the provision of evidence shall neither suspend its enforcement, nor shall it impede further consideration of the case.
9. An appeal against a decision to cancel the security for claim or to replace one type of security with another shall suspend the execution of this ruling.
1. The court may require the person who filed the application to secure the claim, to provide compensation for possible damages of the defendant, which may be caused by securing the claim (counter-security).
2. As a rule, a counter-security is carried out by depositing money in the deposit account of the court in the amount determined by the court. If the plaintiff is not able to pay the appropriate amount due to a reasonable excuse, the counter-security may also be applied by:
1) provision of a bank guarantee, surety or other financial security for the amount determined by the court and from a person approved by the court, whose financial capacity has been verified by the court;
2) taking other actions determined by the court to eliminate potential damages and other risks of the defendant related to securing the claim.
3. The amount of counter-security shall be determined by the court taking into account the circumstances of the case. Counter-security measures must be commensurate with the measures on securiting the claim enforced by the court, as well as the amount of damages that the defendant may incur due to securing the claim.
4. The issue of application of counter-security shall be decided by the court in the ruling on securing the claim or in the ruling on counter-securing of the claim. If the petition for counter-security is filed after the court has applied measures to secure the claim, the issue of counter-security shall be resolved by the court within ten days after the petition has been submitted. A duplicate ruling on counter-security shall be sent to the case parties no later than the next day after its approval.
5. The decision on securing the claim or on counter-security shall stipulate the amount of counter-security or other action to be taken by the applicant in the order of a counter-security.
6. The term for providing counter-security shall be determined by the court and may not exceed ten days from the date of the decision on securing the claim or the decision on counter-security, unless otherwise follows from the content of counter-security measures.
7. The person, on the application of which the measures of securing the claim with the application of counter-security have been applied, shall submit to the court the documents confirming the provision of counter-security within the period determined by the court.
8. If the person, on the application of which the measures of securing the claim have been applied, fails to fulfil the requirements of the court regarding counter-securing within the period determined by the court, the court shall cancel the ruling on securing the claim and on counter-securing.
9. A ruling on counter-securing may be appealed together with the decision on securing the claim or separately.
10. Counter-securing shall not apply to claims of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund filed by it within the procedure of excluding an insolvent bank from the market.
{Article 141 has been supplemented with Part 10 under the Law No. 590-IX of 13 May 2020}
Article 142. Cancellation of counter-security
1. Counter-security shall be cancelled in the event of leaving the claim without consideration on the grounds specified in Paragraph 7, Part 1 of Article 226, or in case of termination of the proceedings on the grounds defined by Paragraphs 2, 5–7, Part 1 of Article 231 of this Code, or after the entry into force of the court ruling to satisfy the claim in full, which shall be separately stated in the operative part of the relevant court ruling.
2. In case of leaving the claim without consideration or closure of the proceedings for reasons other than those specified in Part 1 of this Article, or in case of approving the judgment on full or partial refusal to satisfy the claim, the counter-security shall be cancelled if within twenty days from the day the relevant judgment or ruling has entered into force, the defendant or another person whose rights or legally protected interests have been violated by measures to secure the claim, will not file a claim on compensation for damages in the manner prescribed by Article 146 of this Code.
3. If such a claim is filed, the counter-security shall deem as a measure to secure the claim in the relevant proceedings, and the issue of its cancellation shall be resolved concurrently with the resolution of the claim on the merits, return of the statement of claim, refusal to open proceedings or leave the claim without consideration or closure of the proceedings.
4. Counter-security may be revoked by the court at the reasoned request of the defendant or another person whose rights or legally protected interests are violated due to the adoption of measures to secure the claim.
5. The court shall consider the petition for cancellation of the counter-security not later than five days from the date when such a request has been received by the court. Based on the results of the petition consideration, the court shall issue a ruling. A court ruling to cancel the counter-security or to refuse to cancel it may be appealed.
6. In case of cancellation of counter-security, the funds deposited by the person on the court's deposit account for the purpose of counter-security shall be returned to the person who provided such counter-security within five days from the date of entry into force of the court decision on cancellation of counter-security.
7. In case of cancellation of measures to secure the claim on the grounds provided for in Part 13, Article 145 of this Code, the counter-security shall be cancelled if within twenty days from the date of the court decision on cancellation of measures to secure the claim, none of the persons whose rights or legally protected interests have been violated due to the adoption of measures to secure the claim, will not file a claim on compensation for damages in the manner prescribed by Article 146 of this Code.
Article 143. Replacing one measure to secure the claim with another
1. At the request of a case party, the court may allow the replacement of one measure to secure the claim with another.
2. The issue of replacing one measure to secure the claim with another shall be decided by the court in a court hearing not later than the next day after the court receives the relevant request of the case party.
3. Following the results of the consideration of a petition for the replacement of one measure to secure the claim with another, a ruling shall be delivered. Copies of the ruling to replace one measure to secure the claim with another shall be sent to the case parties no later than the next day after its approval.
In case of replacement of one measure to secure the claim with another, the court may change the measures of counter-securing accordingly.
4. If the court takes measures to secure the claim for recovery of the amount, the defendant (another person) may on his/her own initiative secure the claim by depositing funds in the court's deposit account equally to the amount of the plaintiff's claims or providing a bank guarantee for such amount.
5. Submission by the defendant to the court of a document confirming the security of the claim under Part 4 of this Article shall constitute the grounds for refusal to secure the claim by the court or for cancellation of the measures taken by the court to secure the claim.
6. A copy of the decision to replace one security measure with another immediately after the entry into force of such decision shall be sent to the applicant, all persons affected by the security measures and whom the court can identify, and depending on the type of measures taken, sent by the court for immediate execution to the state and other authorities to take appropriate measures.
Article 144. Enforcement of the ruling on securing the claim
1. The commercial court ruling on securing the claim shall be an executive document and must meet the requirements for the executive document established by law. Such a ruling shall be immediately enforceable from the date of its approval, regardless of its appeal and the opening of enforcement proceedings.
{Part 1 of Article 10 as amended by Law No. 2475-VIII of 3 July 2018}
2. A copy of the ruling to secure the claim immediately after the entry into force of such ruling shall be sent to the applicant, all persons affected by the security measures and whom the court can identify, and depending on the type of measures taken, sent by the court for immediate execution to the state and other authorities to take appropriate measures.
3. A ruling on seize of a seagoing vessel shall be the basis for the detention of the vessel or restriction of its movement in the port where such vessel is located or to which it is headed, until the measures to secure the claim in the form of seizure of the sea vessel are canceled. After handing over a copy of the ruling to seize the vessel, the captain of the seaport where the vessel is located, the branch of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority in the seaport where the vessel is located, the relevant bodies of the State Border Guard Service and customs authorities shall be obliged to take measures to prevent the seized vessel to leave the port.
{Part 3 of Article 144 as amended by Law No. 440-IX of 14 January 2020}
4. Persons guilty of non-compliance with the ruling to secure the claim shall be liable under the law.
Article 145. Cancellation of measures to secure the claim
1. The court may cancel the measures to secure the claim on its own initiative or at the reasoned request of the case party.
2. The petition for cancellation of the measures of securing the claim shall be considered in the court hearing not later than five days from the day of its receipt by the court.
3. If the defendant submits to the court a document confirming the security of the claim under Part 4, Article 143 of this Code, the defendant's petition to cancel the security measures taken by the court shall be considered by the court no later than the next day after the specified document has been submitted.
4. Based on the results of consideration of the petition for cancellation of the measures on securing the claim taken by the court, a ruling shall be delivered.
5. The commercial court ruling on the cancellation of the measures on securing the claim taken by the court, or on the refusal to cancel the security for the claim may be appealed.
6. Refusal to cancel the security for the claim shall not preclude repeated application with the same petition in the event of new circumstances justifying the need to cancel the security for the claim.
7. If the court decides to satisfy the claim, the measures to secure the claim shall continue to apply within ninety days from the date of entry into force of the said judgment or may be revoked at the reasoned petition of the case party.
8. If during the specified period at the plaintiff's (recoverer's) application, the enforcement proceedings are opened, the specified measures to secure the claim shall be valid until the full execution of the judgment.
9. In case of leaving the claim without consideration, closing the proceedings or in case of making a decision on complete refusal to satisfy the claim, the court in the relevant judgment shall state on the cancellation of measures to secure the claim.
10. In this case, the measures to secure the claim shall remain in force until the entry into force of the relevant judgment or ruling.
11. A duplicate ruling to cancel the measures on securing the claim shall be sent immediately after the entry into force of such a ruling to the applicant, to all persons affected by the measures on securing the claim and to the persons who can be identified by the court, as well as state and other authorities that should comply and (or) have complied with the ruling on securing the claim, for them to take appropriate actions regarding the cancellation of the measures on securing the claim.
12. The funds deposited by the defendant (another person) on the court's account in order to secure the claim under Part 4, Article 143 of this Code shall be returned to the defendant (another person) who provided such security, within five days from the date of entry into force a judgment on the complete rejection of the claim or a judgment to leave the claim without consideration or closure of the proceedings.
13. Measures to secure the claim, taken by the court before filing the statement of claim, shall be cancelled by the court also in the case of:
1) failure of the applicant to file a relevant statement of claim under the requirements of Part 3, Article 138 of this Code;
2) return of the statement of claim;
3) refusal to open proceedings in the case.
Article 146. Compensation for damages caused by securing the claim
1. In case of leaving the claim without consideration of closing the proceedings for reasons other than those specified in Part 1, Article 142 of this Code or in case of adoption of the decision by the court on full or partial refusal to satisfy the claim, the defendant or other person whose rights or legally protected interests have been violated due to taking measures to secure the claim, shall be entitled to be compensated for damages caused by securing the claim at the expense of the person on whose application such measures of securing the claim have been taken.
2. In case of filing a claim on compensation for damages caused by securing the claim, within twenty days from the moment when the judgment referred to in Part 1 of this Article has been adopted, the compensation for damages caused by taking measures to secure the claim shall be performed primarily at the expense of the costs for counter-security.
Article 147. Recovery by virtue of a court order
1. A court order shall mean a special form of a judgment issued by a court following the consideration of the requirements provided for in Article 148 of this Code.
2. A person who has the right of claim may file an application to get a court order.
3. The applicant and the debtor in the writ proceedings may be legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
4. A court order shall be enforced in accordance with the rules established by law for the enforcement of judgments.
Article 148. Requirements for issuance of a court order
1. A court order may be issued only for claims for recovery of monetary debt under a contract concluded in writing (including electronic form), if the amount of the claim does not exceed 100 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons.
2. A person shall have the right to apply to the court with the requirements specified in Part 1 of this Article, in a writ or simplified action proceedings of their choice.
1. An application for the issuance of a court order shall be submitted to the court of first instance under the general rules of jurisdiction established by this Code for the filing of the statement of claim.
Article 150. Form and content of the application for issuance of a court order
1. An application for issuance of a court order shall be submitted to the court in writing and signed by the applicant.
2. The application shall contain the following:
1) name of the court where the application is filed;
2) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the applicant and the debtor, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine of the applicant and the debtor, taxpayer identification number of the applicant and the debtor (for individuals) (if any) or number and series of the applicant's and debtor's passport (for individuals that are citizens of Ukraine), indication of the status of the individual entrepreneur (for individual entrepreneurs), as well as official e-mail addresses and other data if they are known to the applicant and identify the debtor;
3) name (surname, name and patronymic) of the applicant's representative, if the application is submitted by a representative, their place of residence;
4) the applicant's claims and the circumstances on which they are based;
5) a list of evidence by which the applicant substantiates the circumstances on which his/her claims are based.
3. The following shall be attached to the application for a court order:
1) a document confirming the payment of court fees;
2) a document confirming the authority of the representative, if the application is signed by the applicant's representative;
3) a copy of the contract concluded in a written (including electronic) form, under which the requirements for recovery of monetary debt are presented;
4) other documents or the copies thereof confirming the circumstances used by the applicant to substantiate his/her claims.
4. If the application is submitted in electronic form to the debtor who has a registered official e-mail address, the applicant shall subsequently submit any procedural and other documents related to the consideration of their application exclusively in electronic form.
5. The applicant shall have the right to withdraw the application for issuance of a court order before its consideration by the court.
Article 151. Court fee for submission of an application for issuance of a court order
1. A court fee in the amount established by law shall be charged for submission of an application for issuance of a court order.
2. In case of refusal to issue a court order or in case of cancellation of a court order, the amount of the court fee paid shall not be returned to the debt recoverer. If the recoverer files a claim against the debtor in the order of claim proceedings, the amount of the court fee paid for submission of an application for issuance of a court order shall be included in the amount of the court fee determined for filing a claim.
Article 152. Grounds for refusal to issue a court order
1. A judge shall refuse to issue a court order if:
1) the application was submitted in violation of the requirements of Article 150 of this Code;
2) the application is submitted by a person without a procedural dispositive legal capacity, is not signed or is signed by a person who is not entitled to sign it, or by a person whose official position is not specified;
3) the claim that does not meet the requirements of Article 148 of this Code has been filed;
4) there are circumstances specified in Part 1, Article 175 of this Code;
5) from the moment when the right of claim arose the term exceeding the statute of limitations established by the law for such claim has passed, or the term established by the law for presentation of the claim in court on such requirement has passed;
6) the court has previously issued a court order on the same requirements under which the applicant requests to issue a court order;
7) the court has previously refused to issue a court order on the grounds provided for in Paragraphs 3–6 of this Part;
{Clause 7, Part 1 of Article 152 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
8) the submitted application does not show the occurrence or violation of the right of monetary claim, according to which the applicant submitted an application for issuance of a court order.
{Clause 9, Part 1, Article 152 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. The judge shall issue a ruling on the refusal to issue a court order no later than ten days from the date of receipt by the court of the application for issuance of a court order.
3. If the application for issuance of a court order contains requirements with a Part not subject to consideration in the order of writ proceedings, the court shall adopt a ruling on the refusal to issue a court order only to the extent of these requirements. If the stated requirements are interconnected and they cannot be considered separately, the court shall refuse to issue a court order.
4. In order to determine jurisdiction, except in cases of filing an application for issuance of a court order in electronic form to the debtor who has an official e-mail address, the judge shall check the debtor's location specified in the application according to information entered to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations, no later than the next day after receiving the application for issuance of a court order.
{Part 4 of Article 152 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
5. If based on the results of the considered information received by the court on the location of the debtor it is established that the application for issuance of a court order is not subject to this court, the court no later than ten days from the date of receipt of the court order shall adopt a ruling on submission of the application confirming issuance of the court order together with the documents attached to it on jurisdiction.
Article 153. Consequences of refusal to issue a court order
1. Refusal to issue a court order on the grounds provided for in Paragraphs 1, 2, 8, 9, Part 1, Article 152 of this Code shall not be an obstacle to repeated appeal with the same application in the manner prescribed by this section, after eliminating its deficiencies.
2. Refusal to issue a court order on the grounds provided for in Paragraphs 3–6, Part 1, Article 152 of this Code, shall make it impossible to apply with the same application once again. In this case the applicant shall have the right to file the same claims by bringing an action.
Article 154. Procedure for consideration of applications for issuance of a court order
1. The court shall consider the application for issuance of a court order within five days from the date of its receipt. The consideration shall be held without a court hearing and notification of the applicant and the debtor.
2. After the application for the court order approval has been considered, the court shall issue a court order or adopt a ruling with a refusal to issue a court order.
3. A court order shall not be subject to appeal, but it may be revoked in the manner prescribed by this section.
Article 155. Contents of the court order
1. The court order shall contain:
1) the date when the order was issued;
2) name of the court, surname and initials of the judge who issued the court order;
3) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the recoverer and the debtor, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), identification code of a legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine of the recoverer and the debtor, taxpayer identification number of the recoverer and the debtor (for individuals) (if any) or number and series of the collector's and debtor's passport for individuals that are citizens of Ukraine, and other data, if they are known to the court and identify the recoverer and the debtor;
4) reference to the law on the basis of which the stated claims are subject to satisfaction;
5) the amount of funds to be recovered;
6) the amount of court costs paid by the applicant and subject to recovery in his/her favour from the debtor;
7) notification that during the consideration of the claims by way of writ proceedings and the issuance of a court order, the court does not consider the validity of the claims filed by the claimant on the merits;
8) information on the procedure and period for filing an application for the court order revocation;
9) the date when the court order is entered into force;
10) the period for submission of a court order for enforcement;
11) the date of issuance of the court order to the claimant.
2. The information specified in Paragraphs 9–11, Part 1 of this Article shall be entered in the court order on the day of its issuance to the recoverer to submit for enforcement.
3. The court order shall be drawn up and signed by the judge in two counterparts, one of which shall remain in court and the other shall be issued against a receipt or sent to the recoverer at their official e-mail address, or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or a registered mail with declared value and list of enclosures after the court order is entered into force if the official e-mail address is unavailable.
Article 156. Sending a copy of the court order to the debtor
1. After issuing a court order, not later than the next day, the court shall send its copy (text) containing the information on the web-address of such a decision in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, to the debtor to his/her official e-mail address, or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or a registered mail with declared value and list of enclosures if the debtor does not have an official e-mail address.
2. Concurrently with a copy of the court order, the debtor shall be sent a copy of the recoverer's application for the issuance of a court order together with the documents attached to it.
3. A copy (text) of the court order containing information about the web address of such a decision in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, together with the annexes shall be sent to the debtor at the address (place of residence) specified in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations.
4. The day of receipt by the debtor of a copy of the court order shall be the day of its delivery to the debtor, determined under Article 242 of this Code.
Article 157. Form and content of the application for revocation of the court order and terms of its submission
1. The debtor shall have the right within fifteen days from the date of service of a copy of the court order and the documents attached to it to submit an application for its cancellation to the court that issued it. An application for revocation of a court order may also be filed by bodies and persons who have been authorised to apply to the court in the interests of other persons.
2. An application for revocation of a court order shall be submitted to the court in written form.
3. The application for revocation of a court order shall contain:
1) name of the court where the application is filed;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the applicant and the debtor, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine of the applicant and the debtor, the taxpayer identification number of the applicant and the debtor (for individuals) (if any) or number and series of the applicant's and debtor's passport for individuals that are citizens of Ukraine;
3) name (surname, name and patronymic) of the debtor's representative, if the application is submitted by the representative, his/her place of residence or location;
5) indication of complete or partial invalidity of the recoverer's claims.
4. The application shall be signed by the debtor or his/her representative.
5. The following shall be attached to the application for revocation of a court order:
1) a document confirming the payment of court fees;
2) a document confirming the authority of the debtor's representative, if the application is submitted by such a representative;
3) a request for renewal of the missed period, if the application is submitted after the expiration of the period provided for in Part 1 of this Article.
6. In case of submission of an improperly executed application for revocation of a court order, the judge shall issue a ruling on its return not later than two days from the date of its receipt by the court.
Article 158. Consideration of the application for revocation of a court order
1. An application for revocation of a court order shall be submitted to the judge appointed under the procedure established by Article 32 of this Code no later than the next day.
2. An application of a debtor for revocation of a court order filed after the expiration of the period established by Part 1, Article 157 of this Code shall be returned if the court finds no grounds to renew the period for filing this application upon the application of the person who filed it.
3. In the absence of grounds for returning the application for revocation of the court order, the judge not later than two days after its submission shall issue a decision to revoke the court order, explaining to the applicant (recoverer) his/her right to apply to the court with the same requirements by the simplified action proceedings. In the decision to revoke the court order, the court at the request of the debtor shall decide on the restitution on reversal of the court order in the manner prescribed by Article 333 of this Code.
Article 159. Entry into force of a court order and its issuance to the recoverer
1. The court order shall enter into force if the court does not receive from the debtor an application for cancellation of the court order within five days after the expiration of the term for its submission.
2. Within five days from the date of entry into force of the court order shall send a copy (text) containing information about the web-address of such court order in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions and the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents, the recoverer on its official electronic address or registered letter or a registered letter with a declared value in the absence of an official e-mail address.
Article 160. Correction of an error in the court order, declaring the court order unenforceable, postponement or rescheduling or change of the method and procedure of its execution
1. The court may amend the court order, declare it unenforceable or postpone or reschedule or change the method or procedure of its execution in the manner prescribed by Articles 328, 331 of this Code.
Section III
ACTION PROCEEDINGS
Chapter 1. Written statements of the case parties
Article 161. Types and contents of statements on the merits
1. When a court considers a case in the order of action proceedings, the case parties shall state their claims, objections, arguments, explanations and considerations on the subject of the dispute in the written form, only in statements on the merits of the case, as determined by this Code.
2. Statements on the merits shall be: statement of claim; statement of defence (defence); response to the defence; objection; third party's explanation of the claim or defence.
3. The grounds, time and priority of submission of applications on the merits of the case shall be determined by this Code or by a court in the cases provided for by this Code.
4. The parties shall have a right to submit the applications on the merits.
5. The court may allow a case party to submit additional explanations on a particular issue that arose during the proceedings, if they deem it necessary.
Article 162. Statement of claim
1. In the statement of claim, the plaintiff shall set out his/her claims on the subject matter of the dispute with the relevant justification.
2. The statement of claim shall be submitted to the court in written form and signed by the plaintiff or their representative, or another person who has a legal right to apply to the court in the interests of another person.
3. The statement of claim shall contain:
1) name of the court of first instance where the application is filed;
2) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic, for individuals) of the parties and other case parties, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals); postal code; identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine (for legal entities registered under the legislation of Ukraine), as well as taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine (if the plaintiff is aware thereof), indication of the status of individual entrepreneur (for individual entrepreneurs); known contact details, official e-mail address and e-mail addresses;
3) indication of the cost of claim, if the claim is subject to monetary valuation; reasonable calculation of amounts collected or disputed;
4) the content of claims: the method (methods) of protection of rights or interests provided by law or contract, or other method (methods) of protection of rights and interests, corresponding to the law and which is to be indicated in the judgment upon the plaintiff's request; if the claim is filed against several defendants, it is necessary to set out the content of the claims against each of them;
5) a statement of the circumstances where the plaintiff substantiates their claims; indication of evidence confirming the specified circumstances; legal grounds for the claim
6) information on the adoption of measures for pre-trial dispute settlement if the law establishes an obligatory pre-trial dispute settlement procedure;
7) information on the measures to secure evidence or a claim before filing a statement of claim, if any;
8) a list of documents and other evidence attached to the application; indication of evidence that cannot be submitted together with the statement of claim (if any); an indication that the plaintiff or another person has originals of written or electronic evidence, copies of which are attached to the application;
9) preliminary (indicative) calculation of the amount of court costs incurred by the plaintiff and to be incurred by them due to the case;
10) plaintiff's acknowledgement that he/she has not filed another claim (claims) against the same defendant (defendants) with the same subject and on the same grounds.
4. If the statement of claim is filed by a person exempt from payment of court fees under the law, it shall indicate the grounds for exemption of the plaintiff from payment of court fees.
5. In case of filing a claim by a person who has a legal right to apply to the court in the interests of another person, it is necessary to indicate the grounds for such application in the statement of claim.
6. The statement of claim may contain other information necessary for the proper resolution of the dispute.
1. The cost claim shall be determined as follows:
1) in lawsuits for recovery of funds, it shall be equal to the amount that is collected, or the amount disputed under the executive or other document, according to which the recovery is carried out in an indisputable manner (without notice);
2) in claims for recognition of the right of ownership to the property or a request for it, it shall be the value of the property;
3) in claims consisting of several independent claims, it shall be the total amount of all claims.
2. If the cost of claim determined by the plaintiff obviously does not correspond to the actual value of the disputed property or if it is impossible to determine the exact cost at the time of filing the claim, the amount of the court fee shall be determined in advance by the court with the subsequent collection of unpaid court fee or its return in case of overpayment according to the cost of claim set by the court in considering the case.
3. In case of increase of the size of claims or change of the claim subject, the unpaid amount of the court fee shall be paid before applying to the court with the relevant statement.
Article 164. Documents attached to the statement of claim
1. The statement of claim shall be accompanied by documents confirming:
1) sending of a copy of the statement of claim and the documents attached to it to other case parties;
2) payment of court fees in the prescribed manner and amount, or documents confirming the grounds for exemption from payment of court fees in accordance with the law.
2. The plaintiff shall attach to the statement of claim all the evidence available to him/her confirming the circumstances on which the claims are based (if written or electronic evidence is submitted, the plaintiff may attach to the statement of claim the copies of relevant evidence).
3. If necessary, the statement of claim shall be accompanied by a petition for the appointment of an expert examination, demand for evidence, etc.
4. A copy (or original) of the disputed act or contract or a certified extract therefrom shall be attached to the application for recognition of an act or contract as invalid, and in case of absence of an act or contract the plaintiff shall file a petition on the request for it.
5. A power-of-attorney or other document confirming the powers of the plaintiff's representative shall be attached to the statement of claim signed by the plaintiff's representative.
1. The defendant shall set out the objections to the claim in the statement of defence.
2. The defence shall be signed by the defendant or his/her representative.
1) title (name) of the plaintiff and case number;
2) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the defendant, his/her location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine (for legal entities registered under the legislation of Ukraine), taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details, official e-mail address and e-mail address (if any);
3) the claims recognised by the defendant, in the case of full or partial recognition of claims;
4) the circumstances recognised by the defendant, as well as the legal evaluation of the circumstances provided by the plaintiff, with which the defendant agrees;
5) objections (if any) to the circumstances and legal grounds of the claim stated by the plaintiff, with which the defendant does not agree, with reference to the relevant evidence and rules of law;
6) a list of documents and other evidence attached to the defence, and an indication of documents and evidence that cannot be submitted together with the defence, indicating the reasons for their non-submission;
7) objection (if any) of the amount of court costs claimed by the plaintiff, which the plaintiff has incurred and expects to incur before the end of the consideration of the case on the merits;
8) preliminary (indicative) calculation of the amount of court costs incurred by the defendant and to be incurred by him/her due to the case.
4. If the defence does not indicate the defendant's disagreement with any of the circumstances, on which the claims are based, the defendant shall be deprived of the right to object to such a circumstance during the proceedings on the merits, unless disagreement with such a circumstance is implied from the evidence provided together with the defence, which substantiate their denial of the merits of the claims, or the defendant will prove that they did not object to any of the circumstances, on which the claims are based, on grounds beyond their control.
5. A copy of the defence and the documents attached hereto shall be sent (provided) to other case parties concurrently with the defence being sent (provided) to the court.
6. The following shall be attached to the defence:
1) evidence confirming the circumstances, on which the defendant's objections are based, if such evidence is not provided by the plaintiff;
2) documents confirming the sending (provision) of the defence and the evidence attached hereto to other case parties.
7. A power-of-attorney or other document confirming the powers of the defendant's representative shall be attached to the defence signed by the defendant's representative.
8. The defence shall be filed within the period established by the court, which may not be less than fifteen days from the date of service of the decision to initiate proceedings. The court shall set the period for filing a defence that will allow the defendant to prepare it with the relevant evidence, and the other case participants to receive a defence no later than the first preparatory hearing in the case.
9. If the defendant fails to provide a defence within the period prescribed by the court without a reasonable excuse, the court shall consider the case based on the available materials.
Article 166. Response to the defence
1. In response to the defence, the plaintiff shall set out his/her explanations, considerations and arguments regarding the objections given by the defendant in the defence, as well as the reasons for their recognition or rejection.
2. The response to the defence shall be signed by the plaintiff or his/her representative.
3. The response to the defense shall be subject to the rules established by Parts 3–6, Article 165 of this Code.
4. The response to the defence shall be filed within the period established by the court. The court should set a period for filing a response to the defence, which will allow the plaintiff to prepare his/her considerations, arguments and relevant evidence, with the other case parties to receive a defence in advance before the trial on the merits, and the defendant to provide objections to the case parties before the trial on the merits.
1. In the objection, the defendant shall set out his/her explanations, considerations and arguments regarding the explanations, considerations and arguments provided by the plaintiff in response to the defence, as well as the reasons for their recognition or rejection.
2. The objection shall be signed by the defendant or his/her representative.
3. The objection shall be subject to the rules established by Parts 3–6, Article 165 of this Code.
4. The objection shall be filed within the period established by the court. The court shall set a time limit for filing an objection that will allow other case participants to receive an objection in advance before the trial on the merits.
Article 168. Third party's explanations to the claim or defence
1. In the third party's explanations to the claim or defence, a third person who does not make independent claims on the subject of the dispute shall set out his/her arguments and consideration in support of or objection to the claim.
2. The third party's explanations shall be signed by the third party or his/her representative.
3. The third party's explanations shall be subject to the rules established by Parts 3–7, Article 165 of this Code.
4. The third party's explanations shall be submitted within the period established by the court. The court shall set a time limit that will allow the third party to prepare his/her arguments, considerations and relevant evidence and submit the explanations to the claim or defence, with the other case parties to receive a response to such explanations in advance before the trial on the merits.
Article 169. Statements, petitions and objections
1. While a court considers the case, the case parties shall state their claims, objections, arguments, explanations, considerations on procedural issues in the statements and petitions, as well as in the objections against the statements and petitions.
2. Statements, petitions and objections shall be submitted in written or oral form. In the cases specified by this Code or at a request of a judge, applications and petitions shall be submitted only in written form.
3. Applications, petitions and objections shall be submitted and considered under the procedure established by this Code. In cases when this Code does not provide for such a procedure, it is established by the court.
Article 170. General requirements for the form and contents of a written statement, petition, objection
1. Any written statement, petition, objection shall contain:
1) full name (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of a person submitting an application, petition or objection, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), indication of the status of an individual entrepreneur (for such an individual), identification code of a legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine;
2) name of the court where it is filed;
3) case number, surname and initials of the judge (judges), if the statement (petition, objection) is submitted after the resolution on the opening of proceedings in the case;
4) the issue contents to be considered by the court, and the applicant's request;
5) grounds for the statement (petition, objection);
6) list of documents and other evidence (if any) attached to the statement (petition, objection);
7) other information required by this Code.
The requirement to indicate the identification code of a legal entity according to the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine in the application on the merits, complaint, statement, petition or objection shall apply only to legal entities registered under the legislation of Ukraine. A foreign legal entity shall submit a document that is proof of its legal personality under the relevant foreign law (registration certificate, extract from the commercial register, etc.).
2. Written statement, petition or objection shall be signed by the applicant or his/her representative.
Evidence of their sending (provision) to other case parties (parties to the proceedings) shall be attached to the application, appeal, petition or objection submitted at the stage of the judgment enforcement, including in the process of judicial control over the enforcement of judgments.
{Part 2 of Article 170 has been supplemented with Paragraph 2 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
3. The case party shall have the right to attach to the written statement, petition a draft ruling to be adopted upon his/her request to the court.
4. Having established that the written statement (petition, objection) was submitted in violation of Part 1 or 2 of this Article, the court shall return it to the applicant without consideration.
Chapter 2. Opening of the proceedings
Article 171. Submission of a claim
1. The claim shall be submitted by means of filing a statement of claim with the court of first instance, where it shall be registered and given to the judge no later than the next day.
2. The plaintiff shall have the right to file a petition in the statement of claim for consideration of the case under the rules of simplified action proceedings, if such consideration is allowed by this Code.
Article 172. Sending a copy of the statement of claim and the documents attached to it
1. The plaintiff, a person who files a claim on behalf of another person, shall be obliged before filing of the statement of claim to send to the case parties a copy of it and copies of the documents attached to it by letter with an enclosure list.
2. The same obligation shall be imposed on the plaintiff in case the court involves another defendant in the case, replaces the improper defendant, or a third party involves or intervenes in the case.
Article 173. Combining or separating the claims
1. A single statement of claim may combine several claims related to the basis of origin or the evidence submitted, as well as the main and derivative claims.
A derivative claim shall mean a claim whose satisfaction depends on the satisfaction of another claim (the main claim).
2. The court, taking into account the provisions of Part 1 of this Article, may, at the request of a case party or on its own initiative, combine several cases into one proceeding on the claims:
1) of the same plaintiff to the same defendant;
2) of the same plaintiff to different defendants;
3) of the different plaintiffs to the same defendant.
3. Combining cases into one proceeding may be allowed before the beginning of the preparatory hearing, and in the simplified claim proceedings it may be allowed until the beginning of the case consideration on the merits in each of the cases.
4. It shall not be allowed to combine several claims into one proceeding, which are subject to consideration as part of different proceedings, unless otherwise provided for by the law.
5. It shall not be allowed to combine several claims into one proceeding, in respect of which the law determines the exclusive jurisdiction of different courts.
6. At the request of a case party or on its own initiative, the court may, prior to the case consideration, separate the claims on the merits, having allocated one or more combined claims to separate proceedings, if this fosters the task of commercial proceedings. Consideration of the claims allocated for independent proceedings shall be carried out by the judge who has made the judgment on separation of claims.
7. The court shall issue a ruling on combining cases into one proceeding, separation of claims, on refusal to combine cases into one proceeding, separation of claims.
8. Cases being considered by the commercial court, in case of combining them into one proceeding, shall be transferred for consideration to the judge who opened the proceedings before the other judges.
9. If the proceedings were opened on the same day, the cases, if they are combined into one proceeding, shall be referred to the judge who first decided to combine them.
10. Cases combined into one proceeding shall not be subject to separation.
Article 174. Leaving the statement of claim without motion, returning the statement of claim
1. Having established that the statement of claim was submitted in violation of the requirements set forth in Articles 162, 164 and 172 of this Code, within five days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim, the court shall adopt a ruling to leave the statement of claim without motion.
In case the court receives a case to be considered in commercial proceedings, after the closure of the proceedings by the Supreme Court or the court of appeal in commercial or administrative proceedings, the court shall verify the grounds for leaving the claim without motion under the requirements of commercial procedure law effective as of the date when the statement of claim has been filed.
{Part 1 of Article 174 has been supplemented with Paragraph 2 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. The ruling to leave the statement of claim without motion shall indicate the deficiencies of the statement of claim, the method and term of their elimination, which may not exceed ten days from the date of service of the ruling to leave the statement of claim without motion. If a ruling to leave the statement of claim without motion is made on the basis of non-payment of court fees in the amount prescribed by law, the court in such a ruling shall indicate the exact amount of court fees to be paid (the remainder to be paid).
3. If the plaintiff has eliminated the deficiencies of the statement of claim within the period established by the court, it shall be considered filed on the day of its initial submission to the commercial court and accepted for consideration, on which the court shall deliver a ruling in the manner prescribed by Article 176 of this Code.
4. If the plaintiff has not eliminated the shortcomings of the statement of claim within the period established by the court, the statement shall be deemed not filed and shall be returned to the person who filed the statement of claim.
5. The judge shall also return the statement of claim and the documents attached to it:
1) if the statement is submitted by a person without a procedural dispositive legal capacity, is not signed or is signed by a person who is not entitled to sign it, or by a person whose official position is not specified;
2) if the rules for combining claims have been violated (except in cases where there are grounds for applying the provisions of Article 173 of this Code);
3) if a statement on the dispute settlement or a statement on the withdrawal of the statement of claim has been received before the ruling on the opening of the procedure in case is approved;
4) if there are no grounds for a prosecutor to apply to a court in the interests of the state or the grounds for a duly entitled person to apply to a court in the interests of another person;
5) if the plaintiff filed another claim (claims) to the same court against the same defendant (defendants) with the same subject and on the same grounds and in respect of such claim (claims) at the time of resolving the issue of opening of proceedings in the case under consideration; if a ruling to open or refuse to open proceedings, return the statement of claim or leave the claim without consideration is not adopted;
6) the application is not accompanied by evidence of taking measures of pre-trial settlement of the dispute in the case when such measures are mandatory under the law.
6. The judge shall return the statement of claim and the documents attached hereto no later than five days from the date of its receipt or from the date of expiration of the period for elimination of the deficiencies.
7. The court shall deliver a ruling on the return of the statement of claim, which may be appealed. A copy of the statement of claim shall remain in court.
In case of revocation of the ruling to return of the statement of claim and referring the case for the further consideration, the court may not return the statement of claim again.
8. The return of the statement of claim does not preclude repeated application to the commercial court on general terms after the deficiencies are eliminated.
9. In case of return of the statement of claim on the grounds provided for in Paragraph 5, Part 5 of this Article, the court fee paid for filing the claim shall not be refunded.
10. Statements, complaints, petitions, defined by this Code, to be submitted against a court fee, shall remain without motion by the court also if at the moment of opening proceedings on the relevant statement, complaint, petition the court finds that the relevant court fee is not credited to the special fund of the state budget. The rules of this Part shall not apply to statements on securing the evidence or statements of claim.
Article 175. Refusal to open the proceedings
1. A judge shall refuse to open the proceedings if:
1) the application is not subject to consideration under the rules of commercial proceedings;
2) there is an enforced judgment or ruling to close the proceedings between the same parties, on the same subject and on the same grounds, or there is a court order that has entered into force on the same requirements;
3) in the proceedings of this or other court there is a case of a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and on the same grounds;
4) there is a ruling of the arbitral court, international commercial arbitration, delivered within its jurisdiction in Ukraine on a dispute between the same parties on the same subject and on the same grounds, except for cases, in which the court refused to issue a writ of execution for enforcement of such a ruling;
5) there is a ruling of a court of a foreign state or the international commercial arbitration recognised in Ukraine in the manner prescribed by law regarding a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and on the same grounds;
6) an individual who has submitted a statement of claim or who was submitted a statement of claim, is dead or recognised as deceased, the same concerning a business entity that has been liquidated, if the disputed legal relationship does not allow for legal succession.
2. The court shall have no right to refuse to initiate proceedings in cases specified in Paragraphs 4, 5, Part 1 of this Article, if the relevant ruling of the arbitration court, international commercial arbitration was revoked and the case consideration in the same arbitration court, international commercial arbitration was impossible.
3. The ruling to refuse to open the proceedings shall be adopted no later than five days from the date of receipt of the statement. Such a ruling shall be sent to the applicant no later than the next day after its issuance under the procedure established by Article 242 of this Code.
4. The ruling to refuse to open proceedings in the case sent to the applicant shall be accompanied by the claim materials. A copy of the statement of claim shall remain in court.
5. The decision to refuse to open proceedings in the case may be appealed. In case of revocation of this ruling, the statement of claim shall be considered submitted on the day of the initial appeal to the court.
6. In case of refusing to open the proceedings on the grounds set forth in Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article, the court shall explain to the applicant, to whose jurisdiction the court has assigned the case.
Article 176. Opening of the proceedings
1. If there are no grounds for leaving the statement of claim without motion, return of the statement of claim or refusal to initiate proceedings, the court shall open proceedings within five days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim or statement on elimination of deficiencies filed under Article 174 of this Code.
If the defendant is an individual who is not an entrepreneur, the court shall initiate proceedings within five days from the date of receipt by the court in the manner prescribed by Part 8 of this Article, of the information about the legally registered place of residence (stay) of the individual who is the defendant.
2. On acceptance of the statement of claim for consideration and opening of proceedings, the court shall issue a ruling stating the following:
1) name of the commercial court, surname and initials of the judge who opened the proceedings, case number;
2) title (for legal entities) or full name (surname, name and patronymic (if any) for individuals) of the parties, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence (for individuals);
3) the subject and grounds of the claim;
4) the rules of the action proceedings (general or simplified) to be applied while considering the case;
5) the date, time and place of the preparatory hearing, if the case is considered in the general action proceedings;
6) the date, time and place of the court hearing for consideration of the case on the merits, if the case is considered in a simplified action proceedings with notification (summons) of the parties;
7) the result of resolving the statements and petitions of the plaintiff, received together with the statement of claim, if their resolution does not require a summons of the parties;
8) the period for the defendant to file a defence to the claim;
9) the period for providing explanations by third parties who were involved in the opening of proceedings;
10) periods for filing a response to the defence and objections, if the case is considered under the rules of simplified action proceedings;
11) the web-page on the official web-portal of the Ukrainian Judiciary on the Internet, where the case parties may obtain information about the case under consideration.
3. If the issue of involving third parties was resolved at the opening of the proceedings, the plaintiff shall send copies of the statement of claim with appendices to such third parties no later than two days from the date of service of duplicate ruling to open the proceedings, and provide evidence of such sending to the court before the preparatory hearing or before the beginning of consideration on the merits in the order of simplified action proceedings.
4. If in the ruling to initiate proceedings on the results of consideration of the relevant plaintiff's petition the court decides to consider the case under the rules of simplified action proceedings, the court shall set a period for the defendant to file an objection against the proceedings under the rules of simplified action proceedings, which may not be less than five days from the date of service of the ruling.
5. The ruling to initiate proceedings in the case shall be sent to the case parties, as well as to other persons, if evidence is requested from them in accordance with the procedure established by Article 242 of this Code and in compliance with the requirements of Part 4, Article 120 of this Code.
6. If the defendant in the statement of claim indicates an individual who is not an entrepreneur, the court no later than two days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim shall apply to the relevant authority of the registered place of stay and place of residence of the person with a request to provide information about the duly registered place of residence (stay) of the individual.
7. Information on the place of residence (stay) of an individual shall be provided within five days from the moment of receipt by the relevant authority of the registered place of stay and place of residence of the person of the relevant court application.
8. A judge may also use the data of the Unified State Demographic Register for the purpose of determining jurisdiction.
9. If due to the information received by the court, it is established that the case is not subject to this court, the court shall send the case for jurisdiction under the procedure established by Article 31 of this Code.
10. If the information received by the court does not make it possible to establish the place of residence (stay) of the individual registered under the procedure established by law, the court shall decide on the opening of proceedings in the case. Further summons of such a person as a defendant in the case shall be executed made through an announcement on the official web-portal of the Ukrainian Judiciary.
11. Having established after the opening of the proceedings, that the statement of claim was filed in violation of the requirements set forth in Articles 162, 164, 172 of this Code, the judge shall issue a ruling not later than the next day stating the grounds for leaving the statement without motion and shall inform the plaintiff thereof with a set period for him/her to eliminate the deficiencies, which may not exceed five days from the date of service of the ruling to the plaintiff.
12. If the plaintiff has eliminated the deficiencies of the statement of claim within the period established by the court, the court shall continue consideration of the case, subject to a ruling no later than the next day from the date of receipt of information on the elimination of deficiencies.
13. If the plaintiff has not eliminated the deficiencies of the statement of claim within the period established by the court, the statement of claim shall remain without consideration.
Chapter 3. Preparatory proceedings
Article 177. Tasks and period of preparatory proceedings
1. The tasks of the preparatory proceedings shall be as follows:
1) final determination of the subject of the dispute and the nature of the disputed legal relations, claims and the composition of the trial participants;
2) clarification of objections to claims;
3) determination of the case circumstances to be established and collection of relevant evidence;
5) determination of the procedure for case consideration;
6) committing other actions in order to ensure proper, timely and unimpeded consideration of the case on the merits.
2. Preparatory proceedings shall begin with the opening of proceedings and end with the closing of the preparatory hearing.
3. Preparatory proceedings shall be conducted within sixty days from the date when the proceedings are opened. In exceptional cases, for the proper preparation of the case for consideration on the merits, this period may be extended by not more than thirty days at the request of one of the parties or at the initiative of the court.
Article 178. Submission of a defence
1. Within the period established by the court ruling to initiate proceedings, the defendant shall have the right to send:
1) to the court, a defence to the statement of claim and all written and electronic evidence (which can be delivered to the court), expert conclusions and statements of witnesses confirming the objections to the claim;
2) to the plaintiff, other defendants, as well as third parties, a copy of a defence and the documents attached hereto.
2. If the defendant fails to provide a defence within the period prescribed by the court without a reasonable excuse, the court shall consider the dispute based on the available case materials.
Article 179. Submission of third party's explanations on the claim or defence
1. Within the period established by the court ruling to open proceedings or the ruling adopted on the preparatory hearing (if third parties were involved in the preparatory hearing), third parties who do not state independent claims on the subject matter of the dispute shall have the right to submit written explanations on the claim or defence.
2. The case parties shall have the right to respond to such explanations before the end of the preparatory proceedings.
Article 180. Filing a counter-claim
1. The defendant shall have the right to file a counter-claim within the period for filing a defence.
2. A counter-claim shall be accepted for joint consideration with the original claim if both claims are interrelated and joint consideration is appropriate, in particular when they arise from the same legal relationship or when the satisfaction of the counter-claim may preclude full or partial satisfaction of the original claim.
3. Claims for a counter-claim shall be combined by a judgment into one proceeding with the original claim.
4. A counter-claim filed in compliance with the general rules for filing a claim shall fall under the requirements of Articles 162, 164, 172, 173 of this Code.
5. The provisions of Article 174 of this Code shall apply to a counter-claim filed in violation of the requirements established by Part 4 of this Article.
6. A counter-claim filed in violation of the requirements of Parts 1 and 2 of this Article shall be returned to the applicant by a court ruling. A copy of the counter-claim shall be attached to the case files.
7. In case of filing a counter-claim in a case which is considered under the rules of simplified action proceedings, the court shall issue a decision on the transition to consideration of the case under the rules of general action proceedings.
Article 181. The purpose and period of the preparatory hearing
1. In order to fulfil the task of preparatory proceedings in each court case, which is considered according to the rules of general action proceedings, a preparatory hearing shall be held.
2. The date and time of the preparatory hearing shall be appointed by the judge taking into account the circumstances of the case and the need to take appropriate procedural actions. The preparatory hearing shall begin no later than thirty days from the date of the opening the proceedings.
Article 182. Preparatory hearing
1. A preparatory hearing shall be held by the court with a notification to be sent to the case parties.
2. In the preparatory hearing the court:
1) shall announce the composition of the court, as well as the surnames of the secretary of the court hearing, interpreter, specialist, find out the existence of grounds for recusal;
2) shall find out whether the parties wish to conclude a settlement agreement, refer the case to arbitration court, international commercial arbitration or apply to the court for settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge;
3) if necessary, shall hear clarifications of claims and objections against them and consider the relevant applications;
4) shall decide on the entry of other persons into the case proceedings, replacement of the improper defendant, involvement of the co-defendant, consolidation of cases and separation of claims, acceptance of the counter-claim, if these issues have not been resolved before;
5) may explain to the case parties what circumstances are included in the subject of proof, what evidence must be submitted by a particular case party;
6) shall find out whether the parties have informed about all the case circumstances that are known to them;
7) shall find out whether the parties have provided the evidence to which they refer in the claim and the defence, as well as evidence requested by the court or the reasons for their failure to submit; shall decide on the review of written, material and electronic evidence at their location; shall decide on the request for additional evidence and determine the period for their submission, decide on the provision of evidence, if these issues have not been resolved before;
8) shall decide on the appointment of an expert examination, summons to a court hearing of experts, witnesses, involvement of an interpreter, specialist;
9) at the request of the case parties shall decide on the security of the claim, on the counter-security;
10) shall address the statements and petitions of the case parties;
12) shall set deadlines for filing a response to the defence and objection;
13) shall set a deadline for the submission of explanations by third parties and responses of case parties to such explanations;
14) shall establish the period and procedure for settling the dispute with the participation of a judge upon the party's consent to execute it;
15) shall establish the procedure for clarifying the circumstances to which the parties refer as the basis of their claims and objections, and the procedure for examination of evidence on which they are substantiated during the trial on the merits, subject to a record in the minutes of the court hearing.
16) shall determine the amount of court costs claimed by the parties;
17) shall resolve the issue on consideration of a case by a panel of judges;
18) shall appoint the case for consideration on the merits, determine the date, time and venue of the court hearing (several court hearings if the case is complex) for consideration of the case on the merits;
19) shall perform other actions necessary to ensure the correct and timely consideration of the case on the merits.
Article 183. The procedure of the preparatory hearing
1. A preparatory meeting shall be held in accordance with the rules provided for in Articles 196–205 of this Code, taking into account the specifics of the preparatory meeting established by this Chapter.
2. The court shall postpone the preparatory hearing for the period of the preparatory proceedings determined by this Code in the following cases:
1) as defined by Part 2, Article 202 of this Code;
2) involvement of a third party to the participation or entry into the case, replacement of an improper defendant, involvement of a co-defendant;
3) in other cases when the issues specified in Part 2, Article 182 of this Code cannot be considered in this preparatory hearing.
3. Due to the replacement of an improper defendant, the involvement of a co-defendant, such persons shall have the right to apply for consideration of the case from the beginning no later than two days from the date of service of the relevant ruling to them. If such a request is not filed within the specified period, the court shall continue consideration of the case.
Due to the entry of a third party who makes independent claims on the dispute subject matter into the case, such person, as well as other case parties shall have the right to apply for consideration of the case no later than two days from the date when the relevant ruling has been serviced to them. If such a request is not filed within the specified period, the court shall continue consideration of the case.
4. If the case is considered from the beginning as defined by this Code, the court shall appoint and hold a preparatory hearing from the beginning in the general order, except in the case of approval of a judgment to consider the case by a panel of judges, when the preparatory hearing is held from the beginning only if the court has concluded that it is necessary to hold it.
5. The court may announce a break in the preparatory hearing if necessary, in particular in the following cases:
1) replacement of the assigned expert, interpreter, specialist;
2) non-fulfilment by a case party of the requirements set out in the ruling to open the proceedings in the case within the period established by the court, if such non-fulfilment prevents the completion of the preparatory proceedings;
3) failure to submit the required evidence by a person who is not a trial participant;
4) request for new (additional) evidence.
6. If during the preparatory court meeting the issues specified in Part 2, Article 182 of this Code are resolved, the case consideration on the merits may be commenced with the written consent of all case parties on the same day after the end of the preparatory meeting.
7. In case of postponement of the preparatory hearing or announcement of a break, the preparatory hearing shall continue from the stage at which the hearing was postponed or a break was announced.
Article 184. Filing a response to the defence and objection
1. Within the period established by the court, the plaintiff shall have the right to file a response to the defence, and the defendant may file a response to the objection.
2. Other case parties shall have the right to provide their written explanations of the response to the defence and objection before the end of the preparatory proceedings, unless the court sets another period.
3. If the plaintiff before the end of the preparatory proceedings filed an application for invalidation of the transaction in whole or in part related to the dispute subject, contrary to law, the court shall give the time for the defendant and other case participants so that they could prepare their explanations and objections to the filed application.
Article 185. Judgments in a preparatory hearing
1. In a preparatory hearing, the court shall issue a ruling (rulings) on procedural actions that must be taken before the end of the preparatory proceedings and the beginning of the trial on the merits.
2. Based on the results of the preparatory hearing, the court shall rule on:
1) leaving the statement of claim without consideration;
3) closing the preparatory proceedings and assigning the case to trial on the merits.
3. Based on the results of the preparatory proceedings, the court shall adopt a decision in case the claim is recognised by the defendant.
4. Adoption in a preparatory hearing of a judgment in case of waiver of the claim, recognition of the claim, conclusion of a settlement agreement shall be carried out in the manner prescribed by Articles 191, 192 of this Code.
5. The court shall clarify the party's opinion regarding the date of the hearing to consider the case on the merits.
Chapter 4. Settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
Article 186. Grounds for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
1. Settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be carried out with the consent of the parties prior to the commencement of the proceedings on the merits.
2. Dispute settlement with the participation of a judge shall not be allowed in disputes (cases):
1) on restoration of solvency of a debtor or their recognition as a bankrupt;
2) on approval of plans to financial recovery of the debtor before initiating bankruptcy proceedings;
3) in case of the intervention in the case of a third party who declares independent claims on the subject of the dispute.
Article 187. The procedure for appointing a settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
1. The court shall issue a ruling on the procedure for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge, which shall concurrently suspend the proceedings in the case.
2. In case the parties do not reach a peaceful settlement of the dispute as a result of the settlement of the dispute, the repeated settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge shall not be allowed.
Article 188. Procedure for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
1. Settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be carried out by the judge-rapporteur alone, regardless of the composition, in which the case is considered.
2. Settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be carried out in the form of joint and (or) closed meetings. The parties shall have the right to participate in such meetings by videoconference in the manner prescribed by this Code.
Joint meetings shall be held with the participation of all parties, their representatives and judges.
Closed meetings shall be held at the initiative of the judge with each of the parties separately.
3. The judge shall direct the settlement of the dispute with the participation of the judge in order for the parties to reach a settlement of the dispute. Taking into account the specific circumstances of the meeting, the judge may announce a break within the settlement period.
4. At the beginning of the first joint meeting on settlement of a dispute the judge shall explain to the parties the purpose, procedure for the settlement of the dispute with the participation of the judge, the rights and obligations of the parties.
5. During the joint meetings, the judge shall clarify the grounds and subject of the claim, the grounds for objections, explain to the parties the subject of proof in the category of dispute under consideration, invite the parties to make proposals for peaceful settlement of disputes and take other actions aimed at peaceful settlement of the dispute by the parties. The judge may suggest to the parties a possible way of peaceful dispute settlement.
6. During closed meetings, the judge shall have the right to draw the party's attention to the case law in similar disputes, to offer the party possible ways of peaceful dispute settlement.
7. During the settlement of the dispute, the judge shall have no right to provide legal advice and recommendations to the parties, to assess the evidence in the case.
8. The information received by either party as well as by the judge during the settlement of the dispute shall be confidential. During the settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge, the minutes of the hearing shall not be kept and shall not be recorded by technical means.
9. If necessary, an interpreter may be involved in the hearing. The interpreter shall be warned about the confidentiality of the information obtained during the settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge.
10. During the settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge, it shall be prohibited to use portable audio devices, as well as to take photo and film, video and sound recordings.
Article 189. Termination of settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
1. The settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be terminated:
1) in the event that a party submits an application for termination of settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge;
2) in case if the period for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge expires;
3) at the initiative of the judge in case of delay in settlement of a dispute by any of the parties;
4) in case of concluding a settlement agreement by the parties and applying to the court with a statement of its approval or the plaintiff's application to the court to leave the statement of claim without consideration, or in case the plaintiff refuses the claim or the defendant recognises the claim.
2. A ruling on the termination of settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be issued, which shall not be subject to appeal. Concurrently, the judge shall resolve the issue on the resumption of proceedings.
3. On termination of settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge on the grounds provided for in Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article, the judge shall issue a ruling no later than the next working day after receipt of the relevant application from the party, and on the grounds provided for in Paragraph 2 of the same part, the judge shall issue a ruling no later than the next day from the day when the period for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge expires.
4. In the event that the settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge is terminated on the grounds provided for in Paragraphs 1–3, Part 1 of this Article, the case shall be transferred to another judge, determined under Article 33 of this Code.
Article 190. Period for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge
1. The settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge shall be carried out within a reasonable period, but not longer than thirty days from the date of the ruling thereof.
2. The period for settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge may not be extended.
Chapter 5. Plaintiff's withdrawal of a claim. Settlement agreement of the parties
Article 191. Plaintiff's withdrawal of a claim, defendant's recognition of a claim
1. The plaintiff may withdraw a claim, and the defendant may recognise a claim at any stage of the proceedings, having recorded this in the statement on the merits of the case or in a separate written statement.
2. Before adoption of a judgment in connection with the plaintiff's waiver of a claim or the defendant's recognition of a claim, the court shall explain to the parties the consequences of the relevant procedural actions, check whether the relevant party's representative is limited in their powers to perform these actions.
3. If the plaintiff rejects the claim, the court shall issue a ruling to close the proceedings.
4. If the defendant recognises the claim upon the due legal grounds, the court shall adopt a judgment to satisfy the claim. If the defendant's recognition of the claim contradicts the law or violates the rights or interests of others, the court shall adopt a ruling to refuse to accept the defendant's recognition of the claim and shall continue the trial.
5. The court shall not accept the plaintiff's waiver of a claim, defendant's recognition of a claim in the case where the person is represented by his/her legal representative, if his/her actions are contrary to the interests of the person he/she represents.
Article 192. Settlement agreement of the parties
1. A settlement agreement shall be concluded by the parties for the purpose of settlement a dispute on the basis of mutual concessions and shall concern only the rights and obligations of the parties. In a settlement agreement, the parties may go beyond the subject of the dispute, provided that the settlement agreement does not violate the rights or legally protected interests of third parties.
2. The parties may conclude a settlement agreement and notify the court thereof by making a joint written statement at any stage of the proceedings.
3. Before adoption of a judgment in connection with the conclusion of a statement agreement by the parties, the court shall explain to the parties the consequences of such a judgment, check whether the representatives of the parties are limited in their powers to take appropriate actions.
4. The statement concluded by the parties shall be approved by a court ruling, the operative part of which shall specify the terms of settlement agreement. Approving the settlement agreement, the court shall concurrently close the proceedings by the same decision.
5. The court shall issue a ruling on a refusal to approve the settlement agreement and shall continue the judicial proceedings if:
1) the terms of the settlement agreement contradict the law or violate the rights or legally protected interests of others, are unenforceable; or
2) one of the parties to settlement agreement is represented by his/her legal representative, whose actions are contrary to the interests of the person he/she represents.
Article 193. Enforcement of the settlement agreement
1. Enforcement of the settlement agreement shall be carried out by the persons who concluded it, in the order and in the terms provided for by this agreement.
2. The ruling on approval of the settlement agreement is an executive document and shall meet the requirements for the executive document established by the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings”.
3. In case of non-enforcement of the settlement agreement approved by the court, the court ruling on approval of the settlement agreement may be submitted for its enforcement in the manner prescribed by law for the enforcement of judgments.
Chapter 6. Consideration of the case on the merits
Article 194. The task of consideration of the case on the merits
1. The task of consideration of the case on the merits is to consider and resolve the dispute by virtue of the materials collected in the preparatory proceedings, as well as to distribute the court costs.
Article 195. Period for consideration of the case on the merits
1. The court shall begin consideration of the case on the merits no later than sixty days from the date of opening the proceedings, and in case of extension of the period of preparatory proceedings, the court shall begin consideration no later than the next day from the date of expiration of such period.
2. The court shall consider the case on the merits within thirty days from the date of commencement of the hearing on the merits.
3. Proceedings in the case at the stage of its consideration on the merits shall be suspended only on the grounds established by Paragraphs 1–3, Part 1, Article 227 and Paragraph 1, Part 1, Article 228 of this Code.
1. Consideration of a case shall take place in a court hearing.
2. The court shall notify the case parties about the place, date and time of the court hearing.
3. The case party shall have the right to apply a petition for consideration of the case in his/her absence. If such a request is made by all case parties, the consideration of a case shall be carried out on the basis of materials available to the court.
4. The court hearing shall be held in a specially equipped room – the courtroom. Individual procedural actions may be taken outside the courtroom if necessary.
5. During the consideration of the a on the merits, the court shall promote the reconciliation of the parties.
Article 197. Participation in the court hearing by videoconference
1. The case parties shall have the right to participate in the court hearing by videoconference outside the courtroom, provided that the court has the appropriate technical capability, to be indicated by the court in a ruling to open proceedings, except when the appearance of the case party to the court hearing is recognised by the court as mandatory.
2. The case party shall submit an application for participation in the court hearing by videoconference outside the courtroom not later than five days before the court hearing. A copy of the application shall be sent to the other case parties within the same period.
3. The case parties shall participate in the court hearing by videoconference outside the courtroom using their own technical means and electronic digital signature under the requirements of the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
4. During the quarantine established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the parties may participate in the hearing by videoconference outside the courtroom using their own technical means. The identity of the case party shall be verified by means of an electronic signature, and if the person does not have such a signature, it shall be verified in the manner prescribed by the Law of Ukraine “On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming Citizenship of Ukraine, Identity or Special Status” or the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine.
{Article 197 has been supplemented with a new Part under Law No. 540-IX of 30 March 2020}
5. The risks of technical impossibility to participate in the videoconference outside the courtroom, interruption of communication, etc. shall be borne by the case party who submitted the relevant application.
6. The court may decide on the participation of a case party in a court hearing by videoconference in the courtroom designated by the court.
7. A witness, an interpreter, a specialist, an expert may participate in a court hearing by videoconference only in the courtroom.
8. The petition on participation in a court hearing by videoconference in a courtroom must contain information on the court where this hearing will take place. Such a petition may be filed no later than five days before the relevant court hearing.
9. A copy of the ruling on the participation of a person in a court hearing by videoconference in the courtroom shall be immediately sent to the court, which shall organise its execution, and to the person who will participate in the court hearing by videoconference.
10. The court providing the videoconference shall check the attendance and identify the persons who appeared, as well as verify the representatives' powers.
11. The technical means and technologies used by the court and the participants in the judicial proceedings must ensure the proper quality of the image and sound, as well as information security. Trial participants should be able to hear and see the progress of the trial, ask questions and receive answers, and exercise other procedural rights and responsibilities.
12. The court considering the case shall record the videoconference in which the case parties participate, by means of technical means of video and audio recording. Video and audio recording of the videoconference shall be stored in the case files.
Article 198. Judge presiding in court session
1. In the one-person judicial proceedings, the judge hearing the case shall preside over the court hearing.
2. In the considering the case by a panel of judges, the presiding judge in the court hearing shall be the judge-rapporteur appointed by the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System during the case distribution.
3. The presiding judge shall, in accordance with the task of commercial proceedings, direct the course of the court hearing, ensure observance of the sequence and order of procedural actions, exercise of procedural rights and performance of duties by the trial participants, direct the trial to ensure full, comprehensive and objective clarification of the case circumstances, removing from the trial everything that is not essential for resolving the case.
4. The presiding judge shall take the necessary measures to ensure proper order in the court hearing with observance of the rights of the trial participants.
5. The presiding judge shall consider complaints against the actions or omissions of the court administrator regarding the performance of their duties, which shall be reflected in the court hearing minutes.
Article 199. Appeal to the court in a court hearing
1. The trial participants, as well as other persons present at the court hearing, shall address the court with the words “Your Honour”.
Article 200. Court hearing procedure
1. Persons present in the courtroom shall stand up when the court enters and leaves. All persons present in the courtroom shall hear the judgment standing up. Trial participants and other persons present in the courtroom shall address the court and each other, provide explanations, testimony, conclusions, consultations, etc. standing up.
2. Derogation from the requirements established by Part 1 of this Article shall be allowed with the presiding judge's permission.
3. Trial participants, as well as other persons present in the courtroom, shall be obliged to execute the presiding judge's instructions, to comply with the established procedure in the court hearing and to refrain from any actions indicating obvious contempt of court or the rules established in court.
4. Guilty persons shall be held liable for contempt of court.
The issue of bringing a party to the case or another person present in the courtroom to justice for contempt of court shall be decided by the court immediately after commiting the offence, for which a break is announced in the court hearing or after the court hearing ends.
5. The case parties shall transfer documents and other materials to the presiding judge through the court administrator.
§ 2. Opening of consideration of the case on the merits
Article 201. Opening a court session
1. At the time allotted for the consideration of the case, the presiding judge shall open the court hearing and announce the case to be considered.
2. The court secretary shall report to the court, who of the trial participants appeared in court, which of the trial participants take part in the court hearing by videoconference, and whether the trial participants, who did not appear, were notified of the date, time and the place of the court hearing in the manner prescribed by this Code.
3. Consideration of the case on the merits shall begin when a presiding judge announces the court hearing opened.
4. The presiding judge shall identify the persons who take part in the court hearing, as well as verify the representatives' powers.
Article 202. Consequences of non-appearance at the court hearing of the case party
1. Non-appearance at a court hearing of any case party, provided that he/she has been duly notified of the date, time and place of that hearing, shall not preclude consideration of the case on the merits, except as provided in this Article.
2. The court shall postpone the consideration of the case in a court hearing within the period established by this Code on the following grounds:
1) non-appearance at the court hearing of the case party, in respect of which there is no information about the delivery of the ruling with the notification on the date, time and venue of the court hearing;
2) the first non-appearance at the court hearing of the case party, who was notified of the date, time and place of the court hearing, if he/she reported the reasons for non-appearance, recognised valid by the court;
3) technical issues that make it impossible for a person to participate in a court hearing by videoconference, except in cases where, according to this Code, a court hearing may take place without the participation of such a person;
4) the need to request for new evidence, in the event that the case party has justified the impossibility of filing a petition within the scope of preparatory proceedings.
3. If a case party or his/her representative has been duly notified of the hearing, the court shall hear the case in the absence of such a case party due to the following:
1) case party's non-appearance at the court hearing (his/her representative) without reasonable excuses or without communicating the reasons for non-appearance;
2) repeated non-appearance at the court hearing of the case party (their representative), regardless of the reasons for non-appearance;
3) non-appearance of the representative at the court hearing, if the person he/she represents or another his/her representative appeared at the court hearing;
4) non-appearance of the case party at the court hearing, if his/her representative appeared, except in cases when the court recognised the case party's appearance mandatory.
4. In case of non-appearance of the plaintiff at the court hearing without a reasonable excuse or their failure to notify of the reasons for non-appearance, the court shall leave the statement of claim without consideration, unless a statement of consideration of the case in their absence from the plaintiff has been received, and his/her absence does not preclude dispute resolution.
5. The consequences specified in Parts 3 and 4 of this Article shall also commence if the case party (his/her representative) leaves the courtroom.
6. If the case is considered in the absence of the plaintiff or the defendant, the judge-rapporteur shall announce the summary of the statement of claim or defence, respectively.
7. If the consideration of the case is postponed, the court shall interrogate the witnesses who appeared. Witnesses shall not be interrogated and shall be summoned again only in exceptional cases subject to the court ruling.
8. A postponement of the case consideration shall be subject to a ruling.
Article 203. Consequences of non-appearance of a witness, expert, specialist, interpreter in court
1. In case of non-appearance of a witness, expert, specialist, interpreter in court, the court shall hear the opinion of the parties on the possibility of consideration of the case in the absence of a witness, expert, specialist, interpreter who did not appear, and decide to continue or postpone the consideration of the case. Concurrently, the court shall resolve the issue on reliability of person who did not appear.
Article 204. Announcement of the court composition
1. The presiding judge announces the court composition, as well as the names of the interpreter, specialist, secretary of the court hearing.
Article 205. Clarification of rights and obligations
1. At the request of a case party, the presiding judge shall explain to them the rights and obligations, except in cases where the case party is represented by a lawyer.
Article 206. Exclusion of witnesses from the courtroom
1. Witnesses shall be excluded from the courtroom to the premises set aside for this purpose without being able to get acquainted with the course of the court hearing.
2. The court administrator shall take measures to ensure that witnesses interrogated by the court do not communicate with those who have not yet been interrogated by the court.
Article 207. Consideration of statements and petitions
1. The presiding judge shall find out whether the case parties have statements and petitions related to the consideration of the case, which were not filed for valid reasons in the preparatory proceedings or within another period determined by the court, and shall address them after other present case parties in a court hearing express their opinion.
2. The court shall leave without consideration statements and petitions which have not been filed in the preparatory proceedings or within another term determined by the court against a reasonable excuse.
§ 3. Clarification of the case circumstances and examination of evidence
Article 208. Opening address of the case parties
1. The court shall hear the opening address of the plaintiff and the third party by the plaintiff's side, the defendant and the third party by the defendant's side, as well as other case parties.
2. In the opening address, the case parties shall orally summarise the content and grounds of their claims and objections to the subject of the claim, provide the necessary explanations thereto.
3. If together with a party or a third party their representatives are involved in the case, the court shall hear their representatives after the party or third party. Upon the petition of a party or a third party, only a representative may proclaim an opening address.
4. The case parties may ask questions to each other in the order determined by the presiding judge and with their permission.
5. The presiding judge may, on his/her own initiative or at the oral petition of a case party, withdraw issues that do not relate to the subject of the dispute, and ask questions to the trial participant.
6. If the trial participants are vague or it is not possible to conclude from their words whether they acknowledge the circumstances or object to them, the court may require these persons to give a specific answer – “yes” or “no”.
Article 209. Procedure for clarification of the case circumstances and examination of evidence
1. Having heard the case parties' opening addresses, the court shall clarify the circumstances to which the parties refer as the basis of their claims and objections, and examine the evidence on which they are based, in the manner prescribed by the preparatory hearing in the case.
2. Taking into account the content of the disputed legal relationship, the case circumstances and the collected case evidence, the court may change the procedure for clarification of the case circumstances and examination of evidence during consideration of the case on the merits, subject to a record in the minutes of the court hearing.
Article 210. Examination of evidence
1. During the consideration of the case the court must directly examine the case evidence: read the written and electronic evidence, expert opinions, explanations of the parties, set out in statements on the merits, testimony of witnesses, as well as to examine the evidence.
2. Evidence that was not the subject of the examination at the court hearing may not be used by the court as the basis for the judgment.
3. Written, physical and electronic evidence shall be examined in court, except as provided by this Code, and presented to the case parties at their request, and also to witnesses, experts, specialists, if necessary.
4. The case parties may give their explanations regarding written, material and electronic evidence or protocols of their investigation, ask questions to the experts. The first person to ask a question shall be the person at whose petition the expert was summoned.
Article 211. The procedure for interrogation of witnesses
1. A witness shall be interrogated only by a court ruling in the cases established by this Code. Each witness shall be interrogated individually.
2. Witnesses who have not yet testified may not be present in the courtroom during the court consideration.
3. Before interrogating a witness, the presiding judge shall establish their identity and warn them of criminal liability for knowingly false testimony and refusal to testify.
4. When interrogating a witness, the person on whose application the witness was summoned shall ask the question first, followed by the other case parties in the order established by Parts 1 and 3, Article 208 of this Code.
5. The presiding judge and other judges may ask questions to the witness at any time during his/her interrogation.
6. The presiding judge and other judges shall have the right to clarify the essence of the witness's answer to the case parties' questions, as well as to ask questions to the witness after the end of his/her interrogation by the case parties.
7. The presiding judge shall have the right, at the case party's request, to withdraw the questions asked to the witness, if they are insulting the honour or dignity of a person, are suggestive or do not relate to the subject of the dispute.
8. Each interrogated witness shall remain in the courtroom until the end of the consideration. The court may allow the interrogated witnesses to leave the courtroom until the end of the consideration with the consent of the parties.
9. A witness may be interrogated repeatedly or simultaneously with another witness to determine the reasons for the discrepancy between their testimony and the testimony of other witnesses.
10. A witness who is unable to appear in court due to illness, old age, disability or other reasonable excuse shall be interrogated by the court at his/her place of residence (stay).
Article 212. The use of written records by a witness
1. While giving testimony, the witness may use written records only if his/her testimony is related to any calculations and other data that are difficult to remember. These records shall be submitted to the court and the case parties and may be attached to the case by a court ruling.
Article 213. Interrogation of parties, third parties, their representatives as witnesses
1. A case party (their representative) may be interrogated as a witness in accordance with Articles 211, 212 of this Code if the circumstances stated by them in the witness statement contradict other evidence or cause doubts in court regarding their accuracy.
Article 214. Examination of written expert conclusion
1. The expert conclusion at the request of the case party shall be announced in the court during the examination of written evidence. The court may announce only a summary of the expert conclusion.
2. The case parties may provide their explanations regarding the expert conclusion.
Article 215. Consultations and explanations of the specialist
1. During the examination of evidence, the court may use oral consultations or written explanations (conclusions) of specialists.
2. The specialist may be asked questions on the merits of the oral consultations or written explanations provided. The person, at whose request the specialist is involved, and their representative shall ask the questions first, followed by the other case parties. If the specialist is involved at the request of both parties or at the initiative of the court, the plaintiff and (or) their representative shall ask the specialist first.
3. The court shall have the right to clarify the essence of the specialist's answer to the case parties' questions, as well as to ask the questions to the specialist after the case parties asked questions to them.
4. The explanations set out in writing and signed by the specialist shall be attached to the case file.
Article 216. Postponement of the case consideration or a break in the court hearing
1. The court shall postpone the case consideration in the events established by Part 2 of Article 202 of this Code.
2. If the dispute under consideration on the merits cannot be resolved at the court hearing, a court may announce a break for the period established by this Code for consideration of the case, the duration of which shall be determined in view of the circumstances that caused it, with a next note thereof in the judgment or the ruling.
3. The court shall notify the case parties, witnesses, experts, specialists, interpreters who were present at the court hearing on the postponement of the case consideration or a break in a court hearing against a receipt. The case parties, witnesses, experts, specialists, interpreters who have not arrived or who are involved in the trial for the first time by the court shall be notified of the court hearing by the rulings.
4. If the consideration of the case is postponed, the court shall interrogate the witnesses who appeared. Witnesses shall not be interrogated and shall be summoned again only in exceptional cases subject to the court ruling.
5. If the consideration of the case is postponed, the court shall continue the proceedings from the stage at which the hearing was postponed. In the event that the consideration of the case is postponed during its consideration on the merits, the court may begin consideration of the case on the merits from the beginning.
6. If a break has been announced at the court hearing, the proceedings in the case shall be resumed from the stage at which the break was announced.
Article 217. End of ascertaining circumstances and their verification with evidence
1. The court shall note the completion of clarifying the circumstances and verifying them with evidence in the minutes of the court hearing and shall proceed to the court debate.
§ 4. Judicial debate and adoption of a judgment
1. In judicial debates, the case parties shall deliver speeches (closing address). In these speeches, they may reference only to the circumstances and evidence examined at the hearing.
2. In the debate, the participant speaks independently or appoints one representative to speak.
3. The procedure, duration of judicial debate and the order of speeches of the case parties shall be determined by the presiding judge based on the reasonably necessary time for the case parties to present their position on the case. With the permission of the court, the speakers may exchange remarks. The right of a closing remark shall always belong to the defendant and his/her representative.
Article 219. Leave of the court for adoption of a judgment
1. After the judicial debate, the court shall leave to the deliberation room (a room that is specially equipped for adoption of judgments) to adopt a decision, having announced the approximate time of its announcement.
Article 220. Secrecy in deliberation room
1. No one shall have the right to be present in the deliberation room during the adoption of a judgment, except the judges hearing the case.
2. While being in the deliberation room, a judge shall not have the right to consider other court cases.
3. Judges shall not have the right to disclose the progress of the discussion and adoption of a judgment in the deliberation room.
Article 221. Adoption of a judgment on the court costs
1. If a party cannot provide evidence confirming the amount of court costs incurred before the end of the judicial debate in the case due to a reasonable excuse, the court on the application of such a party filed before the end of the judicial debate in the case may resolve an issue on court costs after the decision on the merits of the claims has been adopted.
2. To resolve the issue of court costs, the court shall appoint a court hearing, which shall be held no later than fifteen days from the date when the decision on the merits of the claims has been adopted.
3. In the case specified in Part 2 of this Article, the court shall make an additional decision in the manner prescribed by Article 244 of this Code.
Article 222. Recording of the court hearing by technical means
1. During the court hearing of the case the court shall make a full recording of the court hearing by means of video and (or) sound recording equipment in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
If there are objections from any of the trial participants against the full recording of the court hearing with the help of video recording equipment, such recording shall be carried out only by means of audio recording equipment.
2. The court hearing shall be recorded by technical means by a secretary of the court hearing.
3. In case of non-appearance of all case parties or if under the provisions of this Code, the case is considered by the court in the absence of the parties, the trial shall not be recorded by technical means.
4. Full or partial reproduction of the technical record of the court hearing shall be carried out at the request of the case party, or at the initiative of the court.
5. Technical record of the court hearing shall constitute an appendix to the minutes of the court hearing and after the end of the court hearing it shall be attached to the case files.
6. The case party shall have the right to receive a copy of the technical record of the trial.
7. The amount of the court fee for a copy of the technical record of the court hearing in electronic form shall be established by law.
Article 223. Minutes of the court hearing
1. At a court hearing, the secretary of the court hearing shall keep the minutes of the court hearing, except for the cases provided for by this Code.
2. The minutes of the court hearing shall contain the following information:
1) year, month, date and place of the court hearing;
2) the name of the court hearing the case, the surname and initials of the judge, the secretary of the court hearing;
3) the case under consideration, names (titles) of the parties and other case parties;
4) serial number of the procedural action;
5) name of the procedural action;
6) time of the procedural action;
7) court rulings issued at the court hearing without going to the deliberation room;
8) other information specified by this Code.
3. The minutes of the court hearing shall be kept by the secretary of the court hearing and shall be signed by them immediately, but not later than the next day after the court hearing and shall be attached to the case.
Article 224. Remarks on the technical record of the court hearing, the minutes of the court hearing and their consideration
1. The case parties shall have the right to review the technical record of the trial, the minutes of the court hearing and within five days from the date of signing the minutes in the case to submit to the court written comments on incompleteness or inaccuracy of the technical record or information contained in the minutes.
2. The court shall consider the comments on the technical record of the trial and the minutes of the court hearing no later than five days from the date of their submission and, based on the results of the review, shall deliver a ruling that takes into account the comments or rejects them.
3. In case of failure to submit the comments within the set period, and if there are no grounds for its renewal, the court shall leave them without consideration.
Article 225. The procedure for drawing up and execution of the minutes of committing an individual procedural action
1. During the commission of an individual procedural action outside the court hearing, the minutes shall be drawn up. Technical means can be used for its compilation.
2. The following information shall be indicated in the minutes of committing an individual procedural action:
1) year, month, date and place of the procedural action;
2) commencement time of the procedural action;
3) the name of the commercial court considering the case, the names and initials of the judge, the secretary of the court hearing;
4) the case under consideration, the names (titles) of the case parties;
5) information on the appearance of the case parties;
6) information on explanations to the case parties of their procedural rights and obligations;
7) all orders of the presiding judge and rulings, data on the use of technical means of recording the trial;
8) statements and petitions of the case parties;
9) the main content of the explanations of the case parties, testimony of witnesses, clarification by experts of their conclusions and answers to additional questions posed to them; consultations and conclusions of specialists;
10) the evidence, its description and if the evidence is not attached to the case, then the number and content of written evidence;
11) completion time of the procedural action;
12) other information specified by this Code.
3. The minutes shall be drawn up no later than the next day after performing a separate procedural action.
4. The minutes shall be signed by the presiding judge and the secretary of the court hearing, attached to the case and kept in the prescribed manner together with its files.
5. Written comments on the incompleteness or inaccuracy of the minutes of an individual procedural action shall be submitted to the court within five days from the date of its signing and shall be considered by the court according to Article 224 of this Code.
Chapter 8. Leaving the claim without consideration. Suspension and closure of proceedings
Article 226. Leaving the claim without consideration
1. The court shall leave the claim without consideration if:
1) the claim is filed by a person who does not have procedural dispositive legal capacity;
2) the statement of claim was not signed or was signed by a person who does not have the right to sign it or by a person whose official position is not specified;
3) in the proceedings of this or other court there is a case of a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and on the same grounds;
4) the plaintiff without reasonable excuse did not submit the evidence required by the court necessary to resolve a dispute, or the plaintiff (their representative) failed to appear in court or failed to notify of the reasons for non-appearance, unless they filed an application for case consideration in their absence does not preclude dispute resolution;
5) the plaintiff before the start of the case on the merits filed an application to leave the claim without consideration;
6) the plaintiff within the period specified by the court did not contribute the funds to secure the court costs of the defendant and the defendant filed an application to leave the claim without consideration;
7) the parties entered into an agreement to transfer this dispute to arbitration court or international commercial arbitration, and the objections to the dispute resolved in commercial court were obtained from the defendant, no later than the commencement of the case consideration on the merits, but before they submitted the first statement on the merits of the dispute, unless the court recognises that such agreement is invalid, expired or cannot be executed;
8) the proceedings were opened on the application filed in violation of the requirements set forth in Articles 162, 164 and 172, 173 of this Code and the plaintiff did not eliminate these deficiencies within the period established by the court;
9) a person with the civil procedural dispositive legal capacity, in whose interests, in the cases established by law, proceedings have been opened on the application of another person, does not agree with the stated requirements and a corresponding application has been received from him/her;
10) after the proceedings were opened, the court found that the plaintiff filed another claim (claims) to the same court against the same defendant (defendants) with the same subject matter and on the same grounds and in respect of such claim (claims) at the time of resolving the issue of opening of proceedings in the case under consideration; if a ruling to open or refuse to open proceedings, return the statement of claim or leave the claim without consideration is not adopted;
11) the parties have concluded an agreement on the transfer of a dispute to a court of another state, if the right to enter into such an agreement is provided by law or international treaty of Ukraine, unless the court finds that such an agreement contradicts the law or international treaty of Ukraine, is invalid, expired or cannot be executed.
2. A ruling shall be delivered to leave the claim without consideration, in which the issues of distribution of court costs between the parties and return of the court fee from the budget shall be resolved.
3. The ruling to leave the claim without consideration may be appealed.
4. A person whose claim has been left without consideration, after eliminating the circumstances that were the basis for leaving the claim without consideration, shall have the right to apply to the court again.
Article 227. Obligation of the court to suspend the proceedings
1. The court shall be obliged to suspend the proceedings in the case of:
1) death or declaration as dead of an individual who was a case party or a third party with independent claims regarding the subject of the dispute if the disputed legal relationship allows for legal succession;
2) the need to appoint or replace a legal representative of a case party;
3) the service of a party or a third party who declares independent claims on the subject of the dispute, in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations formed under the law, transferred to martial law status or involved in an anti-terrorist operation;
4) adopting a decision on settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge;
5) the objective impossibility of considering this case before resolving another case, which is considered in the order of constitutional proceedings, administrative, civil, commercial or criminal proceedings, until the entry into force of a judgment in another case; the court may not refer to the objective impossibility of considering the case in the event when the collected evidence allows to establish and assess the circumstances (facts) that are the subject of the court consideration.
2. The court shall deliver a ruling on the issues specified in this Article.
Article 228. The right of the court to suspend the proceedings
1. The court may, at the request of a party to the case, as well as on its own initiative, suspend the proceedings in the following cases:
1) alternative (non-military) service of the case party not at the place of residence, or the compulsory military service;
2) appointment of expert examination by the court;
3) sending a court order to collect evidence according to the procedure established by Article 84 of this Code;
4) application with a court order for the provision of legal aid or service of a summons to court or other documents to a foreign court or other competent authority of a foreign state;
{Clause 5, Part 1, Article 228 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
6) adoption of a decision on temporary seizure of evidence by the state executor for examination by a court;
7) review of a judgment in a similar legal relationship (in another case) in cassation by a chamber, a joint chamber, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.
2. The court shall not suspend the proceedings in the case established by Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article, if the absent party conducts the case through his/her representative.
3. The court shall deliver a ruling on the issues specified in this Article.
Article 229. Period for suspension of the proceedings
1. Proceedings in the case shall be suspended in the cases stipulated in:
1) Paragraphs 1, 2, Part 1 of Article 227 of this Code, to involve a successor or legal representative in the case;
2) Paragraph 3, Part 1 of Article 227 of this Code, until the termination of the service of a party or a third party who declares independent claims on the subject of the dispute, in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations formed under the law, transferred to martial law status or involved in an anti-terrorist operation;
3) Paragraph 4, Part 1 of Article 227 of this Code, until the termination of the settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge;
4) Paragraphs 5, Part 1 of Article 227 of this Code, until the entry into force of a judgment on which the resolution of the case depends;
5) Paragraph 1, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, until the termination of the alternative (non-military) service outside the place of residence or military service;
6) Paragraph 2, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, for the period of the examination;
7) Paragraph 3, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, until the receipt of the court response to the order on collection of evidence;
8) Paragraph 4, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, before receiving a response from a foreign court or other competent authority of a foreign state to the court order for legal aid, summons to court or other documents;
{Clause 9, Part 1, Article 229 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
10) Paragraph 6, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, until the end of enforcement proceedings for the seizure of evidence for examination by the court;
11) Paragraph 7, Part 1 of Article 228 of this Code, until the end of the review in cassation.
Article 230. Resumption of proceedings
1. Proceedings in the case shall be resumed at the request of the case parties or at the initiative of the court no later than ten days from the date of receipt by the court of the notice of elimination of the circumstances that caused its suspension. The court shall issue a ruling on the resumption of proceedings in the case.
2. From the day of resumption of proceedings in the case the course of procedural period shall continue.
3. The proceedings shall continue from the stage at which they were suspended.
Article 231. Closing case proceedings
1. The commercial court shall close the proceedings if:
1) the dispute is not subject to resolution in commercial proceedings;
2) there is no subject of the dispute;
3) the court will establish the circumstances that are the basis for refusal to initiate proceedings in the case in accordance with Paragraphs 2, 4, 5, Part 1, Article 175 of this Code, except as provided for in Part 2, Article 175 of this Code;
4) the plaintiff waived the claim and the waiver was accepted by the court;
5) after the opening of proceedings in the case, the parties concluded an agreement to transfer the dispute to international commercial arbitration or arbitration court, unless the court finds that such an agreement is invalid, has ceased to be effective or cannot be executed;
6) an individual who was one of the case parties is dead or recognised as deceased, the same concerning the legal entity that has been liquidated, if the disputed legal relationship does not allow for legal succession.
7) the parties have concluded a settlement agreement and it has been approved by a court.
2. If the proceedings are closed on the grounds specified in Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article, the court must explain to the plaintiff about the court, whose jurisdiction is subject to consideration of the case. The court of appeal or court of cassation must also explain to the plaintiff that he/she shall have the right to refer the case to the established jurisdiction, except in cases of combining several claims into one proceeding that are subject to consideration under different proceedings, within ten days from the date of receipt of the relevant resolution to apply to the court The application shall be submitted to the court that adopted the decision to close the proceedings.
If the court receives a case to be resolved in a commercial proceeding, after the closure of the proceedings by the Supreme Court or the court of appeal in commercial or administrative proceedings, the case proceedings may not be closed on the grounds established by Paragraph 1, Part 1 of this Article.
{Part 2 of Article 231 as revised by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
3. In case of closure of the case proceedings, repeated appeal to the court regarding a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and on the same grounds shall not be allowed. The existence of a ruling to close the proceedings in connection with the acceptance of the plaintiff's waiver of the claim shall not deprive the defendant in this case of the refer to a court to resolve this dispute.
4. The court shall deliver a ruling on the closure of the case proceedings, as well as decide on the distribution of court costs between the parties, the return of the court fee from the budget.
5. The court ruling to close the proceedings may be appealed.
Article 232. Types of judgments
2. Procedural issues related to the progress of the case in the court of first instance, petitions and applications of persons involved in the case, issues of the case postponement, announcement of postponement, suspension or closure of proceedings, leaving the application without consideration, and in other cases provided by this Code, shall be resolved by the court by issuing the rulings.
3. Consideration of the case on the merits by the court of first instance shall result in adoption of a judgment.
4. Review of judgments in the appellate and cassation procedure shall result in adoption of a resolution.
5. In cases provided by this Code or the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognizing It Bankrupt”, the trial ends with the delivery of a ruling, adoption of a resolution or issuance of a court order.
Article 233. Procedure for adoption of judgments
1. Courts shall adopt judgments and rulings on behalf of Ukraine immediately after the case consideration ends.
2. Judgments and rulings shall be adopted, drawn up and signed in the deliberation room by the judges that considered the case.
3. If several interrelated independent claims are combined in one proceeding, the court may adopt a partial decision on any claim and continue the proceedings regarding the unresolved claims. If a single person is a defendant in the claims combined in one proceeding, the partial judgment shall not be adopted in case the defendant gives reasonable objections.
The court may decide on the distribution of court costs in an additional judgment after the judgment on the merits of the case has been adopted.
4. Court rulings, which are drawn up in a separate document, shall be adopted in the deliberation room, other rulings may be adopted by the court without leaving to the deliberation room.
5. Court rulings issued by a separate document shall be signed by the judge (judges) and attached to the case. Rulings made by the court without leaving to the deliberation room shall be recorded in the minutes of the court hearing.
6. In exceptional cases, depending on the case complexity, the full decision (ruling) of the court may be postponed for a period not exceeding ten days, and if the case is considered in a simplified action proceedings, it may be postponed for five days from the end of the case consideration.
The drafting of the full text of the ruling, depending on the case complexity, may be postponed for a period not exceeding five days from the date of announcement of the introductory and operative parts of the decision.
The judgment, containing the introductory and operative parts, must be signed by the entire court and attached to the case.
7. Corrections in judgments and rulings must be provided for before the judge's signature.
8. All judgments shall be set out in writing in paper and electronic forms.
The judgments shall be set out in electronic form using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System by filling in the appropriate forms of procedural documents provided by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System and signed by an electronic digital signature of a judge (if a case is considered by panel of judges, it shall be signed by electronic digital signatures of all judges who are members of the panel).
Article 234. Contents of the court ruling
1. A ruling which is stated in a separate document shall comprise:
1) introduction where the following shall be stated:
a) date and place of its adoption;
b) name of the court, surname and initials of the judge (judges);
c) names (titles) of the case parties;
2) the descriptive part indicating the essence of the petition and the name (title) of the person who filed it, or another issue to be resolved by the ruling;
3) the reasoning with the indication of the reasons as the grounds for the court's conclusions, and the law, to which the court referred while issuing the ruling;
4) the operative part containing:
b) the term and procedure for entry into force of the ruling and its appeal.
2. A ruling adopted under Articles 351 and 356 of this Code shall comply with the requirements contained in those Articles.
Article 235. Entry into force of the ruling
1. The ruling shall come into force immediately after its announcement, unless otherwise provided by this Code or the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
2. The rulings rendered by a court outside a court hearing or at the court hearing in case of non-appearance of all case parties, consideration of the case without notification (summons) of the case parties shall take legal effect from the moment of their signing by the judge (judges).
Article 236. Legality and validity of the judgment
1. A judgment must be based on the rule of law, be lawful and reasonable.
2. A decision adopted by a court under the norms of substantive law in compliance with the norms of procedural law shall be considered lawful.
3. The judgment must correspond to the task of commercial proceedings defined by this Code.
4. In choosing and applying the rule of law to the disputed legal relationship, the court shall take into account the conclusions on the application of the rules of law set out in the resolutions of the Supreme Court.
5. A reasoned decision shall mean the decision made on the basis of fully and comprehensively clarified circumstances, to which the parties refer as the basis of their claims and objections, supported by the evidence that was examined at the hearing with the evaluation of all arguments of the case parties.
6. If one of the parties has acknowledged the claim filed against them during the trial in whole or in part, the decision on this party shall be made by the court in accordance with such recognition, unless it contradicts the requirements of Article 191 of this Code.
Article 237. Issues resolved by the court during the adoption of the judgments
1. When making a decision, the court shall resolve the following issues:
1) whether there were circumstances (facts), which substantiated the claims and objections, and what evidence they are confirmed with;
2) whether there are other factual data that are relevant to the case and evidence to support them;
3) what legal provision should be applied to these legal relations;
4) whether the claim should be satisfied or dismissed;
5) how to distribute court costs between the parties;
6) whether there are grounds for cancellation of measures to secure the claim.
2. While adopting a decision, the court may not go beyond the claims.
3. While adopting a decision, upon the application of the plaintiff filed before the end of the preparatory proceedings, the court may invalidate the unlawful deed in whole or in part that is related to the subject of the dispute, if the plaintiff proves that they could not include the relevant claim in the statement of claim for the reasons beyond their control.
Article 238. Content of the decision
1. The judgment shall consist of introductory, descriptive, reasoning and operative parts.
2. The introductory part of the judgment shall contain:
1) date and place of its adoption;
3) surname and initials of the judge or composition of the panel of judges;
4) surname and initials of the secretary of the court hearing;
6) name (title) of the parties and other case parties;
8) surnames and initials of the representatives of the case parties.
3. The descriptive part of the judgment shall contain:
1) a summary of plaintiff's opinion and the defendant's objections;
3) other procedural actions in the case (securing evidence, taking measures to secure the claim, suspension and resumption of proceedings, etc.).
4. The reasoning part of the judgment shall contain:
1) a list of circumstances that are the subject of proof in the case;
{Clause 1, Part 4 of Article 238 as revised by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
2) a list of evidence used by the parties to confirm or deny the existence of each circumstance that is the subject of proof in the case;
{Clause 2, Part 4 of Article 238 as revised by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
3) the court conclusion on what circumstance that is the subject of proof in the case is recognised by the court as established or disproved given the greater probability of the relevant evidence;
{Clause 3, Part 4 of Article 238 as revised by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
4) the reasons for recognising the evidence as more probable in respect of each circumstance that is the subject of proof in the case;
{Clause 4, Part 4 of Article 238 as revised by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
5) a reasoned evaluation of each argument presented by the case parties on the presence or absence of grounds for satisfaction of the claim, unless the argument clearly does not relate to the subject of the dispute, is clearly unfounded or unacceptable given the law or the established case law;
6) whether and by whom the rights, freedoms or interests were violated, not recognised or disputed, with an appeal to the court having been submitted to protect these rights, freedoms or interests;
7) the rules of law applied by the court and the reasons for their application;
8) the rules of law referred to by the parties, not applied by the court, and the reasons for their non-application.
5. The operative part of the judgment shall contain:
1) the conclusion of the court on the claim satisfaction or on the claim dismissal in whole or in part in respect of each of the stated claims;
2) distribution of court costs;
3) the term and procedure for the entry into force of the judgment and its appeal;
4) full name (for legal entities) or name (for individuals) of the parties and other case participants, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, taxpayer identification number of the parties (for individuals) (if any) or the number and series of passports for individuals that are the citizens of Ukraine.
The conclusion of the court on the claim satisfaction or on the claim dismissal in whole or in part in respect of each of the stated claims may not depend on the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain circumstances (conditional decision).
6. If necessary, the operative part shall also contain:
1) the procedure and period for the judgment enforcement;
2) granting a postponement or extension of the deadline of the decision;
3) ensuring the judgment enforcement;
5) appointment of a court hearing to resolve the issue of court costs, date, time and place of its holding; period for submission by the party, upon whose petition such court hearing is held, of evidence on the amount of court costs incurred by them;
6) the date when the full judgment has been drawn up.
7. When adopting a decision in favour of several plaintiffs or against several defendants, the court shall indicate the part of the decision which applies to each of them, or indicate that the obligation or right of recovery is joint and several.
8. When considering the initial claim and counter-claims and when considering the claim of a third party with independent claims, the results of consideration of each claim shall be specified in the judgment.
9. In a dispute arising from the conclusion or amendment of a contract, the operative part shall indicate the decision on each disputable condition of the contract, and in a dispute on the incentive to enter into a contract, it shall indicate the conditions under which the parties are obliged to enter into a contract, with a reference to the draft contract submitted by the plaintiff.
10. {Part 10, Article 238 of this Code shall be enacted since 1 January 2019} When adopting a decision on the recovery of a debt subject to the accrual of interest or late charge, the court may indicate in the decision on accrual of the relevant interest or late charge until the execution of the decision, taking into account the provisions of Ukrainian law governing such accrual.
The final amount of interest (late charge) in this case shall be calculated according to the rules specified in the judgment, the authority (person) that enforces the judgment and the relevant actions (decisions) which can be appealed in the manner prescribed by Section VI of this Code.
11. In case of partial satisfaction of the initial claim and counter-claims for recovery of sums of money, the court shall counter-accrue such sums and collect the difference between them in favour of the party to which the larger sum of money was awarded.
12. If the court invalidates the loan contract in which the borrower's performance of their obligations is secured by a pledge of property, as well as in case of invalidation of the pledge contract, which ensures the borrower's performance of their obligations under the loan contract, the court shall seize such property. Such seizure may be lifted on the grounds provided for by law.
Article 239. Determination of the procedure and period for judgment enforcement, securing its enforcement
1. The court that has adopted a judgment may determine the procedure for its enforcement, grant a postponement or extend the deadline of enforcement, take measures to ensure its enforcement, and shall indicate thereof in the judgment.
2. Securing the judgment enforcement shall be carried out in the order of securing the claim.
Securing the judgment enforcement shall be cancelled after the defendant has fully complied with the judgment.
Article 240. Pronouncement of decision
1. The judgment shall be pronounced in a court hearing, which concludes the consideration of the case, in public, except in cases established by this Code. The court may pronounce only the introductory and operative parts of the judgment.
2. When pronouncing the judgment, the judge shall not announce the following information regarding the case parties:
1) place of residence or stay of individuals with address, telephone numbers or other means of communication, e-mail address, taxpayer identification numbers, details of identity documents, unique record numbers in the Unified State Demographic Register;
2) registration numbers of vehicles;
3) bank account numbers, payment card numbers;
4) information, for the protection of which a case was considered or the certain procedural actions were taken in the closed court hearing.
3. The presiding judge shall clarify the content of the judgment, the procedure and period of its appeal.
4. In case of non-appearance of all case parties at the court hearing, which concludes the consideration of the case, consideration of the case without notification (summons) of the case parties, the court shall sign the decision without its announcement.
5. The date of the judgment adoption shall be the date of its pronouncement (either full or abbreviated judgment). The date of the judgment adoption approved the absence of the case parties shall be the date when the full judgment has been executed.
6. In case of pronouncement at the court hearing only of the introductory and operative parts of the judgment, the court shall notify when the full judgment is be executed.
7. The judgment (full or abbreviated) shall be signed by the entire court composition on the day of its execution and attached to the case.
8. After the pronouncement of the judgment, the court that passed it may not revoke or change this judgment, unless otherwise specified by this Code.
9. Judgments shall be pronounced immediately after their adoption according to the rules for pronouncement of judgments.
10. In the ruling issued by the court without leaving to the deliberation room, the conclusion of the court and the reasons of such conclusion shall be announced.
Article 241. Entry into force of a judgment
1. The commercial judgment shall take legal effect after the expiration of the term for filing an appeal if the appeal has not been filed.
2. In case of filing an appeal, the judgment, if it is not revoked, shall take effect after the return of the appeal, refusal to open or after closing the appeal proceedings or adoption of a ruling by court of appeal as a result of the appellate review.
3. If the case is considered upon the application of the persons specified in Part 3, Article 4 of this Code, the judgment that has entered into force shall be binding upon the person in whose interests the case was initiated.
Article 242. Service of a judgment
1. Full duplicate judgments shall be served to the case parties who were present at the court hearing immediately after the judgment was pronounced.
2. In case of pronouncement of only the abbreviated (introductory and operative parts) of the judgment, the case parties, who were present at the court hearing, shall be issued copies of the abbreviated judgment upon their application immediately after its pronouncement.
3. If the abbreviated judgment is pronounced at the court hearing, the court shall send to the case parties a copy of the full judgment within two days from the date of its execution in electronic form in the manner prescribed by law (if the person has an official e-mail address), or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, if the person does not have such an address.
4. Upon the case party's application, a copy of the full judgment shall be served to him/her against a receipt directly in court.
5. The case parties who did not appear at the court hearing, or if the judgment was adopted outside the court hearing or without notice (summons) of the parties, a copy of the judgment shall be sent within two days from the date of its adoption in full electronically in the manner prescribed by law, if the person has an official e-mail address, or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, if such an address is missing.
6. The day of service of the judgment shall be:
1) the day of service of the judgment against a receipt;
2) the day of receipt by the court of the notification on service of the duplicate judgment to the official e-mail address of the person;
3) the day of affixing in the postal message a mark that the judgment has been served;
4) the day of affixing in the postal message a mark on the refusal to receive the duplicate judgment or a mark on the absence of a person at the address of location, place of residence or stay of the person notified by this person to the court;
5) the day of affixing in the postal message a mark on the refusal to receive the duplicate judgment or a mark on the absence of a person at the address of location, place of residence or stay of the person registered in the manner prescribed by law, if this person did not inform the court of another address.
If a duplicate judgment is sent to the official e-mail address later than 5 pm, the judgment shall be considered serviced on the working day following the day of its sending, regardless of the receipt of the delivery notice by the court.
7. If a duplicate judgment is served to the representative, it shall be deemed to have been served also to the person they represent.
8. If the judgment prohibits the defendant to take certain actions or seizes their property and the enforcement of such a decision will require actions by state authorities, local governments, their officials or employees, including making entries in the relevant registers, the duplicate judgment shall also be sent by the court to these authorities and (or) persons within the period and in the manner specified in this Article for immediate enforcement.
9. Duplicate judgments may be reissued at the request of the person in the manner prescribed by law.
10. According to this Article, judgments shall be served by sending (issuing) to the relevant person a copy (text) of the full or abbreviated judgment, containing information about the web-address of such a judgment in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
11. If the case is considered based on the materials in paper form, judgments shall be sent in paper form by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.
12. A person who did not take part in the case, but in respect of whom the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, may obtain in the court that considered the case as a court of first instance, a duplicate decision approved by the court of any instance, that is stored in the case files.
13. The judgment (full or brief) on the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings on the day of its pronouncement shall be sent to the persons conducting clearing activities to the official e-mail address of such persons registered in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
{Article 242 has been appended with Part 13 under Law No. 738-IX of 19 June 2020}
Article 243. Correction of clerical errors and arithmetic errors
1. The court may, on its own initiative or at the request of the case parties, correct clerical errors or arithmetic errors made in the judgment or ruling.
2. The issue of making corrections shall be resolved without notifying the case parties, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling. At the initiative of the court, the issue of making corrections shall be resolved in a court hearing with the participation of the case parties, but their non-appearance shall not preclude consideration of the issue on entering corrections.
3. The application for entering corrections shall be considered within ten days after its receipt.
4. The ruling on entering corrections shall be sent to all persons to whom a judgment containing clerical errors or arithmetic errors has been issued or has been sent.
1. The court that adopted the judgment may, at the request of the case parties or on its own initiative, adopt an additional judgment if:
1) no decision has been adopted in respect of any claim in respect of which the parties have submitted evidence and given explanations;
2) the court, having resolved the issue of the right, did not indicate the exact amount of money awarded for recovery, or the property to be transferred, or the action that should be taken;
3) the court has not resolved the issue of court costs.
2. An application for adoption of an additional judgment may be submitted before the expiration of the period for enforcement of the judgment.
3. The court that adopted the decision shall adopt an additional judgment in the same composition within ten days from the date of receipt of the relevant application. An additional judgment shall be adopted in the same manner as the judgment.
4. If necessary, the court may summon the parties or other case participants to a court hearing. Failure to appear at the hearing of persons who have been duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing shall not preclude consideration of the application.
5. An additional decision or a ruling to refuse to adopt an additional decision may be appealed.
Article 245. Explaining a judgment
1. Upon the application of the case parties, the state executor, the private executor, the court shall explain the judgment that has entered into force, without changing the content of the judgment.
2. The filing of an application for clarification of a judgment shall be allowed if the judgment has not yet been enforced or the period during which the judgment may be presented for compulsory enforcement has not expired.
3. The court shall consider the application for clarification of the judgment in the order in which the relevant judgment was adopted, within ten days from the date of its receipt. If necessary, the court may summon the case parties, public or private executor at the court hearing. Failure to appear at the hearing of persons who have been duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing shall not preclude consideration of the application for clarification of the judgment.
4. The court shall issue a ruling on the clarification or refusal to explain the judgment, which may be appealed.
1. If the court has identified any violations of the law or deficiencies in the activities of a legal entity, state or other authorities, other persons, shall issue a separate ruling, regardless of whether they are participants in the proceedings.
2. The court may issue a separate ruling in case of abuse of procedural rights, violation of procedural obligations, improper performance of professional obligations (including if the statement of claim signed by lawyer or prosecutor contains significant deficiencies) or other violation of the law by lawyer or prosecutor.
3. The court may issue a separate ruling regarding the state executor, other official of a state executive service authority, a private executor and send it to the authorities whose powers include bringing specified persons to disciplinary responsibility, or to the pre-trial investigation authority if the court concludes that there are any signs of a criminal offence in the actions (omissions) of such persons.
4. The court shall issue a separate ruling regarding a witness, expert or interpreter if during considering a case it finds any false testimonials, false expert conclusion or incorrect translation, evidence forgery, and shall send it to the prosecutor or the pre-trial investigation authority.
5. In a separate ruling, the court shall indicate the law or other regulatory act (including its Article, Paragraph, etc.), whose requirements are violated, having specified the core of violation.
6. A separate ruling shall be sent to the relevant individuals and legal entities, state and other authorities, officials, being capable of eliminating the deficiencies or violations identified by the court or preventing their recurrence, according to their powers. A separate ruling on the prosecutor or lawyer shall be sent to the authority whose powers include bringing the prosecutor or lawyer to disciplinary responsibility, respectively.
7. In order to ensure the implementation of the instructions contained in a separate ruling, the court shall set a period for giving an answer, depending on the content of the instructions and the time required for their implementation.
8. A separate decision may be issued by a court of first instance, court of appeal or court of cassation.
9. A separate ruling may be appealed by the persons it concerns. A separate ruling of the Supreme Court shall not be subject to appeal.
10. The court of higher instance may issue a separate ruling in case the court of lower instance violates the rules of substantive or procedural law, regardless of whether such violations are grounds for revocation or change of the judgment. The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court shall have the same powers over the referral of cases to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.
11. A separate ruling on violation of the law, which contains signs of a criminal offence, shall be sent to the prosecutor or the pre-trial investigation authority, which must provide the court with an answer about the measures taken by them within the period specified in a separate decision. At the request of the prosecutor or the pre-trial investigation authority, this period may be extended.
Chapter 10. Consideration of cases in simplified action proceedings
Article 247. Cases considered in simplified action proceedings
1. In the simplified action proceedings the following minor cases shall be considered:
2. Any other case falling within the jurisdiction of the commercial court may be considered in the simplified action proceedings, except for the cases referred to in Part 4 of this Article.
3. In resolving the issue on consideration of the case in the simplified or general action proceedings, the court shall take into account:
2) the significance of the case for the parties;
3) the remedy chosen by the plaintiff;
4) category and complexity of the case;
5) the amount and nature of evidence in the case, including whether it is necessary to appoint an expert in the case, call witnesses, etc.;
6) the number of parties and other case parties;
7) whether the consideration of the case is of significant public interest;
8) the opinion of the parties on the need to consider the case under the rules of simplified action proceedings.
4. The following cases may not be considered by way of simplified action proceedings:
2) on approval of plans to financial recovery of the debtor before initiating bankruptcy proceedings;
3) in disputes arising from corporate relations and disputes over transactions regarding corporate rights (shares);
4) in disputes concerning the protection of intellectual property rights, except for the cases on the recovery of an amount of money not exceeding 100 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons;
5) in disputes arising from relations that are related to the protection of economic competition, restriction of monopoly in economic activities, protection against unfair competition;
6) in disputes between a legal entity and its official (including an official whose powers were terminated) on compensation for damages caused by the actions (inaction) of such official in relation to the legal entity;
7) in disputes concerning the privatisation of state or municipal property;
8) in which the cost of claim exceeds 500 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons;
9) other claims combined with the claims in the disputes specified in Paragraphs 3–8 of this Part.
5. The court shall refuse to consider the case under the rules of simplified action proceedings or adopt a ruling to consider the case under the rules of general proceedings, if after the court accepts the plaintiff's application to increase the size of claims or change the subject of the claim the case cannot be considered under the rules of simplified claim proceedings.
Article 248. Term for consideration of the case in the order of simplified action proceedings
1. The court shall consider cases by way of simplified action proceedings within a reasonable period, but not more than sixty days from the date of the opening of the proceedings.
Article 249. Petition for case consideration in simplified action proceedings
1. The plaintiff's request for case consideration in simplified action proceedings shall be submitted in writing concurrently with the submission of the statement of claim, or may be included therein.
2. Such a request shall relate to the consideration in simplified action proceedings of the whole case and may not concern only a certain part of the claims, otherwise the court does not accept it for consideration, subject to indication in the ruling on opening the case proceedings.
Article 250. Resolving the issue of case consideration in simplified action proceedings
1. The issue of case consideration in simplified action proceedings shall be resolved by the court in the ruling to open the case proceedings.
2. In the case provided for in Part 2 of Article 247 of this Code, in result of consideration of the relevant plaintiff's petition, the court, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case may:
1) satisfy the petition and set a period for the defendant to file an application with objections to the case consideration in simplified action procedure; or
2) refuse to grant the petition and consider the case according to the rules of general action proceedings.
3. If the court, based on the results of consideration of the plaintiff's petition, concludes that the case is to be considered in simplified action proceedings, it shall indicate this in the ruling to open proceedings in the case.
4. If the defendant within the period prescribed by the court submits an application with objections to the case consideration in simplified action proceedings, the court, depending on the reasonableness of the defendant's objections shall issue a ruling on:
1) dismissal of the defendant's application;
2) consideration of the case according to the rules of general action proceedings and replacement of the hearing for consideration of the case on the merits by a preparatory hearing.
5. If the defendant does not file such objections within the period set by the court, he/she shall have the right to initiate the transition to consideration of the case under the rules of general action proceedings only if he/she proves that he/she missed the period due to reasonable excuse.
6. If the court decides to consider the case in the simplified action proceedings, but subsequently upon its own initiative or at the request of a case party decides to consider the case under the rules of general action proceedings, the consideration of the case shall begin from the stage of commencement of proceedings. In this case, the return to the case consideration under the rules of simplified action proceedings shall not be allowed.
7. Parts 2–6 of this Article shall not apply if, according to this Code, the case is subject to consideration only in simplified proceedings.
Article 251. Peculiarities of filing applications on the merits of the case in a simplified action proceedings
1. The defence shall be filed within fifteen days from the date of service of the ruling to open the case proceedings.
2. The plaintiff shall have the right to submit to the court a response to defence, and the defendant shall have the right to submit an objection within the period set by the court in the ruling to initiate case proceedings.
3. Third parties shall have the right to submit an explanation of the claim within the period specified by the court in the ruling to open proceedings, and regarding the recall they shall have the right to submit it within ten days from the date of its receipt.
Article 252. Specifics of case consideration in simplified action proceedings
1. Consideration of a case by way of simplified action proceedings shall be carried out by a court under the rules established by this Code for consideration of a case by way of general action proceedings, with the specifics stipulated in this Chapter.
2. Consideration of the case on the merits by way of simplified proceedings shall commence with the opening of the first court hearing or in thirty days from the date of the opening of the case proceedings, if the court hearing is not held.
{Paragraph 2 of Article 252 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
3. If a court hearing is not held for case consideration in simplified action proceedings under this Code, procedural actions, the period of which is limited under this Code by the first court hearing in the case, may be taken within thirty days from day of the case proceedings opening.
A preparatory hearing for case consideration in simplified action proceedings shall not be held.
{Part 3 of Article 252 as revised by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
4. The first court hearing in the case shall be held no later than thirty days from day of the case proceedings opening. At the petition of a party, the court may postpone the case in order to provide additional time to file a response to the defence and (or) objection, if they have not been submitted before the first court hearing for a reasonable excuse.
5. The court shall consider the case in the simplified action proceedings without notifying the case parties on the basis of the materials available in the case, in the absence of an either party's petition on the other. At the petition of one of the parties or on the court's own initiative, the case shall be considered in court with a notification (summons) of the parties.
6. The court may refuse to satisfy the petition of a party to consider the case at the court hearing with the notification of the parties, if following conditions exist concurrently:
1) the subject of the claim is the recovery of the funds not exceeding one hundred times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons;
2) the nature of the disputed legal relationship and the subject of proof in the case do not require a court hearing with notification of the parties to fully and comprehensively establish the circumstances of the case.
7. The petition for consideration of the case at the court hearing with notification of the parties shall be filed by the defendant within the period for filing a defence, and the plaintiff shall file it together with the claim or no later than five days from the day when the notification has been received.
8. When considering the case in a simplified action proceedings, the court shall examine the evidence and written explanations set out in the statements on the merits, and in case of consideration of the case with notification (summons) of the parties, it shall also hear their oral explanations. Judicial debates shall not be held.
9. The witnesses shall not be summoned when considering the case in simplified proceedings. If the circumstances set forth by a witness in the statement contradict other evidence or raise doubt regarding their accuracy, the court shall not take into account the testimony of the witness.
Section IV
REVIEW OF JudgmentS
Chapter 1. Appellate proceedings
1. The court of appeal in commercial cases shall mean the commercial court of appeal, within the appellate district of which (territory to which the powers of the relevant commercial court of appeal apply) there is the local commercial court that has adopted a judgment subject to appeal, unless otherwise provided by this Code.
2. The Supreme Court shall review on appeal the judgments of the commercial courts of appeal rendered by them as courts of first instance.
3. The Appeals Chamber of the High Intellectual Property Court shall review on appeal the judgments adopted by the High Intellectual Property Court.
Article 254. The right of appeal
1. The litigants, persons who did not participate in the case, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, shall have the right to file the appeal of the judgment adopted by the court of first instance.
2. The litigants, persons who did not participate in the case, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, shall have the right to appeal the rulings adopted by a court of first instance separately from the judgment only in cases provided for in Article 255 of this Code. Appeals against court rulings not provided for in Article 255 of this Code shall not be allowed separately from a judgment.
{Part 2 of Article 254 as amended by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
3. After opening of appeal proceedings on the appeal of a person who did not participate in the case, but the court decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, such person shall enjoy procedural rights and bear procedural obligations of the litigant.
Article 255. Appeals against rulings of the court of first instance
1. Separately from a judgment, the following rulings of the court of first instance may be appealed:
1) on the refusal to issue a court order;
2) on the provision of evidence, refusal to provide evidence, revocation of the ruling on provision of evidence;
3) on securing the claim, replacing the measure of securing the claim;
4) on cancellation of the security for the claim or on refusal to secure the claim, refusal to cancel or replace measures to secure the claim;
5) on counter-security, change or cancellation of counter-security;
6) on return of the application to the plaintiff (applicant);
7) on refusal to initiate proceedings in the case;
8) on the referral of the case to another court;
9) on the refusal to renew or extend the missed procedural period;
10) on approval of the settlement agreement;
11) on the appointment of expert evaluation;
12) on suspension of proceedings in the case;
13) on closure of proceedings in the case;
14) on leaving the claim (application) without consideration;
16) on imposing a fine by way of procedural coercion;
17) in the cases of bankruptcy (insolvency) in cases established by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
18) on making, refusal to make corrections to the judgment;
19) on refusal to adopt an additional judgment;
20) on explanation or refusal to explain the judgment;
21) on refusal to initiate proceedings on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, refusal to satisfy the application for review of a judgment on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances;
{Clause 21, Part 1 of Article 255 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
22) on extension, refusal to extend the missed period for submission of an order for enforcement;
23) on making or refusing to make corrections to the executive document, recognition or refusal to recognise the executive document not subject to enforcement;
24) on postponement or extension of the deadline of execution of a judgment, ruling, order, change of the method and procedure for their execution;
25) on consideration of complaints against judgments, actions (inaction) of the State Enforcement Service bodies, state executor, private executor;
26) on replacement or refusal to replace a case party (procedural succession) or a party to enforcement proceedings;
27) on reversal of enforcement of refusal to reverse the enforcement;
28) on foreclosure on the money belonging to other persons or the immovable property, the ownership of which is not registered in the manner prescribed by law;
29) on temporary restraint of the right to leave Ukraine;
30) on determining the share of the debtor's property in the property he/she owns together with other persons;
31) on refusal to initiate proceedings in the case of cancellation of arbitral award;
32) on the return of the application for cancellation of arbitral award;
33) on the return of the application for issuance of an order by arbitral award without consideration;
34) on leaving without consideration the application for resumption of lost court proceedings;
35) on resumption or refusal to resume fully or partially lost court proceedings.
2. Appeals against judgments of the court of first instance may be filed by the case parties in accordance with this Code and the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
3. Objections to the rulings that are not subject to appeal separately from the judgment shall be included in the appeal against the judgment.
Article 256. Period for appeal
1. An appeal against a judgment shall be filed within 20 days, and against a court ruling, it shall be filed within 10 days from the date of its pronouncement.
If only the introductory and operative parts of the judgment were announced at the court hearing or in the event of consideration of the case (resolution of the issue) without notification (summons) of the litigants, the specified period shall be calculated from the date when the full judgment has been executed.
2. A case party who has not been served with a full judgment or ruling on the day of its pronouncement or execution, shall have the right to renew the missed period for appeal:
1) against a judgment, if the appeal is filed within 20 days from the date of service of the full judgment;
2) on the court ruling, if the appeal is filed within 10 days from the date of service of the relevant judgment.
3. The term for appeal may also be renewed in case of omission for other valid reasons, except for the cases specified in Part 2, Article 261 of this Code.
Article 257. Procedure for filing an appeal
1. An appeal shall be filed directly to the court of appeal.
Article 258. Form and content of the appeal
1. An appeal shall be filed in written form.
2) name of the court where it is filed;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the person filing the appeal, its location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address, official e-mail address (if any);
3) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of other case parties, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals);
4) the appealed judgment or ruling;
5) the subject of the illegality and (or) invalidity of the judgment or ruling (incomplete establishment of circumstances relevant to the case, and (or) incorrectly established of circumstances relevant to the case, due to unreasonable refusal to accept evidence, incorrect investigation or evaluation, failure to provide evidence for a reasonable excuse and (or) incorrect determination under the circumstances of the legal relationship established by the court, etc.);
6) new circumstances to be established, evidence to be investigated or evaluated, rationale of the validity of reasons for failure to submit evidence to the court of first instance, objection to the evidence used by the court of first instance;
7) a petition of the person who filed the appeal;
8) the date of receipt of a duplicate judgment adopted by the court of first instance under appeal;
9) the list of the attached documents and other materials.
3. The following shall be attached to the appeal:
1) a power-of-attorney or other document certifying the authority of the representative, if the complaint is filed by the representative and there is no confirmation of their authority in the case;
2) proof of payment of court fees;
3) proof of sending a copy of the complaint to the other case party;
4) evidence confirming the date of receipt of the appealed duplicate judgment adopted by the court of first instance, if any.
4. If the appeal is filed by a person exempted from paying court fees under the law, it shall indicate the grounds for exemption from payment of court fees.
Article 259. Sending a copy of the appeal to the case parties
1. A person filing the appeal shall send to the other case parties a copy of this appeal and the documents attached to it, which they do not have, by letter with an enclosure list.
§ 2. Opening of appeal proceedings
Article 260. Leaving an appeal without motion, returning an appeal
1. An appeal shall be registered on the day of its receipt by the court of appeal and not later than the next day shall be transferred to the judge-rapporteur determined under the procedure established by Article 32 of this Code.
2. The provisions of Article 174 of this Code shall apply to an appeal filed in violation of the requirements established by Article 258 of this Code.
3. An appeal shall also be left without motion if it has been filed after the expiration of the periods established by Article 256 of this Code and the person who filed it does not raise the issue of renewal of this period or if the grounds specified in the application are considered unreasonable. Upon that, within ten days from the date of service of the judgment, the person shall have the right to apply to the court of appeal with a request to renew the period or indicate other grounds for renewal.
4. If the application is not filed by the person within the specified period or the grounds for renewal of the period for appeal are deemed unreasonable, the court shall refuse to open appeal proceedings in the manner prescribed by Article 261 of this Code.
5. An appeal shall not be accepted for consideration and shall be returned by the court of appeal if:
1) an appeal has been filed by a person who has no procedural dispositive legal capacity, has not been signed, or has been signed by a person who does not have the right to sign it, or by a person whose official position is not specified;
2) prior to issuance of a ruling on the opening of appellate proceedings, the person who filed the appeal, or filed an application for its revocation;
3) the appeal has been filed in a way other than to court of appeal;
4) the appeal has been filed against a ruling that is not subject to appeal separately from the judgment.
6. The judge-rapporteur shall decide on the issue of leaving the appeal without motion within five days from the date of receipt of the appeal. The court of appeal shall decide on the return of the appeal within five days from the date of receipt of the appeal or from the date of expiration of the period for elimination of deficiencies.
7. A ruling on the return of an appeal shall be issued, which may be appealed in cassation procedure.
8. A duplicate ruling to return the appeal shall be sent to the litigants in the manner prescribed by Article 242 of this Code. A duplicate ruling to return the appeal shall be sent to the appellant together with the appeal and the materials attached to the appeal. A copy of the appeal shall remain in the court of appeal.
Article 261. Refusal to open appeal proceedings
1. The court of appeal shall refuse to open appellate proceedings in a case if:
1) an appeal is filed against a judgment that is not subject to appeal;
2) there is a decision to close the proceedings due to rejection of the previously filed appeal of the same person against the same judgment;
3) there is a resolution to dismiss the appeal of the same person or a ruling to refuse to open appeal proceedings on the appeal of this person against the same judgment;
4) the appellant has not filed an application for renewal of the period for appeal within the period determined by the court or the grounds for the renewal of the period for appeal have been declared invalid by the court.
2. Irrespective of the reasonableness of the grounds for missing the period for appeal, the court of appeal shall refuse to open appeal proceedings if the appeal is filed after the expiration of one year from the date when the full text of a judgment has been executed, except for the following cases:
1) filing an appeal by a person who has not been notified of the case consideration or has not been involved in it, if the court has adopted a judgment on their rights, interests and (or) obligations;
2) missing the period for appeal due to force majeure.
3. The issue of refusal to initiate appellate proceedings shall be resolved no later than five days from the date of receipt of the appeal or from the date of expiration of the term for elimination of deficiencies.
4. A duplicate ruling to refuse to open appellate proceedings shall be sent to the litigants in the manner prescribed by Article 242 of this Code. A duplicate ruling to refuse to open appellate proceedings shall be sent to the appellant together with the appeal and the attached materials. A copy of the appeal shall remain in the court of appeal.
Article 262. Opening of appeal proceedings
1. The court of appeal shall adopt a ruling on the opening of appellate proceedings in the case.
2. Before the commencement of the appeal proceedings, the case parties shall have the right to file an objection against the commencement of the appeal proceedings.
3. The issue on opening of appellate proceedings in the case shall be resolved no later than five days from the date of receipt of the appeal or application for elimination of deficiencies filed under the procedure provided for in Article 260 of this Code.
4. The ruling to open appeal proceedings shall specify the period for the parties to file a defence to the appeal and resolve the issue of requesting the case-file. If applications or petitions are filed together with the appeal, the court in the ruling to open cassation proceedings shall set a period within which the case parties shall lodge their objections to the filed applications or petitions, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
5. If the appeal is filed with a delay of period specified by this Code, the court in case of renewal of the period for appeal shall suspend the validity of the appealed judgment in the ruling to open appeal proceedings.
Article 263. Defence to the appeal
1. The case parties shall have the right to submit to the court of appeal a defence to the appeal in writing within the period established by the court of appeal in the ruling to open appeal proceedings.
2. The defence to the appeal shall contain:
1) name of the appellate court;
2) the name, postal address of the person filing a defence to the appeal, as well as the contact details, e-mail address, if any;
3) the rationale of objections as to the content and requirements of the appeal;
4) if necessary, a petition of the person who files a defence to the appeal;
5) the list of attached materials.
3. The absence of a defence to the appeal shall not preclude the review of the judgment adopted by the court of first instance.
4. Evidence of sending (providing) duplicates of the defence and attached documents to other case parties shall be attached to the defence.
Article 264. Closure of appeal proceedings
1. The court of appeal shall close the appellate proceedings if:
1) after the opening of the appellate proceedings, the person who filed the appeal has lodged a petition to withdraw the appeal, except in cases where there are objections of other persons who have joined the appeal;
2) after the opening of the appellate proceedings it has turned out that the appeal was not signed, filed by a person who has no dispositive legal capacity, or signed by a person who has no right to sign it;
3) after the opening of appellate proceedings on an appeal filed by a person on the grounds on resolving issues on his/her rights, interests and (or) obligations by a court, it has been established that the judgment has not resolved the issues on the rights, interests and (or) obligations of such person.
2. The court of appeal shall issue a ruling on the closure of the appellate proceedings, which may be appealed in cassation procedure.
Article 265. Joining the appeal
1. The case parties shall have the right to join the appeal lodged by the person by whose side they acted. Persons who did not participate in the trial also have the right to join the appeal, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligation.
2. An application for joining an appeal may be filed before the opening of consideration of the case in the court of appeal.
3. The application for joining the appeal shall be accompanied by a document on payment of the court fee and evidence of sending (filing) a duplicate application to other litigants.
Article 266. Addition, change or withdrawal of the appeal or rejection of it
1. A person who has filed an appeal shall have the right to supplement or change it within the period for appeal.
2. In case of supplement or change of the appeal, the person who filed the appeal shall provide evidence of sending duplicates of the relevant supplement or changes to the appeal to other litigants, otherwise the court shall not take into account such supplement or changes.
3. The person who has filed an appeal shall have the right to withdraw it before the ruling to open appeal proceedings is adopted.
4. The person who has filed an appeal shall have the right to withdraw it, and the other party shall have the right to recognise the appeal as fully or partly justified until the appeal proceeding is complete. If the appeal is rejected, and if other persons who joined the appeal do not have objections, the court shall issue a ruling to close the appeal proceedings.
Recognition of the appeal by the other party shall be taken into account by the court of appeal in terms of the presence or absence of facts that are relevant to the case.
5. In case of closing the appellate proceedings due to the refuse to file an appeal against the judgment, the re-appeal of this judgment by the person who refused to file the appeal shall not be allowed.
6. The court of appeal shall have the right not to accept the refuse to file an appeal or its withdrawal on the grounds specified in Part 5, Article 191 of this Code.
Article 267. Preparation for consideration of a case in court of appeal
1. In order to prepare the case for appellate consideration, the judge-rapporteur shall:
1) clarify the composition of a trial. If it is established that the judgment adopted by the commercial court of first instance may affect the rights and obligations of a person who did not participate in the trial, he/she shall involve such a person into the trial as a third party who shall not make independent claims on the subject of the dispute;
{Clause 1, Part 1 of Article 267 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2) determine the nature of the disputed legal relationship and the law governing it;
3) clarify the circumstances to which the case parties refer as the basis of their claims and objections;
4) find out what circumstances are recognised or denied by the case parties;
5) decide on the reasonableness of the grounds for failure to submit evidence to the court of first instance;
6) at the petition of the parties and other case participants, decides on the summoning of witnesses, appointment of expert examination, request for evidence, court orders to collect evidence, involvement of a specialist, interpreter in the case;
7) at the petition of the case parties, decide on taking measures to secure the claim;
8) perform other actions related to securing the appellate proceedings.
2. The preparatory actions specified in Paragraphs 5 and 6, Part 1 of this Article shall be performed in compliance with the rights of all litigants to express their opinions or objections regarding their performance, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
3. If during the case-file study the court finds unconsidered remarks on the correctness and completeness of recording the trial by technical means, unconsidered written remarks on the completeness or correctness of the minutes of the court hearing, unresolved issue of additional judgment, the court shall issue a ruling with a time-limit for the court of first instance to eliminate deficiencies.
Article 268. Assignment of the case for consideration in the court of appeal
1. After the preparatory actions, the judge-rapporteur shall report on them to the panel of judges, which shall decide on performing the additional preparatory actions if necessary and assignment of the case for consideration.
The case parties shall be notified of the date, time and place of consideration of the case, if the case is considered under this Code upon their notification.
Article 269. Scope of review in the court of appeal
1. The court of appeal shall review the case based on the evidence available in it and additionally submitted, and shall verify the legality and validity of the judgment adopted by the court of first instance within the scope of arguments and requirements of the appeal.
2. The court of appeal shall examine the evidence concerning the facts to which the case parties refer in the appeal and (or) the defence to it.
3. Evidence that has not been submitted to the court of first instance shall be accepted by the court only in exceptional cases if the case party has provided evidence of the impossibility to submit it to the court of first instance under the reasons beyond his/her control.
4. The court of appeal shall not be limited by the arguments and claims contained in the appeal, if during the consideration of the case a violation of procedural law, which is a mandatory ground for revocation of the judgment, or incorrect application of substantive law is detected.
5. The court of appeal shall not accept and shall not consider claims and grounds of claim that were not the subject of consideration in the court of first instance.
Article 270. Procedure for appeal consideration
1. In the court of appeal, cases shall be reviewed under the rules of case consideration in simplified action proceedings, taking into account the specific aspects provided for in this Chapter.
2. Consideration of cases in the court of appeal shall commence with the opening of the first court hearing or in fifteen days from the date of opening of appellate proceedings, if the case is considered without notification of the case parties.
{Part 2 of Article 270 as amended by Law No. 2234–VIII of 7 December 2017}
3. The cases shall be considered in the court of appeal in a court hearing with the notification of the case parties, except as provided for in Part 10 of this Article and Part 2, Article 271 of this Code.
4. The presiding judge shall open the court hearing and announce which case, on whose appeal and regarding the judgment of which court is being considered.
5. The judge-rapporteur shall report the content of the appealed judgment, the arguments of the appeal, the scope within which the circumstances must be established and the evidence must be examined.
6. After the judge-rapporteur has finished the report, the person who filed the appeal shall give his/her explanations. If both parties have filed appeals, the plaintiff shall be the first to give the explanations. Then the other case parties shall give explanations.
7. Having clarified the circumstances and verified them with evidence, the court of appeal shall let the litigants speak in the judicial debate in the same sequence as they gave explanations.
8. At the beginning of the court hearing, the court may announce the time allotted for the judicial debate. Each person taking part in a trial of the court of appeal shall be given the same period to speak.
9. After the judicial debate end, the court shall leave to the deliberation room.
10. Appeals against judgments of the commercial court in cases with a claim value less than 100 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons, except for those that are not subject to simplified action proceedings, shall be considered by the court of appeal without notifying the litigants.
Taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, the court of appeal may, at the request of a case party or on its own initiative, consider such appeals in a court hearing with notification (summons) of the case parties.
11. The court of appeal shall adjourn the case in case of non-appearance at the court hearing of the party to the case, in respect of which there is no information about his notification of the date, time and place of the court hearing, or at his request, when the reasons
12. The non-appearance of the parties or other litigants, duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing, shall not impede the consideration of the case.
13. If the court of appeal has recognised the obligatory participation in the court hearing of the case parties, but they have not arrived, the court of appeal may postpone the appellate consideration of the case.
Article 271. Procedure for consideration of an appeal against a judgment of the court of first instance
1. Appeals against judgments of the court of first instance shall be considered in the manner prescribed for the consideration of appeals against judgments of the court of first instance, taking into account the specific aspects defined in this Article.
2. Appeals against judgments of the court of first instance, specified in Paragraphs 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 31, 32, 33, 34, Part 1, Article 255 of this Code, shall be considered by the court of appeal without notifying the case parties.
Taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, the court of appeal may consider such appeals in court hearing with the notification of the case parties.
3. In cases of revocation by the court of appeal of the rulings to refuse to commence proceedings or a statement on the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, to return the statement of claim or application to commence bankruptcy proceedings, to suspend the proceedings, to close the proceedings, to leave the claim without consideration or leave the application in bankruptcy proceedings without consideration, the case (application) shall be referred to the court of first instance.
Article 272. Procedure for consideration of an appeal received by the court of appeal after the end of the appellate case consideration
1. If the court of appeal receives the appeal after the end of the appellate case consideration, and the person who filed the appeal was not present during the appellate case consideration, the court shall consider the relevant appeal under this chapter.
2. In the event of the opening the appellate proceedings on such an appeal, the court of appeal may suspend the validity of the previously adopted order and the judgment adopted by the court of first instance under appeal.
3. Based on the results of consideration of the appeal, the court shall issue a resolution under Article 282 of this Code. In this case, if there are grounds, the previously adopted resolution of the court of appeal may be revoked.
4. The court of appeal shall consider the appeal referred to in Part 1 of this Article within the scope of arguments that were not considered during the appellate case consideration upon the appeal of another person.
5. The court shall refuse to open proceedings on an appeal filed under Part 1 of this Article, if the court has considered the arguments presented in it during the appellate case consideration upon the appeal of another person.
Article 273. Period for the appeal consideration
1. An appeal against a judgment of the court of first instance shall be considered within 60 days from the date of delivery of the ruling on the commencement of appellate proceedings in the case.
1. An appeal against a ruling of the court of first instance shall be considered within 30 days from the date of delivery of the ruling on the commencement of appellate proceedings in the case.
3. An appeal against a ruling, resolution of the court of first instance in bankruptcy (insolvency) when provided for by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt” shall be considered within 60 days from the date of delivery of the ruling to open appeal proceedings in the case.
Article 274. The plaintiff's waiver of the claim and the settlement agreement of the parties
1. In the court of appeal, the plaintiff shall have the right to waive a claim, and the parties shall be authorised to conclude a settlement agreement under the general rules of these procedural actions, regardless of who filed the appeal.
2. If the statement of waiver or settlement agreement of the parties meets the requirements of Articles 191, 192 of this Code, the court shall issue a ruling to accept the plaintiff's waiver or to approve the settlement agreement of the parties, which concurrently invalidates the judgment adopted by the court of first instance that resulted from the consideration of the case, and shall close the proceedings in case.
Article 275. Powers of the court of appeal
1. Based on the results of the appeal consideration, the court of appeal shall have the right:
1) to leave the judgment unchanged and dismiss the appeal;
2) to revoke the judgment in whole or in part and adopt a new judgment in the relevant part or change the judgment;
3) to declare invalid the judgment adopted by the court of first instance in whole or in part in the cases provided for by this Code and close the proceedings in the relevant part;
4) to cancel the judgment in whole or in part, and in the relevant part close the proceedings in the case in whole or in part, or leave the statement of claim without consideration in whole or in part;
5) to revoke the judgment and send the case for consideration to another court of first instance under the established jurisdiction;
6) to revoke the judgment, which prevents further proceedings in the case, and send the case for further consideration to the court of first instance;
7) in the cases provided for by this Code, revoke its resolution (in whole or in part) and adopt one of the judgments specified in Paragraphs 1–6, Part 1 of this Article.
Article 276. Grounds for dismissal of the appeal and leaving the judgment unchanged
1. The court of appeal shall dismiss the appeal and the leave the judgment unchanged if it finds that the court of first instance has adopted a judgment in compliance with the rules of substantive and procedural law.
Article 277. Grounds for judgment revocation in whole or in part and adoption of a new judgment in the relevant part or change of a judgment
1. The grounds for judgment revocation in whole or in part and adoption of a new judgment in the relevant part or change of a judgment shall be:
1) incomplete clarification of the circumstances relevant to the case;
{Clause 1, part 1 of Article 277 as amended by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
2) unproven circumstances relevant to the case, which the court of first instance found established;
3) inconsistency of the conclusions set forth in the judgment of the court of first instance with the established circumstances of the case;
{Clause 3, Part 1 of Article 277 as amended by Law No. 132-IX of 20 September 2019}
4) violation of procedural law or incorrect application of substantive law.
2. Incorrect application of substantive law shall mean: misinterpretation of the law, or application of the law that is not applicable, or non-application of the law that was applicable.
Violation of the rules of procedural law may be grounds for revocation or change of a judgment, if this violation has led to incorrect case resolution.
3. Violation of the rules of procedural law shall be a mandatory ground for revocation of a judgment adopted by court of first instance and the adoption of a new judgment, if:
1) the case has been considered by an unauthorised court;
2) the judge to whom the recusal was filed has taken part in the adoption of the judgment, and the grounds for his/her recusal were recognised by the appellate court as well-founded, if the appeal is substantiated by such grounds;
{Clause 2, Part 3 of Article 277 as amended by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
3) the case (issue) has been considered by the commercial court in the absence of any litigant, not duly notified of the date, time and place of the court hearing (if such notification is mandatory), if such litigant substantiates his/her appeal on such grounds;
4) the court has adopted a judgment regarding the rights, interests and (or) obligations of persons who were not involved in the case;
5) the judgment has not been signed by any of the judges or has not been signed by the judges specified in the judgment;
6) the judgment has been adopted by judges who were not members of the panel that considered the case;
7) the court has considered in the order of simplified action proceedings the case which was subject to consideration according to the rules of general action proceedings.
4. A change in a judgment may consist in supplementing or changing its reasoning and (or) operative parts.
Article 278. Grounds for revocation of the judgment in whole or in part with the closure of the proceedings or leaving the claim without consideration in the relevant part
1. A judgment of the court of first instance adopted as a result of the case consideration shall be revoked in whole or in part under appellate procedure, leaving the claim without consideration or closing the proceedings in the case in the relevant part on the grounds provided for by the Articles 226 and 231 of this Code.
2. Violation of the rules of the commercial courts jurisdiction, defined in Articles 20–23 of this Code, shall be a mandatory ground for revocation of the decision, regardless of the arguments of the appeal.
3. If the court of first instance has adopted a lawful and reasonable judgment, the death of an individual who is a party to the dispute or termination of a legal entity who is a party to the dispute, which does not allow succession, after the adoption of such a judgment may not be grounds for applying Part 1 of this Article.
4. If the court of appeal closes the proceedings by virtue of Paragraph 1, Part 1, Article 231 of this Code, the court on the plaintiff's application under written proceedings shall decide to transfer the case to the court of first instance, which has jurisdiction over such a case, except in cases of merging into one proceeding of several claims that are subject to consideration in different proceedings. If there are grounds for the jurisdiction of the case, the plaintiff at his/her choice in his/her application shall indicate only one court, whose jurisdiction includes the resolution of the dispute.
{Article 278 has been supplemented with Part 4 by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 279. Grounds for judgment revocation and referral of the case for consideration to another court of first instance under the established jurisdiction
1. A judgment being a result of consideration of a case shall be subject to revocation with the referral of the case for consideration under the jurisdiction established by law, if the judgment has been adopted by a court in violation of the rules of territorial jurisdiction.
2. The case shall not be subject to a new consideration due to violations of the rules of territorial jurisdiction, if the case party who filed the appeal, when considering the case by the court of first instance did not declare non-jurisdiction of the case without reasonable grounds.
Article 280. Grounds for revocation of a court ruling, which prevents further proceedings in the case, and referring the case for further consideration to the court of first instance
1. The grounds for revocation of a court ruling, which prevents further proceedings in the case, and referring the case for further consideration to the court of first instance shall be:
1) incomplete clarification by the court of the circumstances relevant to the case;
2) unproven circumstances relevant to the case, which the court of first instance considers established;
3) inconsistency of the court's conclusions with the circumstances of the case;
4) violation of procedural law or incorrect application of substantive law, which has led to the erroneous decision.
Article 281. Procedure for adoption of judgments by the court of appeal
1. Following the appeal review, the court of appeal shall adopt judgments in the form of resolutions in accordance with the requirements defined in Article 34 and Chapter 9, Section III of this Code, taking into account the specific aspects specified in this Chapter.
2. Procedural issues related to the motion of the case, petitions and applications of the case parties, issues of adjournment of the case, announcement of a break, suspension of proceedings, as well as in other cases provided by this Code, shall be resolved in the court of appeal by adopting the rulings in the order determined by this Code for adoption of rulings by the court of first instance.
3. The resolution or ruling of the appellate court shall be executed by the judge-rapporteur (another judge if the judge-rapporteur does not agree with the resolution/ruling) and signed by all judges defined to consider the case, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
Article 282. Resolution of the court of appeal
1. The resolution of the court of appeal shall consist of:
1) introduction where the following shall be stated:
a) date and place of its adoption, case number;
b) the name of the court of appeal, the names and initials of the judges and the secretary of the court hearing;
c) names (titles) of the parties and the person who filed the appeal;
d) the name of the court of first instance, whose judgment is being appealed, the date of the judgment, surname and initials of the judge (judges); time and place of its adoption, the date when the full text of the judgment has been executed;
2) the descriptive part containing:
a) the summary of claims and the judgment adopted by the court of first instance;
b) the summary of appellate claims;
b) generalised arguments of the person who filed the appeal;
d) generalised arguments and objections of other case parties;
3) the reasoning part indicating:
a) the undisputed circumstances established by the court of first instance, as well as circumstances established by the court of appeal and legal relations determined in accordance with them;
b) the arguments according to which the court of appeal agreed or disagreed with the conclusions of the court of first instance;
c) the reasons for accepting or rejecting each argument stated by the case parties in the appeal and the defence to the appeal;
d) whether and by whom the rights, freedoms or interests were violated, not recognised or disputed, with an appeal to the court having been submitted by a person to protect these rights or interests;
e) the conclusions based on the results of consideration of the appeal with reference to the rules of law, followed by the court of appeal;
4) the operative part containing:
a) the conclusion of the court of appeal on the merits of the appellate claims;
b) a new distribution of court costs incurred due to the proceedings in the court of first instance, in case of revocation or change of the judgment;
c) the distribution of court costs incurred due to the review of the case in the court of appeal;
d) the term and procedure for entry into force of the resolution and its appeal.
2. The resolution of the court of appeal may be appealed under cassation procedure in the cases provided for by this Code.
Article 283. Pronouncement of the resolution adopted by the court of appeal
1. The resolution adopted by the appellate court shall be pronounced under the rules established by Article 240 of this Code.
Article 284. Legal force of the resolution adopted by the court of appeal
1. The resolution of the court of appeal shall take legal effect from the date of its adoption.
Article 285. Service of judgments adopted by court of appeal
1. The judgments adopted by the court of appeal shall be served (issued or sent) under the procedure established by Article 242 of this Code.
2. Duplicate judgments adopted by the court of appeal shall be reissued by the court that considered such a case as a court of first instance.
Article 285-1. Return of the case
1. Upon completion of the appeal review, the case shall be returned within five days to the court of first instance that considered it.
{Paragraph 3, Chapter 1, Section IV is supplemented with Article 285-1 under Law No. 142-IX of 2 October 2019}
Chapter 2. Cassation proceedings
Article 286. Court of cassation
1. The Supreme Court shall be the court of cassation in consideration of commercial cases.
Article 287. Right of cassation appeal
1. The litigants, as well as persons who did not participate in the case, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, shall have the right to file a cassation appeal against the following:
1) the judgments adopted by the court of first instance after the appellate review of the case and the resolution of the court of appeal, except for the judgments specified in Part 3 of this Article;
2) judgments of the court of first instance, specified in Paragraphs 3, 6, 7, 13, 14, 21, 25, 26, 28, 30, Part 1, Article 255 of this Code, following their appeal review;
3) the rulings of the court of appeal on refusal to open or close appellate proceedings, on return of appeal, on suspension of proceedings on securing the claim, replacement of the measure of securing the claim, on counter-securing, on refusal to adopt an additional judgment, on clarification of judgment or a refusal to clarify the judgment, on entry or refusing to enter the correction in the judgment, on returning the application for review of the judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, on refusal to open proceedings due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, on dismissal of the application for review of the decision due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, on the replacement of a case party, on the imposition of a fine under the procedural coercion, separate rulings;
{Clause 3, Part 1 of Article 287 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
4) rulings and resolutions of the court of first instance following their appeal review and resolutions of the court of appeal in bankruptcy (insolvency) cases when provided for by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”.
2. The grounds for cassation appeal of the court judgments referred to in Paragraphs 1, 4, Part 1 of this Article shall be the incorrect application by the court of substantive law or violation of procedural law only in the following cases:
1) if the court of appeal in the appealed judgment has applied the rule of law without taking into account the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in the resolution of the Supreme Court, unless there is a resolution of the Supreme Court on derogation from such conclusion;
2) if the appellant has reasonably substantiated the need to derogate from the conclusion on application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in the resolution of the Supreme Court and applied by the court of appeal to the judgment under appeal;
3) if there is no opinion of the Supreme Court on application of the rule of law in such legal relations;
4) if the judgment is appealed on the grounds provided for in Parts 1, 3 of Article 310 of this Code.
The grounds for cassation appeal of judgments referred to in Paragraphs 2, 3, Part 1 of this Article shall be the incorrect application by the court of substantive law or violation of procedural law.
{Part 2 of Article 287 as revised by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
3. The following shall not be subject to cassation appeal:
1) judgments, rulings of the court of first instance and resolutions, rulings of the court of appeal in cases in which judgments are subject to review under appellate procedure by the Supreme Court;
2) judgments in minor cases and in cases with a cost of claim not exceeding 500 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons, unless:
{Paragraph 1, Clause 2, Part 3 of Article 287 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
a) a cassation appeal concerns the issue of law, which is fundamental for the formation of a unified law enforcement practice;
b) a person who files a cassation appeal, under this Code, is deprived of the opportunity to refute the circumstances established by the appealed judgment when considering another case;
c) the case is of significant public interest or is of exceptional importance for the case party who files a cassation appeal;
d) a court of first instance has erroneously classified the case as minor.
4. A person who did not participate in the case, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, shall have the right to file a cassation appeal against the judgment only after its review under appellate procedure upon his/her appeal, except in the case when the judgment on the rights, interests and (or) obligations of such a person has been adopted directly by the court of appeal. After opening of cassation proceedings on the cassation appeal of a person who did not participate in the case, but the court decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations, such person shall enjoy procedural rights and bear procedural obligations of the litigant.
{Part 4 of Article 287 as amended by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 288. Period for cassation appeal
1. A cassation appeal against a judgment shall be filed within 20 days from the day of its pronouncement.
If only the introductory and operative parts of the judgment being appealed were announced at the court hearing or in the event of consideration of the case (resolution of the issue) without notification (summons) of the litigants, the specified period shall be calculated from the date when the full judgment has been executed.
2. A litigant who has not been served with a full judgment on the day of its pronouncement or execution shall have the right to renew the missed period for cassation appeal if the cassation appeal has been filed within 20 days from the date of service of such judgment.
3. The period for cassation appeal may also be renewed in case of omission for other valid reasons, except for the cases specified in Part 4, Article 293 of this Code.
Article 289. Procedure for filing a cassation appeal
1. A cassation appeal shall be filed directly to the court of cassation.
Article 290. Form and content of the cassation appeal
1. The cassation appeal shall be filed in written form.
2. The cassation appeal shall contain the following:
1) name of the court of cassation instance;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the person filing the cassation appeal, its location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine, taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address (if any);
3) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of other case parties, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals);
4) judgments that are being appealed;
5) the ground (grounds) on which the cassation appeal is filed with the determination of the grounds (grounds) provided for in Article 287 of this Code.
In case of filing a cassation appeal under Paragraph 1, Part 2, Article 287 of this Code, the cassation appeal shall contain the judgment of the Supreme Court, containing the conclusion on the rule of law applied in such legal relations, which was not taken into account in the appealed judgment.
In case of filing a cassation appeal under Paragraph 2, Part 2, Article 287 of this Code, the cassation appeal shall justify the need to derogate from the conclusion on the rule of law applied in such legal relations, set out in the resolution of the Supreme Court.
In case of filing a cassation appeal against the judgment referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3, Part 1, Article 287 of this Code, the cassation appeal shall state the justification of the incorrect application of substantive law or violation of procedural law, which has led to miscarriage of justice;
{Clause 5, Part 2, Article 290 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
6) requirements of the person filing the appeal;
7) the date of receipt of a duplicate judgment adopted by the appellate court under appeal;
8) a list of documents attached to the appeal.
3. The cassation appeal shall be signed by the person filing the appeal or their representative. A power-of-attorney or other document certifying the authority of the representative shall be attached to the cassation appeal filed by the representative if there is no confirmation of such authority in the case.
4. The following shall be attached to the cassation appeal:
1) evidence confirming the date of receipt of the appealed duplicate judgment adopted by the appellate court (if any);
2) documents confirming the payment of the court fee in the prescribed manner and amount, or documents confirming the grounds for exemption from the payment of the court fee under the law.
5. If a cassation appeal is filed by a person exempted from paying court fees under the law, it shall indicate the grounds for exemption from payment of court fees.
Article 291. Sending a copy of the cassation appeal to the case parties
1. A person filing the cassation appeal shall send to the other case parties a copy of this appeal and the documents attached to it, which they do not have, by letter with an enclosure list.
§ 2. Opening of cassation proceedings
Article 292. Leaving a cassation appeal without motion, returning a cassation appeal
1. A cassation appeal shall be registered on the day of its receipt by the court of cassation and not later than the next day shall be transferred to the judge-rapporteur determined under the procedure established by Article 32 of this Code.
2. If the cassation appeal is filed in violation of the requirements established by Article 290 of this Code, the provisions of Article 174 of this Code shall apply, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling.
3. A cassation appeal shall also be left without motion if it has been filed after the expiration of the periods established by Article 288 of this Code and the person who filed it does not raise the issue of renewal of this period or if the grounds specified in the application are considered unreasonable. Upon that, within ten days from the date of service of the ruling to leave the cassation appeal without motion, the person shall have the right to apply to the court of appeal with a request to renew the period or indicate other grounds for renewal.
If the application has not been filed by the person within the specified period or the grounds for renewal of the cassation appeal have been considered invalid, the court shall refuse to initiate cassation proceedings under Paragraph 4, Part 1, Article 293 of this Code.
A person's application for renewal of the period for cassation appeal shall be considered by a panel of judges of the court of cassation, the composition of which shall be determined in accordance with Article 32 of this Code.
4. A cassation appeal shall not be accepted for consideration and shall be returned by the court also if:
1) a cassation appeal has been filed by a person who has no procedural dispositive legal capacity, has not been signed, has been signed by a person who does not have the right to sign it, or by a person whose official position is not specified;
2) the appeal has been filed in a way other than to court of cassation;
3) before sending the ruling to open the cassation proceedings, an application for its revocation has been received from the person who filed the appeal;
4) the cassation appeal does not set out the grounds provided for by this Code for appealing a judgment under cassation procedure.
5. The judge-rapporteur shall decide on leaving the cassation appeal without motion, within twenty days from the date of receipt of the cassation appeal. The court of cassation shall decide on the return of the cassation appeal within twenty days from the date of receipt of the cassation appeal or from the date of expiration of the period for elimination of deficiencies.
{Part 5 of Article 292 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
6. A ruling shall be adopted regarding the return of the cassation appeal.
7. A duplicate ruling to return the cassation appeal shall be sent to the litigants in the manner prescribed by Article 242 of this Code. A duplicate ruling to return the cassation appeal shall be sent to the appellant together with the materials attached to the appeal, and the cassation appeal shall remain in the court of cassation.
Article 293. Refusal to open cassation proceedings
1. The court of cassation shall refuse to open cassation proceedings in a case if:
1) a cassation appeal is filed against a judgment that is not subject to cassation appeal;
2) there is a ruling to close the proceedings due to rejection of the previously filed cassation appeal of the same person against the same judgment;
3) there is a resolution to dismiss the cassation appeal of this person or a ruling to refuse to open cassation proceedings on the cassation appeal of this person against the same judgment;
4) the appellant has not filed an application for renewal of the period for cassation appeal within the period determined by the court or the grounds for the renewal of the period for cassation appeal have been declared invalid by the court.
5) the Supreme Court has already stated a conclusion in its ruling regarding the application of the rule of law in such legal relations in the cassation appeal against a judgment referred to in Paragraphs 1, 4, Part 1, Article 287 of this Code, and the appellate court reviewed the judgment in accordance with such a conclusion (unless the Supreme Court has adopted a ruling to derogate from such a conclusion or if the Supreme Court deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion regarding application of rule of law in such legal relations).
{Part 1 of Article 293 has been supplemented with Clause 5 under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. In case of appeal against the ruling (unless the ruling resulting from the case consideration) the court may recognise the cassation appeal unjustified and refuse to initiate cassation proceedings, if the correct application of the rule of law is obvious and does not cause reasonable doubt about its application or interpretation.
{Part 2 of Article 293 as revised by Law No. 460–IX of 15 January 2020}
3. The ruling to refuse to open cassation proceedings must be signed by the entire court and contain the reasons on which the court concluded that there are no grounds for opening cassation proceedings.
4. Irrespective of the reasonableness of the grounds for missing the period for cassation appeal, the court of cassation shall refuse to open appeal proceedings if the cassation appeal is filed after the expiration of one year from the date when the full text of a judgment has been executed, except for the following cases:
1) filing an cassation appeal by a person who has not been notified of the case consideration or has not been involved in it, if the court has adopted a judgment on their rights, interests and (or) obligations;
2) missing the period for cassation appeal due to force majeure.
5. The ruling to refuse to open cassation proceedings shall be adopted by the court of cassation no later than twenty days from the date of receipt of the cassation appeal or from the date of expiration of the period for elimination of deficiencies.
{Part 5 of Article 293 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
6. A duplicate ruling to refuse to open cassation proceedings together with the materials attached to the appeal shall be sent to the person who filed the cassation appeal, and a copy of the cassation appeal shall remain in the court of cassation.
Article 294. Opening of the cassation proceedings
1. In the absence of grounds for leaving the cassation appeal without motion, returning the cassation appeal or refusing to open cassation proceedings, the court of cassation shall deliver a ruling to commence cassation proceedings in the case indicating the date, time and venue of the appeal consideration, as well as a request of case files.
2. Before the commencement of the cassation proceedings, the case parties shall have the right to file an objection against the commencement of the cassation proceedings.
3. The issue of commencement of cassation proceedings in the case shall be resolved by a panel of three judges not later than 20 days from the date of receipt of the cassation appeal or from the date of receipt of the statement on elimination of deficiencies submitted in accordance with the procedure defined in Article 292 of this Code.
{Part 3 of Article 294 as amended by the Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
4. The ruling to open cassation proceedings shall contain the ground (grounds) to open cassation proceedings with a period for the case parties to file a defence to the cassation appeal. If applications or petitions have been filed together with the cassation appeal, the court in the ruling to open cassation proceedings shall set a period within which the case parties shall lodge their objections to the filed applications or petitions, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
{Paragraph 1, Part 4 of Article 294 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
If there is a petition of the person who filed the cassation appeal, the court, if necessary, shall decide to suspend enforcement of the judgment (ruling) or to revoke it if it is impossible to suspend its enforcement.
Article 295. Defence to the cassation appeal
1. The case parties shall have the right to submit to the court of cassation a defence to the cassation appeal in writing within the period established by the court of cassation in the ruling to open cassation proceedings.
2. The defence to the cassation appeal shall contain:
1) name of the court of cassation instance;
2) name, postal address of the person filing a defence to the cassation appeal, as well as the contact details, e-mail address, if any;
3) the rationale of objections as to the content and requirements of the cassation appeal;
4) if necessary, a petition of the person who files a defence to the cassation appeal;
5) the list of attached materials.
3. The absence of a defence to the cassation appeal shall not preclude the review of judgments (judgment).
4. Evidence of sending duplicates of the defence and attached documents to other case parties shall be attached to the defence.
Article 296. Closure of cassation proceedings
1. The court of cassation shall close the cassation proceedings if:
1) after the opening of the cassation proceedings, the person who filed the cassation appeal has lodged a petition to withdraw the appeal, except in cases where there are objections of other persons who have joined the cassation appeal;
2) after the opening of the cassation proceedings it has turned out that the cassation appeal was not signed, filed by a person who has no dispositive legal capacity, or signed by a person who has no right to sign it;
3) after the opening of the cassation proceedings on the cassation appeal filed by a person on the grounds on resolving issues on his/her rights, interests and (or) obligations by a court of first instance or the appellate court, it has been established that the judgment has not resolved the issues on the rights, interests and (or) obligations of such person.
4) after the opening of the cassation proceedings it turned out that the Supreme Court in its judgment has set out a conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, violated in the cassation appeal, or has withdrawn its conclusion on the application of the rule of law, which was the basis for opening of the cassation proceedings, and the appellate court reviewed the judgment in accordance with such an opinion (unless the Supreme Court deems it necessary to derogate from such conclusion). If a ruling to initiate cassation proceedings is also motivated by other grounds due to which there are no reasons to close the proceedings, the cassation proceedings shall be closed only as far as the grounds under this clause concern;
{Part 1 of Article 296 has been supplemented with Clause 4 under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
5) after opening of the cassation proceedings under Clause 1, Part 2, Article 287 of this Code, the court has found that the conclusion on the application of the rule of law, which is set out in the ruling adopted by the Supreme Court and referred to by the appellant in the cassation appeal, concerns legal relations that are not similar.
{Part 1 of Article 296 has been supplemented with Clause 5 under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. The court of cassation shall issue a ruling to close the cassation proceedings.
Article 297. Joining the cassation appeal
1. The case parties shall have the right to join the cassation appeal lodged by the person by whose side they acted. Persons who did not participate in the trial also have the right to join the cassation appeal, if the court has decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligation.
2. An application for joining a cassation appeal may be filed before the beginning of consideration of the case in the court of cassation.
3. The application for joining the cassation appeal shall be accompanied by a document on payment of the court fee and evidence of filing an application to other litigants.
{Part 3 of Article 297 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
Article 298. Addition, change or withdrawal of the cassation appeal or rejection of it
1. A person who has filed a cassation appeal shall have the right to supplement or change it within the period for cassation appeal.
2. In case of supplement or change of the cassation appeal, the person who filed the cassation appeal shall submit evidence of sending duplicates of the relevant supplement or changes to the cassation appeal to other case parties, otherwise the court shall not take into account such supplement or changes.
3. The person who has filed a cassation appeal shall have the right to withdraw it before the ruling to open cassation proceedings is adopted.
4. The person who has filed a cassation appeal shall have the right to withdraw it, and the other party shall have the right to recognise the cassation appeal as fully or partly justified until the appeal proceeding is complete. If the cassation appeal is rejected, and if other persons who joined the cassation appeal do not have objections, the court shall issue a ruling to close the cassation proceedings.
5. In case of closing the cassation proceedings due to the refuse to file a cassation appeal against the judgments, the re-appeal of this judgments by the person who refused to file the appeal shall not be allowed.
6. The court of cassation shall have the right not to accept the refuse to file an appeal or its withdrawal on the grounds specified in Part 5, Article 191 of this Code.
Article 299. Preparation of the case for cassation consideration
1. After receiving the case, the judge-rapporteur within 10 days shall prepare a report, in which they set out the circumstances necessary for adoption of a judgment by the court of cassation, dispose the issue of the composition of the persons participating in the case.
Article 300. Limits of consideration of the case by the court of cassation
1. Reviewing judgments under cassation procedure, the court of cassation within the scope of arguments and claims of the cassation appeal, which became the basis for the commencement of cassation proceedings, and by virtue of the established actual circumstances of the case, shall verify whether the court of first instance or the appellate court have applied the substantive or procedure law correctly.
{Part 1 of Article 300 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. The court of cassation shall not have the right to establish or consider proven circumstances that were not established in the judgment or resolution of the court or were rejected by it, to resolve the issue of reliability of a particular evidence, the superiority of some evidence over others, to collect or receive new evidence for consideration or additionally verify the evidence.
3. The court of cassation shall not accept and shall not consider claims that were not the subject of consideration in the court of first instance. Change of the subject and grounds of the claim in the court of cassation shall not be allowed.
4. The court shall not be limited to the arguments and requirements of the cassation appeal, if during consideration of the case a violation of procedure law, as provided for in Clauses 1, 3, 4, 8, Part 1, Article 310, Part 2, Article 313 of this Code has been detected, and if necessary to take into account the conclusion on application of the law set forth in the resolution of the Supreme Court after the cassation appeal has been filed.
{Part 4 of Article 300 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 301. Procedure for consideration of the cassation appeal
1. In the court of cassation the appeal shall be considered under the rules of consideration of the case by the court of first instance under simplified action proceedings, taking into account the provisions of Article 300 of this Code.
2. Consideration of cases in the court of cassation shall commence with the opening of the first court hearing or in fifteen days from the date of opening of cassation proceedings, if the case is considered without notification of the case parties.
{Part 2 of Article 301 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
3. The court of cassation shall consider the cases in a court hearing with notification of the case parties.
4. The judgments of the court of first instance and resolutions of the court of appeal in the cases, in which the cost of the claim does not exceed 500 subsistence minimums established for able-bodied persons, shall be reviewed without notifying the case parties, except for cases that are not subject to simplified proceedings.
5. The rulings of the court of first instance and the court of appeal (except for rulings which resulted from the case consideration) shall be reviewed by the court of cassation without notifying the case parties.
6. Taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, the court of cassation may consider the cassation appeals referred to in Parts 4 and 5 of this Article in a court hearing with notification (summons) of the case parties.
7. The court of cassation shall use the procedural rights of the court of first instance exclusively to verify the correct application of the rules of substantive and procedural law by the court of first instance and the court of appeal.
8. The presiding judge shall open the court hearing and announce which case, on whose appeal and regarding the judgment, ruling of which court is being considered.
9. The judge-rapporteur shall report within the scope necessary the content of the appealed judgment and the arguments of the cassation appeal.
10. The case parties shall provide their explanations regarding the cassation appeal and statement of defence to it in the manner prescribed by the presiding judge. The court may limit the duration of explanations by setting an equal period for all case parties, which is announced at the beginning of the court hearing.
11. In their explanations, the parties and case participants may present only those arguments that relate to the grounds for cassation review of the judgment.
12. Having heard the case parties' explanations, the court shall leave to the deliberation room.
Article 302. Grounds for referring a case to a chamber, a joint chamber or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court
1. A court which considers a case under cassation procedure before a panel of judges shall refer the case to a chamber to which such a panel is a member, if the panel deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Supreme Court in a panel of judges of the same chamber or in such a chamber.
2. A court which considers a case under cassation procedure before a panel of judges or a chamber shall refer the case to a joint chamber if that panel or chamber deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Supreme Court in a panel of judges from other chamber or in other chamber or a joint chamber.
3. A court which considers a case under cassation procedure before a panel of judges, a chamber or a joint chamber shall refer the case to the Grand Chamber if such a panel (chamber, joint chamber) deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Supreme Court in a panel of judges (chamber, joint chamber) of other court of cassation.
4. A court which considers a case under cassation procedure before a panel of judges, a chamber or a joint chamber shall refer the case to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court if such a panel (chamber, joint chamber) deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Grand Chamber.
5. A court which considers a case under cassation procedure before a panel or chamber shall have the right to refer the case to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court if it concludes that the case contains an exclusive legal problem and such transfer is necessary to ensure the development of law and uniform law enforcement practice.
6. The case shall be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court if a case party lodges an appeal against the judgment on the grounds of violation of the rules of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction, if:
1) the case party who is appealing the judgment participated in the consideration of the case in the court of first instance or the court of appeal and did not allege a violation of the rules of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction;
2) the case party who is appealing the judgment did not substantiate the court's violation of the rules of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction by available judgments of the Supreme Court in the panel of judges (chamber, joint chamber) of another court of cassation in a case with similar grounds and subject of the claim in similar legal relations;
3) the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has already set out in its ruling a conclusion on the issue of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction of the dispute in such legal relations.
{Part 6 of Article 302 as revised by Law No. 142-IX of 2 October 2019}
Article 303. Procedure for referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court
1. The issue of referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber, or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court shall be resolved by a court on its own initiative or at the request of a case party.
2. The issue of referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber, or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court shall be resolved by a majority of judges considering the case.
3. The issue of referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber, or the Grand Chamber may be resolved before the court of cassation adopts a ruling.
4. The court shall adopt a ruling on referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber, or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, stating the reasons for the need to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations set out in the judgment specified in Parts 1–4 of Article 302 of this Code, or with the substantiated grounds specified in Parts 5 or 6 of Article 302 of this Code.
5. A judge who does not agree with the judgment to refer (refuse to refer) a case to a chamber, a joint chamber or Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court shall state his/her separate opinion in writing in the ruling to refer the case to a chamber, a joint chamber or Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, or in the resolution, adopted based on the results of the cassation consideration.
6. If the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court concludes that there are no grounds for referring the case for its consideration, and if it concludes on unreasonableness of consideration of the case by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, in particular due to the absence of an exclusive legal problem, a conclusion on application of a rule of law in the similar legal relations set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, or if the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has already expressed a legal position as to the jurisdiction of the dispute in similar legal relations, the case shall be returned (referred) to the relevant panel (chamber, joint chamber). A case returned to the panel (chamber, joint chamber) for consideration may not be re-referred to the Grand Chamber for consideration.
{Part 6 of Article 303 as revised by Law No. 142-IX of 2 October 2019}
7. After referring a case for consideration to a chamber, a joint chamber or the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, the duly appointed judge-rapporteur shall, if necessary, apply to the relevant experts of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Supreme Court to prepare a scientific conclusion on the application of the rule of law, the matter in respect of which became the basis for referring the case to the Grand Chamber, unless the conclusion on the application of this rule of law in such legal relations was previously obtained by the Supreme Court.
Article 304. Cassation appeals against commercial court rulings
1. The rulings adopted by courts of first instance and appellate courts may be appealed under cassation procedure in the cases provided for in Clauses 2, 3, Part 1, Article 287 of this Code.
2. Appeals against rulings that are not subject to appeal separately from the judgment adopted by the court of first instance or the resolution of the court of appeal shall be included in the cassation appeal against the relevant judgment or resolution. In case of filing a cassation appeal against a ruling that is not subject to appeal separately from the judgment or resolution of the court, the court shall return it to the applicant, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling.
3. Cassation appeals against rulings of courts of first instance or the appellate courts shall be considered under the procedure provided for consideration of cassation appeals against judgments adopted by the courts of first instance, resolutions of the appellate courts.
4. In cases where the court of cassation revokes the rulings of the court of first instance or the appellate court that impede the proceedings in the case, the case shall be referred to the court of first instance or the appellate court for consideration.
Article 305. Procedure for consideration of a cassation appeal received by the court of cassation after the end of consideration of other person's cassation appeal
1. If the court of cassation receives the cassation appeal after the end of the cassation case consideration, and the person who filed the appeal was not present during the cassation case consideration, the court of cassation shall consider the relevant appeal under this Chapter.
2. In the event of the opening of cassation proceedings on such an appeal, the court of cassation may revoke the previously adopted ruling and judgments under appeal.
3. Based on the results of consideration of the cassation appeal, the court shall issue a resolution under Article 315 of this Code. In this case, if there are grounds, the previously adopted resolution of the court of cassation may be revoked.
4. The court of cassation shall consider the appeal referred to in Part 1 of this Article within the scope of arguments that were not considered during the cassation case consideration upon the cassation appeal of another person.
5. The court shall refuse to open proceedings on a cassation appeal filed under Part 1 of this Article, if the court has considered the arguments presented in it during the cassation case consideration upon the cassation appeal of another person.
Article 306. Period for consideration of the cassation appeal
1. A cassation appeal against judgment provided for in Clauses 1, 4, Part 1, Article 287 of this Code shall be considered within sixty days, and against rulings provided for in Clauses 2, 3, Part 1, Article 287 of this Code within thirty days from the date of the adoption of a ruling to open the cassation proceedings in the case.
Article 307. The plaintiff's waiver of the claim and the settlement agreement of the parties
1. In the court of cassation, the plaintiff shall have the right to waive a claim, and the parties shall be authorised to conclude a settlement agreement under the general rules of these procedural actions, regardless of who filed the cassation appeal.
2. If the statement of waiver of the claim or settlement agreement of the parties meet the requirements of Articles 191, 192 of this Code, the court shall revoke the judgments of the courts of first instance and appellate courts and adopt a ruling to accept the plaintiff's waiver or to approve the settlement agreement of the parties, closing the proceedings in the case.
Article 308. Powers of the court of cassation
1. Based on the results of the cassation appeal consideration, the court of cassation shall have the right:
1) to leave the judgments of the courts of first instance and courts of appeal unchanged, and to dismiss the appeal;
2) to cancel the judgments of the courts of first instance and courts of appeal in whole or in part and transfer the case in whole or in part for a new consideration, in particular under the established jurisdiction or for the further consideration;
3) to cancel the judgments in full or in part and adopt a new judgment in the relevant part or change the judgment without referring the case for the reconsideration;
4) to cancel the ruling of the court of appeal in whole or in part and uphold the judgment adopted by the court of first instance in the relevant part;
5) to cancel the judgments adopted by the court of first instance and the court of appeal in whole or in part and close the proceedings in the case or leave the claim without consideration in the relevant part;
{Clause 5, Part 1 of Article 308 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
6) in the cases provided for by this Code, to declare invalid the judgments adopted by the courts of first instance and courts of appeal in whole or in part and close the proceedings in the relevant part;
7) in the cases provided for by this Code, revoke its resolution (in whole or in part) and adopt one of the judgments specified in clauses 1–6 of part 1 of this Article.
Article 309. Grounds for dismissal of the cassation appeal and leaving the judgments unchanged
1. The court of cassation shall dismiss the cassation appeal, and leave the judgments unchanged, if the judgment reviewed within the scope provided for by Article 300 of this Code has been adopted in compliance with the rules of substantive and procedural law.
{Part 1 of Article 309 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. A substantively correct and lawful judgment cannot be revoked for formal reasons alone.
Article 310. Grounds for full or partial revocation of judgment and referral of the case for reconsideration or for further consideration in whole or in part
1. Judgments shall be subject to compulsory revocation with the referral of the case for reconsideration if:
1) the case has been considered and resolved by an unauthorised court;
2) the judge to whom the recusal was filed took part in the adoption of the judgment, and the court of cassation recognised the grounds for their recusal as substantiated, if the cassation appeal has been substantiated by such ground;
{Clause 2, Part 1 of Article 310 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
3) the judgment has not been signed by any of the judges or has not been signed by the judges specified in the judgment;
4) the judgment has been adopted by judges who were not members of the panel that considered the case;
5) the case has been considered in the absence of any of the case parties, not duly notified of the date, time and place of the court hearing, if such a case party substantiates his/her cassation appeal with such ground;
6) the judgment has been adopted in violation of the rules of instance or territorial jurisdiction;
{Clause 7, Part 1 of Article 310 has been deleted under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
8) the court has adopted a judgment regarding the rights, interests and (or) obligations of persons who were not involved in the case.
2. A judgment adopted by a court in violation of the rules of territorial jurisdiction shall not be revoked if the case party who filed the cassation appeal did not declare non-jurisdiction of the case during the consideration of the case by the court of first instance without reasonable grounds.
{Part 2 of Article 310 as revised by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
3. The judgment may be also revoked and the case filed for reconsideration due to violation of the rules of procedural law, referred to by the complainant in the cassation appeal, which made it impossible to establish the facts relevant for the proper resolution of the case, if:
1) the court has not examined the evidence collected in the case, subject to the conclusion that the grounds of the cassation appeal stated in the cassation appeal are substantiated, as provided for in Clauses 1, 2, 3, Part 2, Article 287 of this Code; or
2) the court has considered in the order of simplified action proceedings the case which was subject to consideration according to the rules of general action proceedings; or
3) the court unreasonably rejected the petition for request, examination or inspection of evidence or other petition (application) of the case party to establish the circumstances that are relevant to the proper resolution of the case; or
4) the court has established significant circumstances by virtue of inadmissible evidence.
{Part 3 of Article 310 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
4. The case shall be referred for the reconsideration to the court of appeal, if the violations of procedural law have been committed only by this court. In all other cases, the case shall be referred to the court of first instance.
5. The conclusions of the court of cassation, due to which the judgments were revoked, shall be binding on the court of first instance and the court of appeal during the case reconsideration.
6. The grounds for revocation of judgments of the court of first instance and the court of appeal and referral of the case for further consideration shall be violations of substantive or procedural law, which led to the wrongful ruling adopted by the court of first instance and (or) the resolution of the court of appeal, preventing further proceedings in the case.
Article 311. Grounds for judgment revocation in whole or in part and adoption of a new judgment in the relevant part or change of a judgment
1. A court shall revoke a judgment in whole or in part and adopt a new judgment in the relevant part or amend it if such a judgment, reviewed within the scope provided for in Article 300 of this Code, has been adopted through incorrectly applied rules of the substantive law and violation of the procedure law.
{Part 1 of Article 311 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
2. Violation of the procedure law may be a ground for revocation or change of the judgment only if this violation has resulted in adoption of a wrongful judgment.
3. Incorrect application of substantive law shall mean: misinterpretation of the law, or application of the law that is not applicable, or non-application of the law that was applicable.
4. A change in a judgment may consist in supplementing or changing its reasoning and (or) operative parts.
Article 312. Grounds for revocation of the resolution adopted by the court of appeal in whole or in part and upholding the judgment adopted by the court of first instance in the relevant part
1. The court of cassation shall revoke the resolution adopted by the appellate court in whole or in part and uphold the judgment adopted by the court of first instance in the relevant part, if within the scope provided for Article 300 of this Code it finds that the appellate court has revoked the legal judgment.
{Part 1 of Article 312 as amended by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 313. Grounds for revocation of the judgment in whole or in part with the closure of the proceedings or leaving the claim without consideration in the relevant part
1. The judgment adopted as a result of case consideration shall be revoked under cassation procedure in whole or in part, leaving the claim without consideration or with the closure of the proceedings in the relevant part on the grounds provided for in Articles 226 and 231 of this Code.
2. Violation of the rules of the commercial courts jurisdiction, defined in Articles 20–23 of this Code, shall be a mandatory ground for revocation of the decision, regardless of the arguments of the cassation appeal.
3. If the court of first instance or the court of appeal has adopted a lawful and reasonable judgment, the death of an individual or termination of a legal entity that is a party to the dispute, which does not allow succession, after adoption of the judgment cannot be grounds for applying Part 1 of this Article.
4. If the court of cassation closes the proceedings by virtue of Clause 1, Part 1 of Article 231 of this Code, the court at the plaintiff's request shall adopt a ruling under written procedure to refer the case to the court of first instance, which has jurisdiction to consider such case, except in cases on closure of the proceedings on several claims, which are subject to consideration in different proceedings, or referring the case in part for reconsideration or for further consideration. If there are grounds for the jurisdiction of the case, the plaintiff at his/her choice in his/her application shall indicate only one court, whose jurisdiction includes the resolution of the dispute.
{Article 313 has been supplemented with Part 4 under Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 314. Procedure for adoption of judgments by the court of cassation
1. Following the cassation appeal review, the court of cassation shall adopt judgments in the form of resolutions in accordance with the requirements defined in Article 34 and Chapter 9, Section III of this Code, taking into account the specific aspects specified in this Chapter.
2. Procedural issues related to the motion of the case, petitions and applications of the case parties, issues of adjournment of the case, announcement of a break, suspension of proceedings, as well as in other cases provided by this Code, shall be resolved in the court of cassation by adopting the rulings in the order determined by this Code for adoption of rulings by the court of first instance.
3. The resolution or ruling of the court of cassation shall be executed by the judge-rapporteur (another judge if the judge-rapporteur does not agree with the resolution/ruling) and signed by all judges who considered the case, unless otherwise provided for by this Code.
Article 315. Ruling of the court of cassation
1. A ruling of the court of cassation instance shall consists of:
1) introduction where the following shall be stated:
a) date and place of its adoption;
b) name of the court of cassation, the names and initials of the judges and the secretary of the court hearing;
c) (title) name of the case parties and the name of the person who filed the cassation appeal;
d) the name of the court of first instance and (or) the court of appeal, whose judgment is being appealed, the case number, the date of the judgment, the name and initials of the judge (judges);
2) the descriptive part containing:
a) the summary of claims and judgments of the courts of first instance and the court of appeal;
b) the summary of claims of the cassation appeal;
c) generalised arguments of the person who filed the cassation appeal;
d) generalised opinion of other case parties;
3) the reasoning part indicating:
a) the reasons for accepting or rejecting each argument stated in the cassation appeal and the defence to the cassation appeal;
b) the arguments according to which the court of cassation agreed or disagreed with the conclusions of the court of first instance and (or) the court of appeal;
c) the conclusions based on the results of consideration of the cassation appeal with reference to the rules of law, followed by the court;
d) actions to be performed by the court of first instance and (or) the court of appeal in case of revocation of the judgment and referral of the case for reconsideration;
4) the operative part containing:
a) the conclusion of the court of cassation on the merits of the cassation appeal requirements and the claims;
b) the new distribution of court costs incurred due to consideration of the case in the court of first instance and the court of appeal, in case of revocation of the judgment and adoption of a new judgment or change of judgment;
c) the distribution of court costs incurred due to the review of the case in the court of cassation;
d) reversal of enforcement in case of revocation of judgments if the relevant application and grounds are available.
2. The resolution of a chamber, a joint chamber, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court shall contain a conclusion on how exactly the rule of law shall be applied, after a panel of judges, the chamber, the joint chamber refused to apply it and referred the case for consideration to the chamber, the joint chamber, the Grand Chamber.
3. The resolution adopted by the court of cassation shall be pronounced under the rules established by Article 240 of this Code.
Article 316. Binding nature of the instructions contained in the resolution of the court of cassation
1. The instructions contained in the resolution of the court of cassation shall be binding upon the court of first instance and the court of appeal during the reconsideration.
2. The resolution of the court of cassation may not contain instructions for the court of first instance and the court of appeal on the authenticity or inaccuracy of any evidence, on the advantages of some evidence over others, on the rule of substantive law that should be applied and the judgment that shall be adopted by virtue of reconsideration of the case.
Article 317. Legal force of the resolution adopted by the court of cassation
1. The resolution of the court of cassation shall take legal effect from the date of its adoption.
2. Since the court of cassation adopts the resolution, the judgments revoked or recognised invalid, the resolutions and rulings adopted by the court of first instance or the court of appeal shall lose their legal effect and shall not be subject to further enforcement.
3. The resolution of the court of cassation shall be final and not subject to appeal.
Article 318. Service of judgments adopted by court of cassations
1. The judgments of the court of cassation shall be served (issued or sent) in the manner prescribed by Article 242 of this Code within 10 days term from the date of their adoption.
2. Upon the case party's application, duplicate judgments adopted by the court of cassation shall be reissued by the court that considered such a case as a court of first instance.
1. After the cassation consideration is complete, the case shall be returned to the court of first instance, which considered it, within fifteen days, unless otherwise specified in the judgment adopted by the court of cassation.
{Part 1 of Article 319 as revised by Law No. 142-IX of 2 October 2019}
Chapter 3. Review of judgments on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances
Article 320. Grounds for reviewing the judgments due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances
1. The judgments, resolutions and rulings of the commercial court, the High Intellectual Property Court, which resulted from the case consideration, as well as rulings in bankruptcy (insolvency) cases, which are subject to appeal in cases provided for by the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring a Debtor's Solvency or Recognising It Bankrupt”, which have entered into force, may be revised due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances.
2. The grounds for the judgment review on the basis of newly-discovered circumstances shall be:
1) the circumstances that are significant for the case, not established by the court and were not and could not be known to the person filing the application at the time of the case consideration;
2) the fact of providing a knowingly incorrect expert conclusion, knowingly false testimony of a witness, knowingly incorrect translation, forgery of written, material or electronic evidence that has led to the adoption of wrongful judgment in this case, as established by the effective verdict or the ruling to close the criminal proceedings and release a person from the criminal responsibility;
3) revocation of the judgment, which became the basis for the adoption of the judgment subject to review.
3. The grounds for review of judgments due to the exceptional circumstances shall be:
1) the unconstitutionality (constitutionality) that has been identified by the the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the law, other legal act or their separate provision that were applied (not applied) by a court while considering a case, if the judgment has not yet been enforced;
2) establishment by an international judicial institution, the jurisdiction of which is recognised by Ukraine, of violation by Ukraine of international obligations while considering this case in a court;
3) the effective court verdict on recognition a judge guilty of a criminal offence that resulted in adoption of a judgment.
{Part 1 of Article 320 as amended by Law No. 720-IX of 17 June 2020}
4. The following shall not be grounds for the review of a judgment based on newly-discovered circumstances:
1) re-evaluation of the evidence evaluated by the court in the process of consideration of the case;
2) evidence that was not evaluated by the court in relation to the circumstances established by the court.
5. When reviewing a judgment based on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, the court may not go beyond the claims that were the subject of consideration when adopting the judgment under review, consider other claims or other grounds of the claim.
Article 321. Procedure and period for filing application for the review of judgments due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances
1. An application for the review of a judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances may be filed:
1) on the ground specified in Clause 1, Part 2, Article 320 of this Code, by the case parties within thirty days from the date when the person became aware or could become aware about the existence of circumstances that are basis for the judgment review;
2) on the grounds specified in Clause 2, Part 2, Article 320 of this Code, by the case parties within thirty days from the date when the verdict (ruling) in criminal proceedings entered into force;
3) on the grounds specified in Clause 3, Part 2, Article 320 of this Code, by the case parties within thirty days from the date of entry into force of a judgment that substitutes the judgment, which became the basis for adoption of a judgment to be reviewed;
4) on the grounds specified in Clause 1, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, by the case parties within thirty days from the date of official publication of the relevant judgement adopted by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;
5) on the grounds provided for in Clause 2, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, may be filed by a person in whose favour the judgement was adopted by an international judicial institution whose jurisdiction is recognised in Ukraine, not later than thirty days from the date when such person became aware or could become aware about the finality of this judgement;
6) on the grounds provided for in Clause 3, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, by the case parties within thirty days from the date when the verdict in the criminal proceedings entered into force.
2. Subject to the orders of Part 1 of this Article, an application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances may be filed:
1) on the grounds specified in Clause 1, Part 2, Article 320 of this Code, not later than three years from the date of entry into force of such a judgement;
2) on the grounds specified in Clauses 2, 3, Part 2 and Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, not later than ten years from the date of entry into force of such a judgement.
3. The periods specified in Part 2 of this Article may not be renewed.
4. An application for review of a judgment adopted by the court of first instance on the grounds specified in Part 2, Clauses 1, 3, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code shall be submitted to the court that adopted the judgment.
5. An application for review of judgments adopted by the courts of appeal and cassation on the grounds specified in Part 4 of this Article, which substituted or revoked the judgment, shall be submitted to the court of the instance which is relevant to the new amended or adopted judgment.
6. An application for the review of a judgment on the grounds specified in Clause 2, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code shall be submitted to the Supreme Court and shall be considered by the Grand Chamber.
Article 322. Form and content of the application
1. Applications for review of judgments on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances in form and content shall meet the requirements of this Code for execution of the statements of claim for the court of first instance.
2. A request to review judgments upon discovery of new or exceptional circumstances shall state:
1) name of the court where the application is addressed, case number;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic) (for individuals) of the applicant, his/her location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal codes, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine taxpayer identification number (for individuals) (if any) or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details and e-mail address (if any);
4) the judgment for the review of which the application was filed;
5) newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, which substantiate the request for review of the judgment, the date of their opening or establishment;
6) reference to evidence confirming the existence of newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances.
3. The following shall be attached to the application:
1) documents confirming the sending to other case parties of a copy of the application and the documents attached to it;
2) a document on payment of the court fee;
3) evidence confirming the existence of newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances;
4) a document confirming the powers of the representative of the person submitting the application, if the application is signed by such a representative;
5) a petition of a person requesting a duplicate judgement adopted by an international judicial institution whose jurisdiction is recognised in Ukraine, from the authority in charge of coordinating the enforcement of judgements of the international judicial institution, if it has not been submitted in the order of the person who filed the application, in case of filing an application to review a judgement due to the ground provided for in Clause 2, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code;
6) a petition to renew a period for filing an application, if it has been missed.
A court fee shall not be recovered for filing and consideration of an application for review of a court judgment due to exceptional circumstances.
{Paragraph 8, Part 3 of Article 322 as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
Article 323. Opening of proceedings due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances
1. Request to review the court decision upon discovery of new or exceptional circumstances, which has been filed with the court, shall be transmitted to a judge of the court, panel of judges in the manner prescribed by Article 32 of this Code.
2. Within five days after the receipt of the application by the court, the judge (judge-rapporteur) shall verify its compliance with the requirements of Article 322 of this Code and decide on the opening of proceedings due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, on which the relevant ruling shall be delivered.
3. The provisions of Article 174 of this Code shall apply to an application for review of a judgement due to on newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, which has not been executed under the requirements established by Article 322 of this Code.
4. If the application contains a petition of a person requesting a duplicate judgment of an international judicial institution whose jurisdiction is recognised in Ukraine, the judge (judge-rapporteur) immediately after opening of the case proceedings shall adopt a ruling to request such a duplicate judgment together with its authentic translation from the authority in charge of coordinating the enforcement of judgments of the international judicial institution.
Article 324. Withdrawing request to review judgment upon discovery of new or exceptional circumstances and implications of such withdrawal
1. A person who has filed an application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances may waive of such an application before commencement of case consideration in court. If the waiver of the application is accepted, the court shall close the proceedings due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling.
2. If the waiver of the application for review of the judgement due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances is accepted, other case parties may request the compensation by the person who filed it, for the court costs incurred by them during the review of the judgement due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances.
3. A person who has waived of an application for review of a judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances may not re-apply to the court with the same application on the same grounds.
Article 325. Procedure for reviewing the judgments due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances
1. An application for review of judgments due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances shall be considered by the court in a court hearing within thirty days from the day of opening the proceedings due newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances.
2. The case shall be considered by a court under the rules established by this Code for proceedings in the court of the same instance where the review is performed. In the court of first instance the case shall be considered under simplified action proceedings with the notification of the case parties.
3. Based on the review of the judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, the court may:
1) dismiss the application for review of the judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances and uphold the relevant judgment;
2) satisfy the application for review of the judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, revoke the relevant judgment and adopt a new judgment or change the judgment;
3) revoke the judgment and close the proceedings or leave the claim without consideration.
Based on the results of the review of the judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, the Supreme Court may also revoke the judgment (judgments) in whole or in part and refer the case for the reconsideration to the court of first instance or the court of appeal.
4. In case of dismissal of the application for review of the judgment, ruling, resolution due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances, the court shall adopt the ruling. If the application for review of the judgement is satisfied on the grounds specified in Part 2, Clauses 1, 3 of Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, and the judgement under review is revoked, the court shall:
1) adopt a judgment, if the judgment was reviewed;
2) adopt a resolution, if the resolution was reviewed.
3) adopt a ruling, if the ruling was reviewed;
By virtue of the considered application for review of a judgement on the grounds specified in Clause 2, Part 3, Article 320 of this Code, the Supreme court shall adopt a ruling.
5. A judgment, ruling, resolution adopted by virtue of the reviewed judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances shall be issued or sent to the case parties under the procedure provided for in Article 242 of this Code.
6. Other judgments adopted by other courts shall cease to be effective after the newly adopted judgment has entered into force.
7. A judgment adopted by virtue of the reviewed judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances may be reviewed on general grounds.
Section V
PROCEDURE ISSUES RELATED TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGEMENTS IN COMMERCIAL CASES
Article 326. The binding nature of court judgments
1. The judgments that have entered into force shall be binding on the entire territory of Ukraine, and in cases established by international treaties, the binding nature of which was approved as binding by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and beyond its territory.
2. Failure to comply with a judgment shall be the basis for liability established by law.
Article 327. Enforcement of judgments
1. The judgements shall be enforced on the basis of an order issued by the court that considered the case as a court of first instance.
The court orders shall be set out in electronic form using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System by filling in the appropriate forms of procedural documents provided by the Regulations on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System and signed by an electronic digital signature of a judge (if a case is considered by panel of judges, it shall be signed by electronic digital signatures of all judges who are members of the panel).
2. The basis for the entity of state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public associations of the judgment that has come into legal force, shall be its duplicate in the electronic form sent to the entity of state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public associations within the frameworks of information interaction between the Unified State Register of judgments and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations, approved by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine together with the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine.
3. An order, a court order, and a judgment in the cases established by this Code, shall be the enforcement documents. An order, a court order, a judgment shall meet the requirements for the enforcement document established by law.
4. Within five days after the entry into force of the judgment, the enforcement document referred to in Part 3 of this Article shall be entered into the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents, and its duplicate (text) containing information about the web-address of such document in the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents, shall be sent to the recoverer to his/her official e-mail address, or by a registered letter or a registered letter with a declared value if an official e-mail address is not available.
5. If the judgment has been adopted in favour of several plaintiffs or against several defendants, or if enforcement should be carried out in different places or the judgment provides for several acts, several orders shall be issued indicating one debtor and one recoverer and specifying which part of the judgment shall be enforced, or it shall state that the obligation or right of recovery is joint and several.
6. Upon the application of the person in whose favour the judgment was adopted, the court may take measures provided for in Article 137 of this Code in order to ensure the enforcement of the judgment.
7. In case of resolving the issue of correcting an error in the enforcement document; recognition of the enforcement document as not subject to enforcement; securing the enforcement of a judgment; recovery in favour of the debtor unreasonably received by the recoverer under the enforcement document; renewal of the missed period for submission of the enforcement document for enforcement; postponement of enforcement or extension of enforcement period, change or determination of method and procedure for enforcement; foreclosure on the money belonging to third parties or the immovable property, the ownership of which is not registered in the manner prescribed by law; suspension of judgment enforcement (force); replacement of a party to enforcement proceedings, the court shall enter a relevant ruling in the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents no later than two days from the date of its adoption in the manner prescribed by Part 4 of this Article.
{Part 7 of Article 327 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
8. If the court has taken measures to secure the claim, the court shall enter documents available in court confirming the enforcement of the relevant judgments into the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents.
9. Regulation on the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents shall be approved by a joint regulatory act of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine.
Article 328. Correction of an error in the enforcement document and recognition of it as unenforceable
1. The court that issued the enforcement document may, at the request of the recoverer or the debtor, correct the error made in its execution or issuance, or declare the enforcement document unenforceable.
2. The court shall recognise the enforcement document as unenforceable in whole or in part if it was issued erroneously or if the debtor's obligation is absent in whole or in part due to its termination, voluntary enforcement by the debtor or another person or for other reasons.
3. The court shall consider the application within ten days from the date of its receipt in court with the notification of the recoverer and the debtor, and shall adopt a ruling. The non-appearance of the recoverer and the debtor shall not preclude consideration of the application. Prior to the consideration of the application, the court shall have the right to suspend the enforcement of the enforcement document or to prohibit the acceptance of the enforcement document for enforcement.
4. The court shall issue a ruling on the correction of an error in the enforcement document and its recognition as unenforceable. If the recovery under such an enforcement document has already taken place in full or in part, the court shall concurrently while resolving these issues at the request of the debtor collect in his/her favour unreasonably received recovery by the recoverer under the enforcement document.
5. A judgment based on the results of consideration of an application may be appealed under the procedure established by this Code.
Article 329. Renewal of the missed period for presentation of the enforcement document for enforcement;
1. In case of missed period for presentation of the order, court order for enforcement due to the grounds recognised by the court as reasonable, the missed period may be renewed.
2. The application for renewal of the missed term shall be submitted to the court that considered the case as a court of first instance and shall be considered in a court hearing with the notification of the case parties. Their non-appearance shall not preclude resolution of the issue on the missed period renewal. The court shall consider such an application within ten days.
3. The court shall issue a ruling on the renewal of the period for presentation of the enforcement document for enforcement.
Article 330. Settlement agreement in the process of enforcement
1. A settlement agreement concluded between the parties or an application for refusal of the recoverer from enforcement in the process of the judgment enforcement shall be submitted in writing to the state or private executor, who shall lodge it for approval to the court that issued the enforcement document.
2. The issue on approval of the settlement agreement in the process of judgment enforcement, satisfaction of the application for refusal of the recoverer from compulsory judgment enforcement shall be resolved by the court within ten days from the date of receipt of the relevant application.
3. The court shall have the right to refuse to approve the settlement agreement in the process of judgement enforcement on the grounds specified in Article 192 of this Code, and to satisfy the application for refusal of enforcement on the grounds specified in Article 191 of this Code.
Article 331. Postponement of or extension of the period of enforcement of a judgment, change of the method and procedure of enforcement of a judgment
1. At the party's request, the court that considered the case as a court of first instance may postpone the enforcement of a judgment or extend the period of its enforcement, and at the request of the recoverer or executor (in cases established by law), the court may determine or change the method or procedure.
2. An application for determination or change of the method or procedure for enforcement, postponement of enforcement and extend the period of enforcement of a judgment shall be considered within ten days from the date of its receipt at the court hearing with notification of the case parties.
3. The basis for determining or changing the method or procedure for enforcement, postponement of enforcement and extension of the period of enforcement of a judgment shall be the circumstances that significantly complicate the judgment enforcement or make it impossible.
4. When deciding on the postponement of enforcement or extension of the period of enforcement of a judgment, the court shall also take into account:
1) the degree of guilt of the defendant in the dispute;
2) in respect of an individual, a serious illness of them or members of their family, their financial situation;
3) natural disaster, other emergencies, etc.
5. Extension of the period of enforcement and postponement of enforcement of a judgment may not exceed one year from the date of adoption of judgment, ruling, resolution.
6. In case of postponement of enforcement and extension of the period of enforcement of a judgment, the court may take measures to secure the claim.
7. On the postponement of enforcement and extension of the period of enforcement of a judgment, determination or change of the method and procedure for its enforcement or the refusal to perform the relevant procedural actions, a ruling shall be issued, which is subject to appeal. If necessary, the judgment shall be sent to the banking institution at the location of the debtor or to the state executor, private executor.
Article 332. Suspension of a judgment enforcement
1. The court of cassation upon the case party's application or on its own initiative may suspend the enforcement of the appealed judgment or revoke it (if the judgment does not provide for compulsory enforcement) until the end of its review under cassation procedure.
2. A ruling shall be adopted to suspend a judgment enforcement or to revoke it.
3. In the resolution by virtue of the reviewed appealed judgment, the court of cassation shall decide on the resumption of its enforcement (effect).
Article 333. Reversal of enforcement of a judgment, a ruling
1. While adopting a ruling, the court of appeal or court of cassation shall decide on the reversal of enforcement, if by revocation of a judgment (recognising it invalid) it:
1) closes the proceedings in the case;
2) leaves the claim without consideration;
3) dismisses the claim in full;
4) satisfies the claims to a lesser extent.
2. If the judgment is revoked after its enforcement and the case is reversed for reconsideration, the court shall decide on the reversal of enforcement while adopting a judgment, if during the reconsideration it:
1) closes the proceedings in the case;
2) leaves the claim without consideration;
3) dismisses the claim in full;
4) satisfies the claims to a lesser extent.
3. The court shall decide on the reversal of enforcement, if by virtue of the reviewed judgment due to newly-discovered or exceptional circumstances it:
1) closes the proceedings in the case;
2) leaves the claim without consideration;
3) dismisses the claim in full;
4) satisfies the claims to a lesser extent.
4. If the arbitral award is revoked, the debtor shall be returned all that has been recovered from him/her in favour of the recoverer under the specified judgment.
5. The issue on reversal of enforcement of a judgment shall be resolved by the court in the presence of the relevant application of the party.
6. A document confirming that the amount recovered under the previously adopted judgment has been written off by the banking institution or the property has been confiscated by state or private executor shall be attached to the application for reversal of enforcement of a judgment by returning the collected money, property or its monetary value.
7. No court fee shall be paid for filing an application for reversal of enforcement.
8. While resolving the issue on reversal of enforcement of a judgment, the court may take measures to secure the claim.
9. If the issue on reversal of enforcement of a judgment has not been resolved by the court under parts 1–3 of this Article, the defendant's application for reversal of enforcement of a judgment shall be considered by the court that considered the case as a court of first instance.
10. An application for reversal of enforcement of a judgment may be filed within one year from the date when the relevant judgment has been adopted by the court of appeal or court of cassation or from the date when the judgment has been approved during the case reconsideration. Such an application shall be considered at the court hearing with the notification of the recoverer and the debtor within twenty days from the date of receipt of the application, but their non-appearance shall not preclude its consideration.
Article 334. Replacement of a party to enforcement proceedings
1. In case of withdrawal of one of the parties to the enforcement proceedings, the court shall replace such party with his/her successor.
2. An application for replacement of a party by his/her legal successor may be submitted by a party (interested person), public or private executor.
3. The court shall consider the application for replacement of the party by his/her legal successor within ten days from the date of its receipt by the court at the court hearing with notification of the case parties and interested persons.
The non-appearance of the case parties and other persons shall not preclude resolution of the issue on replacing a party to the enforcement proceedings.
4. The ruling to replace a party to the enforcement proceedings shall be sent (provided) to the case parties, as well as to the state executor, private executor under the procedure provided for in Article 242 of this Code.
5. The provisions of this Article shall also apply in the event of the need to replace the debtor or recoverer in the writ of enforcement before the enforcement proceedings commence.
Article 335. Determining the share of the debtor's property in the property he/she owns together with other persons
1. The issue on determining the share of the debtor's property in the property he/she owns together with other persons, shall be resolved by the court upon the recommendation of state or private executor.
2. Within ten days the court shall consider this issue at the court hearing with notification of the parties and interested persons. The non-appearance of the parties and other persons shall not preclude resolution of the issue on determining the share of the debtor's property in the property he/she owns together with other persons.
Article 336. Foreclosure on the money belonging to other persons, and the immovable property, the ownership of which is not registered in the prescribed manner
1. The court that considered the case as a court of first instance may, at the request of the recoverer or the state or private executor, may apply the foreclosure on the money belonging to the person owing to a debtor, which is not disputed by the mentioned person or has been confirmed by the effective judgment.
2. The court shall dismiss this application if has been filed after expiration of the statute of limitations for the relevant claim of the debtor to this person, or after expiration of the period for presentation of the enforcement document for enforcement on recovery of money from this person in favour of the debtor under the effective judgment.
3. The application shall be considered by the court within ten days from the date of its receipt.
4. The court shall consider the application for the foreclosure on the money belonging to the person owing to a debtor, at the court hearing with the summons of such person and the case parties, but their absence shall not preclude consideration of the case provided they have been duly notified of the date, time and place of the case consideration.
5. At the recoverer's request the court may seize money in accounts (deposits) or in custody in banks or other financial institutions, owned by a person owing to a debtor, which is not disputed by the mentioned person or confirmed by the effective judgement.
The seizure shall be imposed within the scope of total amount of recovery in the manner prescribed by this Code for seizure while taking measures to secure the claim.
6. Concurrently the court shall decide on the counter-security and the prohibition for such a person to perform actions to repay the debt to the debtor and (or) suspend the judgment enforcement, according to which such person shall be recovered money within the scope of total amount of recovery till the issue of the foreclosure on the money is completely resolved.
7. The court shall adopt a ruling to satisfy the application for recovery of money belonging to the person owing to a debtor, or to dismiss it.
8. If the application is satisfied, the judgment may be enforced by foreclosure on the money belonging to the person within the debt of such person to the debtor.
9. The foreclosure on the money belonging to a person owing to a debtor shall be the basis for the recognition of the enforcement document, which is not enforceable in the amount collected, according to which the debtor acts as a recoverer.
10. The issues of foreclosure on the immovable property of the debtor, the ownership of which is not registered in the manner prescribed by law, during the enforcement of judgements and decisions of other authorities (officials) shall be resolved by the court upon the recommendation of the state executor, private executor.
11. The court shall immediately consider the recommendation of the state executor, private executor without notifying the parties and other interested persons in consultation of state executor, private executor.
Article 337. Temporary restraint of the right to leave Ukraine
1. Temporary restraint of an individual who is a debtor of the right to leave Ukraine may be applied by the court as an exceptional measure to ensure the enforcement of a judgment.
2. Temporary restraint of an individual's right to leave Ukraine shall be applied under the procedure established by this Code to secure the claim, with special provisions provided for in this Article.
3. The court may deliver a ruling on temporary restraint of the right to leave Ukraine of an individual who is a debtor under a judgment not executed by them, for a period until full execution of such judgment.
4. A ruling on temporary restraint of an individual's right to leave Ukraine may be delivered upon recommendation of the state or private executor who commenced the relevant enforcement proceedings. The court shall immediately consider such a recommendation without notifying the parties and other interested persons in consultation of state (private) executor.
5. Temporary restraint of an individual who is a debtor in their right to leave Ukraine may be applied by the court until the closing of insolvency proceedings against such an individual in the manner prescribed by the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures;
{Article 337 has been supplemented with Part 5 under the Code No 2597-VIII of 18 October 2018}
Article 338. Jurisdiction of cases
1. Procedural matters relating to the enforcement of judgments shall be resolved by the court which considered the case as a court of first instance, unless otherwise provided in this section.
Section VI
JUDICIAL CONTROL OVER THE ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS
Article 339. The right to appeal to the court
1. The parties to enforcement proceedings shall have the right to appeal to the court if they believe that the judgment, action or omission of a state executor or other official of the body of the state executive service or a private executor during the judgment enforcement under this Code violates their rights.
Article 340. Filing of an appeal
1. An appeal shall be filed to the court which considered the case as a court of first instance.
2. The court shall notify the relevant body of the state executive service, private executor of the appeal filed, no later than the next day after its receipt by the court.
Article 341. Periods for filing an appeal
1. The appeal may be filed to the court:
a) within ten days from the day when a person learned or should have learned about the violation of their right;
b) within three days from the day when a person learned or should have learned about the violation of his/her right, in case of appeal against the resolution to postpone enforcement proceedings.
2. A missed period for filing an appeal due to reasonable grounds may be renewed by the court.
Article 342. Consideration of an appeal
1. The appeal shall be considered within ten days at the court hearing with the participation of a recoverer, a debtor and a state executor or any other official of the body of the state executive service or private executor, whose decisions, actions or omissions are appealed.
2. Non-appearance of the recoverer, debtor, state executor or any other official of the body of the state executive service, private executor, who have been duly notified of the date, time and place of the appeal consideration shall not preclude its consideration.
3. If the court finds that the person whose decision, action or omission is being appealed has been dismissed (does not carry out the relevant activity), it shall involve into the case an official whose competence includes resolving the issue of eliminating the violation of the applicant's rights.
Article 343. Judgment on the appeal
1. By virtue of the considered appeal, the court shall issue a ruling.
2. If it is established that the appeal is reasoned, the court shall recognise the appealed judgments, actions or inaction as illegal and oblige the state executor or any other official of the state enforcement service body, private executor to eliminate the violation (restore the violated right of the applicant).
3. If the appealed judgments, actions or omissions were adopted or committed under the law, within the powers of the state executor or any other official of the body of state executive service, private executor and if the applicant's right was not violated, the court shall adopt a ruling to dismiss the appeal.
Article 344. Distribution of costs related to the appeal
1. The court costs related to the appeal consideration shall be borne by the applicant, if a judgment was adopted to dismiss his/her appeal, or by the body of the state executive service or private executor, if a ruling was adopted to satisfy the applicant's appeal.
Article 345. Enforcement of a court ruling
1. The relevant body of the state executive service, the private executor shall notify the court and the applicant on the enforcement of a court ruling adopted by virtue of the considered appeal no later than within ten days from the date of its receipt.
Section VII
PROCEEDINGS IN CASES ON APPEALING THE ARBITRAL AWARDS AND ON ISSUANCE OF THE ORDERS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ARBITRATION JUDGMENTS
Chapter 1. Appeal against the arbitral judgment
Article 346. Procedure for appealing the arbitral judgment
1. The parties, third parties, as well as persons who did not participate in the case, if the arbitration court has decided on their rights and (or) obligations, shall have the right to apply to the court to revoke the arbitral award.
2. An application for revocation of an arbitral award shall be filed to the commercial court of appeal at the venue of proceedings administered by the arbitration court by a party, third party within 90 days from the date of the arbitral award, and by a person who did not participate in the case, if the arbitration court has decided on their rights and (or) obligations, within 90 days from the day when they learned or should have learned about the arbitral award.
3. The application submitted after the expiration of the period determined by Part 2 of this Article shall be returned. At the applicant's request, the court may renew the missed period for filing an application for revocation of the arbitral award if it finds the grounds for its omission reasonable.
4. The court shall deliver a ruling to refuse to commence proceedings on the grounds provided for in Clauses 1–3 and 6, Part 1, Article 175 of this Code, as well as in case the arbitral award is appealed on grounds not provided for by law.
Article 347. Form and content of the application for revocation of the arbitral award
1. The application for revocation of the arbitral award shall be submitted in writing and signed by the person who appeals it or their representative.
2. The application shall state:
1) name of the commercial court with which the application is filed;
2) full title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic for individuals) of the applicant, his/her location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine taxpayer identification number of the appellant (for individuals) (if any) or the appellant's passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine, contact details, official e-mail addresses and e-mail addresses (if any);
{Clause 2, Part 2 of Article 347 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
3) surnames, names and patronymics (for individuals), full name (for legal entities) of the participants in the arbitration proceedings, their place of residence (stay) or location;
4) name and composition of the arbitration court that made the award;
5) information on the arbitral award that is appealed, namely: case number, date and venue of award, subject of the dispute, content of the operative part of the award;
6) date of receipt by the person filing the application of the arbitral award that is appealed;
7) grounds for appealing and revoking the arbitral award;
8) the content of the claim of the person submitting the application;
9) the list of documents and other materials attached to the application.
3. The application may contain other information if it is relevant for the consideration of this application (contact details, fax numbers, e-mail address of the parties and the arbitration court).
4. The following shall be attached to the application for revocation of the arbitral award:
1) the original arbitral award or a duly certified copy thereof. A copy of the award of the permanent arbitration court shall be certified by the presiding judge of the permanent arbitration court, and a duplicate of the arbitral award for resolving a specific dispute shall be certified by a notary;
2) the original of the arbitration agreement, or its duly certified duplicate;
3) the documents submitted for substantiations of the grounds for revocation of the arbitral award;
4) a document confirming the payment of court fees;
5) power-of-attorney or other document certifying the authority of the representative;
6) proof of sending copies of the application for cancellation of the arbitral award and the documents (materials) attached to it to the trial participants.
5. The rules of Article 174 of this Code shall apply to an application for revocation of the arbitral award filed in violation of the requirements specified in this Article.
6. In case of filing an application for revocation of the arbitral award in electronic form, the documents referred to in Clauses 1, 2, Part 4 of this Article may be submitted as duplicates, but the applicant shall submit such documents to the court before consideration of the specified application. In case of non-submission of the specified documents the application shall be returned, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling by the court.
Article 348. Preparation of the case for consideration
1. The court may, prior to the commencement of the proceedings at the request of any of the trial participants, request the files of the arbitration case, in which the award is being appealed, as well as evidence in the manner prescribed by this Code. The case shall be referred to the court within five days from the date of receipt of such a request.
Article 349. Consideration of a case in court
1. The case on appealing the arbitral award shall be considered by the judge alone within 30 days from the date of receipt by the commercial court of the application for cancellation of the arbitral award.
2. The case parties shall be notified of the date, time and venue of the case consideration. Non-appearance of the persons duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing, shall not impede the consideration of the case.
3. When considering the case in court, the court shall establish the presence or absence of grounds for revocation of the arbitral award.
4. The court shall not be limited to the arguments of the application on the revocation of the arbitral award if during the consideration of the case the grounds for revocation of the arbitral award, defined by Article 350 of this Code are established.
5. The case shall be considered by the commercial court under the rules established for consideration of the case by the court of first instance in the simplified action proceedings, with the special provisions established by this section.
6. By virtue of the considered application on revocation of the arbitral award, the commercial court shall have the right to:
1) adopt a ruling to dismiss the application and leave the arbitral award unchanged;
2) adopt a ruling on full or partial revocation of the arbitral award.
7. After the court considers the application for cancellation of the arbitral award, the case shall be returned to the arbitration court if the commercial court requested the case from the arbitration court.
8. Prior to adoption of the ruling by virtue of the considered application on revocation of the arbitral award, any party shall have the right in due manner and period to apply to the same court with an application for obtaining an order of enforcement of the same award and request to consider it jointly with the application on revocation of this award in a single proceeding.
The general requirements provided for in Articles 352, 353 of this Code shall apply to the application for obtaining a permission to enforce the award.
The court shall adopt a ruling on a joint consideration of such applications and combining them into one proceeding on the day of receipt of the application for obtaining an order to enforce the arbitral award, and if it is not possible, the court shall adopt a ruling not later than the next day.
Article 350. Grounds for revocation of an arbitral award
1. The arbitral award may be revoked only in the cases provided for in this Article.
2. The arbitral award may be revoked if:
1) the case subject to the arbitral award is not within the jurisdiction of the arbitration court according to the law;
2) the arbitral award has been adopted in a dispute not provided for in the arbitration agreement, or if this award resolved the issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement. If the arbitral award has resolved the issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement, then only the part of the award relating to issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement may be revoked;
3) the court has declared the arbitration agreement null and void;
4) the composition of the arbitration court that made the award did not meet the legal requirements;
5) the arbitration court has decided on the rights and obligations of persons who did not participate in the case.
3. Revocation by the commercial court of the arbitral award shall not deprive a party of the right to re-apply to the arbitration court, unless otherwise provided for by law.
Article 351. Court ruling in the case of appealing the arbitral award
1. By virtue of the considered case on appealing of the arbitral award, the commercial court shall adopt a ruling under the rules established by this Code for adoption of the award.
2. The commercial court ruling shall also specify:
1) information on the appealed arbitral award, the venue of its adoption;
2) name and composition of the arbitration court, which adopted the award under appeal;
3) surnames, names and patronymics (names) of the parties to the arbitration dispute;
4) an instruction to revoke the arbitral award in whole or in part or to dismiss the applicant's claims in whole or in part.
3. The commercial court ruling to revoke the arbitral award or to refuse to revoke it may be appealed under the appellate procedure provided for the appeal of a judgment of the court of first instance.
4. The court ruling by virtue of the considered application on cancellation of the arbitral award, if it has not been appealed under appellate procedure, shall enter into force after the period for appeal expires.
5. In case of filing an appeal, the court ruling shall take legal effect after consideration of the case by the court of appeal.
Chapter 2. Issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement
Article 352. Procedure for issuing an order for enforcement for the arbitral award
1. The issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall be considered by the court upon the application of the person in whose favour the arbitral award was made.
2. The issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall be submitted to the commercial court of appeal at the venue of arbitration within three years from the date when the arbitral award has been made.
3. The application submitted after the expiration of the period determined by Part 2 of this Article shall be returned without consideration. At the applicant's request, the court may renew the missed period for filing an application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement, if it finds the grounds for its omission reasonable.
Article 353. The form and content of the application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement
1. An application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall be submitted in written form and shall be signed by the person in whose favour the arbitral award has been made or by his/her representative.
2. The application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall state:
1) name of the commercial court with which the application is filed;
2) name and composition of the arbitration court, which made the award subject to the order of enforcement;
3) full title (for legal entities) or names (surname, name and patronymic for individuals) of the case parties in the arbitration proceedings, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine that are case parties in the arbitration proceedings, taxpayer identification number of the case parties in the arbitration proceedings (for individuals) (if any) or the passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine of the case parties in the arbitration proceedings, contact details, official e-mail addresses and e-mail addresses;
4) the date and venue of the arbitral award;
5) the date of receipt of the arbitral award by the person who applied;
6) the applicant's request for the issuance of an order of enforcement for arbitral award enforcement.
3. The application may contain other information if it is relevant for the consideration of this application (contact details, e-mail address of the parties and the arbitration court).
4. The following shall be attached to the application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement:
1) the original arbitral award or a duly certified copy thereof. A copy of the award of the permanent arbitration court shall be certified by the presiding judge of the permanent arbitration court, and a duplicate of the arbitral award for resolving a specific dispute shall be certified by a notary;
2) the original of the arbitration agreement, or its duly certified duplicate;
3) a document confirming the payment of court fees;
4) proof of sending a copy of the application for the issuance of an order for enforcement of the arbitral award to the participants in the arbitration;
5) a power-of-attorney or other document certifying the power of the person to sign the application.
5. The provisions of Article 174 of this Code shall apply to the application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement filed in violation of the requirements specified in this Article, as well as in case of non-payment of the court fee.
6. In case of filing an application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement in electronic form, the documents referred to in Clauses 1, 2, Part 4 of this Article may be submitted in duplicates, however, the applicant must submit such documents to the court before the consideration of the said application commences. In case of non-submission of the specified documents the application shall be returned without consideration, subject to adoption of the relevant ruling by the court.
Article 354. Procedure for consideration of an application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement
1. The application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall be considered by the judge sitting alone within fifteen days from the date of its receipt at the court hearing with notification of the parties. Non-appearance of the parties or one of the parties, duly notified of the date, time and place of the trial, shall not preclude the consideration of the application.
2. When considering an application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement upon the petition of one of the parties, the commercial court shall request for the case from the permanent arbitration court where it is kept. The case shall be submitted to the commercial court within five days from the date of receipt of the claim. In this case, the period for consideration of the application on the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement shall be extended to thirty days from the date of its receipt by the court.
3. When considering the case at the court hearing, the commercial court shall establish the presence or absence of grounds for a refusal to issue an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement provided for in Article 355 of this Code.
4. If the commercial court receives an application for the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement, and in its proceedings or in the proceedings of any other court there is a statement of appeal and revocation of this arbitral award, the commercial court by virtue of Article 227 of this Code shall suspend the proceedings of the application on the issuance of an order of enforcement till the court ruling on satisfaction or dismissal of the application to revoke the appealed arbitral award enters into force.
5. Prior to adoption of a ruling on the merits of the submitted application regarding issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement, any party to the arbitration proceedings in a due manner and period shall have the right to apply to the court to revoke this award and request to consider it together with the application on granting permission to enforce this award in a single proceeding.
{Paragraph 1, Part 5 of Article 354 as amended by Law No. 2234-VIII of 7 December 2017}
The court shall adopt a ruling on joint consideration of the application for the issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement and the application on its revocation and combining them into a single proceeding on the day when the application for arbitral award revocation has been received, and if it is not possible, the court shall issue a ruling not later than the next day.
The general provisions provided for in Articles 346, 347 of this Code shall apply to the application on arbitral award revocation.
Article 355. Grounds for refusal to issue an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement
1. The court shall refuse to issue an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement if:
1) on the day when the award is made upon the application on issuance of an order of enforcement, the arbitral award has been revoked by court;
2) the case subject to the arbitral award is not within the jurisdiction of the arbitration court according to the law;
3) the period for applying to issue an order of enforcement has been missed, and the grounds for its omission have not been recognised by the commercial court as reasonable;
4) the arbitral award has been adopted in a dispute not provided for in the arbitration agreement, or if this award resolved the issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement. If the arbitral award has resolved the issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement, then only the part of the award relating to issues that go beyond the arbitration agreement may be revoked;
5) the arbitration agreement has been declared null and void;
6) the composition of the arbitration court that made the award did not meet the legal requirements;
7) the arbitral award contains ways to defence the rights and protected interests, not provided for by law;
8) the permanent arbitration court has not submitted the relevant case at the request of the commercial court;
9) the arbitration court has decided on the rights and obligations of persons who did not participate in the case.
Article 356. The commercial court ruling on issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement or on refusal to issue it
1. By virtue of the considered application on issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement, the commercial court shall adopt a ruling on issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement or on refusal to issue a writ of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement under the rules determined by this Code for adoption of judgments.
2. The commercial court ruling shall also specify:
1) name and composition of the arbitration court that made the award;
2) surnames, names and patronymics (names) of the parties to the arbitration dispute;
3) the data on the arbitral award, according to which the applicant requests an order to be issued;
4) an instruction to issue an order of enforcement or to refuse to issue it.
3. The commercial court ruling on issuance or refusal to issue an order of enforcement may be appealed by the parties in the appellate procedure determined for appealing the judgments of the court of first instance.
4. After the ruling on refusal to issue an order of enforcement is entered into force, the dispute between the parties may be resolved by the commercial court under general procedure.
5. The court ruling by virtue of the considered application on issuance of the order of enforcement for the arbitral award, if it has not been appealed under appellate procedure, shall enter into force after the period for appeal expires.
6. In case of filing an appeal, the court ruling shall take legal effect after consideration of the case by the appellate court.
7. The ruling to issue an order for enforcement of the arbitral award shall be served to the parties in the manner prescribed by Article 242 of this Code.
8. The order of enforcement shall be entered into the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents not later than the next day from the day of its issuance under the procedure established by the Regulation on the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents.
9. After the commercial court has considered the application on issuance of an order of enforcement for the arbitral award compulsory enforcement, the case shall be returned to the permanent arbitration court.
Section VIII
RESTORATION BY THE COMMERCIAL COURT OF THE LOST JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
Article 357. Procedure for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings in a commercial case
1. Restoration of the fully or partially lost judicial proceedings ended up with the adopted judgment or with the closed proceedings, shall be carried out under procedure determined by this Code.
Article 358. Persons authorised to apply to the court for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings
1. Lost judicial proceedings may be restored at the request of a case party or on the initiative of the court.
Article 359. Submission of the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings
1. An application for full or partial restoration of the lost judicial proceedings shall be submitted in writing to the court which considered the case as a court of first instance.
Article 360. Form and content of the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings
1. An application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings shall be submitted to the court in written form.
2. The application shall contain the following:
1) for the resumption of which judicial proceedings or what part of it the applicant requests;
2) which persons participated in the case and in what procedural status, their title (for legal entities) or name (surname, name and patronymic, if any, for individuals), their location (for legal entities) or place of residence (for individuals); identification codes of the legal entity in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine or taxpayer identification number (for individuals), if available, or passport number and series for individuals who are citizens of Ukraine if the relevant data are known to the applicant;
3) contact details of trial participants (telephone, fax, electronic means of communication, official e-mail address, etc.), if known to the applicant;
4) the information known to the applicant regarding the circumstances related to the loss of judicial proceedings, on location of duplicates of the proceedings materials or any data on such duplicates;
5) documents, deemed by the applicant to be necessarily restored; purpose of restoration.
3. The application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings shall be accompanied by documents or copies thereof (even if they are not duly certified) kept by the applicant or in the case, duplicates of the application relevant to the number of case parties, and a request for renewal of the period for filing an application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings, if necessary.
4. An application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings may be filed to the court regardless of the period for the retention of the judicial proceedings unless otherwise provided for in part 5 of this Article.
5. An application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings to enforce a judgment may be filed before the period for presentation of the writ of enforcement for enforcement expires. The court may renew this period if, at the request of the applicant, it finds the grounds for its omission reasonable.
Article 361. Consequences of non-compliance with the requirements for the content of the application, leaving the application without consideration or refusal to open proceedings on the application
1. In case of non-compliance of the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings with the requirements determined by Article 360 of this Code, the rules of Article 174 of this Code shall apply.
2. If the purpose of the appeal to the court, stated by the applicant, is not related to the protection of their rights and interests, or if the applicant withdrew the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings, the court shall return the application or leave it without consideration by virtue of the ruling, if the proceedings were opened.
3. The return of the application or leaving it without consideration on the grounds specified in parts 1 and 2 of this Article shall not preclude re-application to the court with a request to restore the lost judicial proceedings.
4. The court shall refuse to open proceedings on the application for restoration of lost judicial proceedings in the following cases:
1) in case of filing an application for restoration of the judicial proceedings lost before the end of the trial;
2) if the application was filed after the period determined by Part 5, Article 360 of this Code expired, and the court rejected the request for its renewal.
5. In the case specified in clause 1 of part 4 of this Article, the court shall explain to the applicant the right to apply to the court with a new claim in the manner prescribed by this Code. The court ruling on opening of the proceedings in a new case due to the loss of unfinished proceedings shall stipulate this fact.
Article 362. Consideration of the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings
1. When considering an application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings, the court shall take into account:
a) the part of the case that has survived (separate volumes, badges, materials from the court archives, etc.);
b) documents sent (issued) by the court to trial participants and other persons before the loss of the case, duplicates of such documents;
c) materials of enforcement proceedings, if it was carried out based on the results of the case;
d) any other documents and materials submitted by the trial participants, provided that such documents and materials are sufficient to restore the case;
e) information from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions;
f) data contained in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System;
g) any other information, documents, etc., legally obtained from other official sources.
2. The court may interrogate witnesses of the persons who were present during the proceedings, participants in the case (their representatives), and if necessary, the persons who were members of the court hearing the case regarding which the proceedings were lost, as well as persons, who enforced the judgment, and perform other procedural actions provided for by this Code, in order to restore the lost judicial proceedings.
3. Consideration of the application for restoration of the lost judicial proceedings shall be carried out according to the rules of simplified action proceedings with notification of the case parties, taking into account the features provided for in this section, within thirty days from the date of receipt of the application by court.
Article 363. Court ruling by virtue of the considered application on restoration of the lost judicial proceedings
1. On the basis of the collected and verified materials, the court shall adopt a ruling on the restoration of the lost judicial proceedings fully or in a certain part deemed by it as necessary for restoration.
2. The court ruling on restoration of the lost judicial proceedings shall stipulate the certain data filed to the court and considered at the court hearing, on the basis of which the court determines the content of the restored judgment; the court shall specify conclusions of the court on validity of the evidence considered by the court and the procedural actions performed in the lost judicial proceedings.
3. In case of insufficiency of the collected materials for exact restoration of the lost judicial proceedings the court shall refuse to restore the lost judicial proceedings and clarify to the parties the right to re-appeal with the same application if the necessary documents are available.
Article 364. Exemption of the applicant from court costs
1. In the case of restoration of the lost judicial proceedings, the applicant shall be released from court costs. In case of submission of a knowingly false application, the court costs incurred by other case parties shall be reimbursed by the applicant in full, subject to execution of a ruling by the court.
Section IX
PROCEEDINGS IN CASES INVOLVING FOREIGNERS
Article 365. Procedural rights and obligations of the foreign nationals
1. Foreign nationals have the same procedural rights and obligations as citizens of Ukraine and legal entities established under the legislation of Ukraine with the exceptions established by law or an international treaty ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Article 366. Jurisdiction of the courts in cases involving foreign nationals
1. The jurisdiction of the courts in cases involving foreign nationals shall be determined by this Code, law or international treaty ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Article 367. Application of commercial courts with a court order to a foreign court or other competent authority of a foreign state
1. If in the course of the case consideration, the commercial court is required to serve the documents, receive evidence, perform particular procedural actions on the territory of another state, the commercial court may apply with a relevant court instruction to the foreign court or to another competent authority of the foreign state (hereinafter – foreign court) pursuant to the procedure, specified by this Code, or an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
2. The court order shall be sent under the procedure established by this Code or an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or, if no international treaty has been concluded, to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, which shall send the order to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for its transfer by means of diplomatic channels.
Article 368. Content and form of the court instruction for the provision of legal aid
1. Content and form of the court order for the provision of legal aid shall comply with requirements of an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and if it is not ratified, it shall correspond to the requirements of the Parts 1–4 of this Article.
2. The court instruction for the provision of legal aid shall contain:
1) name of the court, considering a case;
2) if the international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is available, with Ukraine and a state, to which an instruction is addressed being the parties thereto, the references to its provisions shall be given;
3) the title of the case under consideration;
4) surname, first name, patronymic, year of birth of an individual, or a title of legal entity, data on their place of residence (stay) or place of business, as well as other data, required for the enforcement of instruction;
5) procedural status of persons being subject to enforcement of the procedural actions;
6) the strict list of procedural actions, which shall be performed;
7) other data, unless provided by the relevant international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, or if it is required by a foreign court that will enforce the order.
3. The court instruction for the provision of legal aid shall be made in Ukrainian. A certified translation to the official language of an appropriate state shall be attached to the court instruction, except as otherwise is provided for by an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
4. The court order for the provision of legal aid, procedural and other documents attached to it shall be signed by the judge, executing the order, and certified by an official seal.
Article 369. Enforcement of the orders of foreign courts in Ukraine
1. The court shall enforce the orders of foreign courts for the provision of legal aid concerning serving of court summons or other documents, interrogation of parties or witnesses, exercise of expert examination or inspection at the location, performing of other procedural actions, transferred to them pursuant to the procedure, specified in an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and if it is not concluded, it shall be transferred by means of diplomatic channels.
2. The court order shall not be admitted for the enforcement, if it:
1) may lead to violation of the sovereignty of Ukraine or to endanger its national security;
2) does not belong to the jurisdiction of this court;
3) contradicts to the law or the international treaty ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
3. Enforcement of the court order shall be performed pursuant to this Code. Upon the request of a foreign court, procedural actions may be executed in the course of enforcement of the court order by application of the law of another state, if such application does not contradict to the laws of Ukraine.
4. If a foreign court requests for personal presence of his authorised representatives or trial participants during the execution of court order, the court executing it shall resolve an issue concerning giving a consent as to such participation.
5. Enforcement of a court order shall be confirmed by the minutes of the court hearing, other documents, executed or received during the order enforcement, which shall be signed by a judge, and certified by an official seal.
6. If it is not possible to enforce the court order, the court, in the manner prescribed by an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, or if the international treaty is not concluded, through diplomatic channels, shall return such an order to a foreign court without having been enforced, stating the reasons and submitting the relevant documents confirming this.
Article 370. Enforcement of the foreign order as to the serving of a court summons or other documents
1. The foreign court order as to the serving of a court summons or other documents shall be enforced within the court hearing or by the authorised court officer at the place of residence (stay, place of work) of an individual, or at the place of business of a legal entity.
2. A court summon or other documents, which shall be served due to the foreign court instruction, shall be served personally to the individual or its representative, or to the representative of a legal entity, on receipt.
3. The court summons referred to enforce the order of a foreign court to serve documents, in accordance with Parts 5 and 6 of this Article, shall contain information on the consequences of refusal to receive documents and non-appearance in court to receive documents.
4. If a person who is to be serviced the court summons or other documents on behalf of a foreign court is in custody or is serving a sentence of life imprisonment, imprisonment for a definite term, detention in a penal military unit, restriction of freedom, detention, the court shall send the documents to be served on behalf of a foreign court to the administration of the place of detention of the person that shall serve the documents against a receipt and immediately send the receipt and written explanations of this person to the court.
5. In case if a person refuses to receive the court summons or other documents, which shall be served upon the foreign court order, the judge, an authorised court officer, representative of person's detention administration shall make an appropriate mark on the documents, which shall be served. In such event, the documents, which shall be served upon the foreign court instruction, shall be deemed as served.
6. If a person, which was duly notified as to the date, time and venue of the court hearing, in which the court summons or other documents shall be served upon the foreign court order, does not appear in the court without reasonable grounds, such documents shall be deemed as served.
7. The foreign court order to serve a court summons or other documents shall be deemed as enforced on the day when the person or their representative received such documents or refused to receive them; or if such person or their representative duly notified of the day, time and the venue of the court hearing at which the court summons or other documents are to be served, without reasonable grounds did not appear in court, a court summons or other documents shall be deemed as enforced on the day of such court hearing.
8. Enforcement of the foreign court order for the serving of a court summons or other documents shall be approved by the minutes of the court hearing, in which the applications or notifications made by persons with regard to the documents receipt shall be mentioned, as well as by confirmation that the person has been notified as to the necessity to appear in a court in order to receive documents, and by other documents, executed or received in the course of enforcement of the order, which shall be signed by a judge, and certified by an official stamp.
Article 371. Execution of court instructions by foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine
1. A court instruction for serving documents to the citizen of Ukraine, who lives on the territory of a foreign state, may be executed by the employees of diplomatic mission or consular post of Ukraine in the relevant state. Such documents shall be received by a person voluntarily. The document shall be served against a receipt with a notice as to the date of receipt, and shall be signed by the official and certified by a seal of the relevant foreign diplomatic institution of Ukraine.
2. A court order for taking certain procedural actions in respect of a citizen of Ukraine residing in a foreign state may be enforced by officers of a diplomatic mission or consular post of Ukraine abroad, if it is provided by an international treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In case if particular procedural action have been executed, it shall be made the minutes, signed by a person, with respect to which procedural actions were exercised, and by a person, who exercised procedural actions, and certified by a stamp of the relevant foreign diplomatic institution of Ukraine. The protocol shall indicate the day, time and place of the order enforcement.
3. In the course of execution of the court instruction, the procedural law of Ukraine shall apply. Coercive measures shall not apply for the execution of court instruction.
1. Part 4 of Article 3, Parts 1 and 2 of Article 20 (in terms of determining the jurisdiction of the High Intellectual Property Court), Part 3 of Article 24, Part 3 of Article 25, Part 9 of Article 31, Part 2 of Article 33, Part 3 of Article 253, Part 1 of Article 320 of this Code (in terms of the right to file an application for review of a judgment of the High Intellectual Property Court) shall come into force on the day following the day of publication by the Chairperson of the High Intellectual Property Court in the Holos Ukrayiny newspaper of the announcement of the commencement of operation of the High Intellectual Property Court.
2. Part 2 of Article 159 in terms of sending a duplicate court order containing information about the web-address of the court order in the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents, Parts 4, 7 and 8 of Article 327 (in terms of entering documents into the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents), Part 8, Article 356 of this Code shall come into force 30 days after the publication by the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine of the announcement on the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents in Holos Ukrayiny newspaper.
3. Part 10, Article 238 of this Code shall enter into force on 1 January 2019.
4. During the quarantine established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the court at the request of the parties and persons who did not participate in the case, if the court decided on their rights, interests and (or) obligations (if they have the right to perform the relevant procedural actions provided for in this Code), shall renew the procedural periods established by the norms of this Code, if it recognises the grounds for their omission as reasonable and conditioned by the restrictions imposed due to the quarantine. The court may renew the relevant period both before and after its expiration.
Upon the application of a person, the court shall extend the procedural period established by the court, if the impossibility to perform the relevant procedural action within the specified period was associated with the quarantine restrictions.
{Section X has been supplemented with Clause 4 under Law No. 540-IX of 30 March 2020; as revised by Law No. 731-IX of 18 June 2020}
Section XI
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
1. To establish that amendments to this Code shall be put into effect taking into account the following special provisions:
1) applications on the review of judgments by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in commercial cases, which have been submitted and pending before this version of the Code entered into force, shall be transferred to the Commercial Court of Cassation and considered first by a panel of three or more odd number of judges under the rules that were effective before this version of the Code entered into force. Such applications shall be considered without notifying and summoning the case parties, unless the court, in view of the circumstances of the case, decides otherwise;
2) if a commercial case upon the application for review of judgments by the Supreme Court of Ukraine under the rules effective before this version of the Code entered into force, is to be considered at a joint hearing of the relevant chambers of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, such case shall be transferred to the consideration of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court after it has been received by the Commercial Court of Cassation;
3) applications on the review of judgments by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in commercial cases on the grounds of the established by an international judicial institution whose jurisdiction is recognised by Ukraine of Ukraine's violation of international obligations in resolving the relevant case by the court, filed and pending before this version of the Code entered into force, shall be transferred to the Supreme Court for consideration under the rules of review of judgments due to the exceptional circumstances that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
4) cassation appeals (recommendations) against judgments in commercial cases, which are filed and pending before this version of the Code entered into force, shall be transferred to the Commercial Court of Cassation and considered first under the rules that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
5) applications on the review of a judgment due to newly-discovered circumstances submitted to the High Commercial Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court of Ukraine and not considered before this version of the Code entered into force shall be submitted to the Commercial Court of Cassation, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court and considered initially under the rules that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
6) applications and appeals referred to in Subclauses 1, 3–5 of this Clause shall be submitted to the Commercial Court of Cassation by order of the head of the court administration to which such applications and appeals are filed within thirty days from the date of entry into force of this Code;
7) a court considering a case under cassation procedure as a member of a panel of judges or a chamber (joint chamber) shall refer the case to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court if such a panel or chamber (joint chamber) deems it necessary to derogate from the conclusion on the application of the rule of law in such legal relations, set out in a previously adopted judgment of the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
If the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court concludes that there are no grounds for referring the case, the case shall be returned (transferred) to the relevant panel of judges or the chamber (joint chamber) for consideration, subject to adoption of a ruling. A case returned to the panel of judges (chamber, joint chamber) for consideration may not be re-referred to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme court for consideration.
8) prior to the establishment of appellate courts in appellate districts, their powers shall be exercised by the appellate courts, the territorial jurisdiction of which comprises the local court that adopted the appealed judgment;
9) cases in the court of first instance and the court of appeal, where the proceedings were opened before this version of the Code entered into force, shall be considered according to the rules that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
10) applications on review of judgments on newly-discovered circumstances on the basis of establishing by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine the unconstitutionality of a law, other legal act or their separate provision applied by the court in resolving the case, if the judgment has not yet been enforced, and on the basis of the effective court verdict on the recognised guiltiness of a judge in committing a crime, as a result of which a wrongful or unreasonable judgment was made, filed and pending before this version of the Code entered into force, shall be considered under the rules of consideration of applications on review of judgments in exceptional circumstances that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
11) applications and appeals submitted before this version of the Code enters into force, proceedings on which are not open at the time this version of the Code enters into force, shall be considered under the rules that are effective after this version of the Code enters into force. Such applications or appeals may not be left without motion, returned or transferred to jurisdiction, they may not be rejected and the proceedings on them may not be dismissed under the rules in force after this version of the Code enters into force, if they have been submitted in compliance with the relevant requirements of the procedural law that were in force before this version of the Code entered into force;
12) applications submitted before this version of the Code enters into force and containing requirements that may be considered under the rules of injunction proceedings, at the request of the plaintiff, shall be considered under the rules of injunction proceedings determined by this version of the Code;
13) the judgments adopted by courts of first instance before this version of the Code enters into force shall become effective and may be appealed within the period in force before this version of the Code entered into force;
14) the judgments adopted by appellate courts before this version of the Code enters into force shall become effective and may be appealed under cassation procedure within the period in force before this version of the Code entered into force;
15) The High Intellectual Property Court shall commence its operation on the day following the day of publication by the Chairperson of the High Intellectual Property Court in the Holos Ukrayiny newspaper of the announcement of commencement of operation of the High Intellectual Property Court;
16) before the commencement of the operation of the High Intellectual Property Court, cases on intellectual property rights shall be considered under the rules in force after the entry into force of this version of the Code by the courts under the rules of jurisdiction in force before this version of the Code enters into force;
17) before the day when the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System starts functioning:
17.1) submission, registration, sending of procedural and other documents, evidence, formation, storage and sending of case-file shall be carried out in paper form;
17.2) claims and other statements, appeals and other procedural documents provided for by law that are submitted to the court and may be the subject of legal proceedings shall be subject to mandatory registration in the automated document management system of the court on the day of receipt of documents;
17.3) consideration of the case in court shall be carried out on the basis of the case-file in paper form;
17.4) determination of a judge or panel of judges (judge-rapporteur) for consideration of a specific case shall be carried out:
before bringing the Regulations on the automated document management system of the court in line with this version of the Code in terms of determining the judge or panel of judges to consider a particular case, but not longer than three months from the date when this version of the Code enters into force, by means of the automated court document management system under the rules in force before this version of the Code enters into force;
after bringing the Regulations on the automated document management system of the court in line with this version of the Code in terms of determining the judge or panel of judges to consider a particular case by means of the automated court document management system under the rules established by this version of the Code;
17.5) appeals and cassation appeals shall be filed by the case parties or through the relevant courts, and case-file shall be requested and sent by the courts according to the rules in force before this version of the Code enters into force. In case of violation of the procedure for filing an appeal or cassation appeal, the relevant court shall return such appeal without consideration;
17.6) participation in a court hearing by videoconference within the court premises shall be carried out with the help of technical means operating in the courts as of the day when this version of the Code entered into force, under the rules established by this version of the Code;
17.7) the recording of the trial shall be carried out with the help of sound recording equipment operating in the courts as of the day when this version of the Code entered into force, under the rules established by this version of the Code;
17.8) publication of information on the case specified in this version of the Code on the official web-portal of the Ukrainian Judiciary shall be carried out in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on the automated document management system of the court;
17.9) if at the time of receipt of the application for correction, additional ruling adoption, judgment clarification, the case is not available in the relevant court, the court shall request for the case from the lower court within five days from the date of receipt of the application, and the lower court shall send the case to the court that requested for it, not later than the next day from the date of receipt of the relevant request of the court. In this case, the submitted application shall be considered within 10 days from the date of receipt of the case by the court that is to consider it;
17.10) in case of filing an appeal against the rulings adopted by the courts of the first instance provided for in Clauses 1, 6–8, 10, 12–14, 17, 19, 21, 31–33, Part 1, Article 255 of this Code (except for rulings on refusal to accept or return counter-claim, on refusal to accept or return the claim of a third party who declares independent claims on the subject-matter of the dispute, the rulings on the suspension of the proceedings, which are filed with a missed period for their appeal), or in case of filing a cassation appeal against the appellate court ruling (except for the rulings on securing the claim, changing the measure of securing the claim, on counter-securing, the rulings on the suspension of the proceedings, which are filed with a missed period for their appeal, the imposition of a fine under procedural coercion, separate rulings), all case-files shall be lodged to the court of appeal of the court of cassation.
{Paragraph 1 of Sub-clause 17.10 of Sub-clause 15, Clause 1 of section XI “Transitional Provisions” as revised by Law No. 460-IX of 15 January 2020}
In other cases, duplicate files necessary for the appeal consideration shall be sent to the court of appeal or court of cassation. If necessary, the court of appeal or court of cassation may also request for the duplicates of other case-files;
17.11) the filing of appeals or cassation appeals against the rulings adopted by the courts of first instance or appellate courts shall not prevent further consideration of the case by this court, except in cases when all case-files are transferred to the court of appeal of the court of cassation. In the case of filing an appeal against a ruling that is not subject to appeal separately from a judgment, the court of first instance shall return it to the applicant and adopt a ruling, which is not subject to appeal;
17.12) the court shall be obliged to suspend the proceedings of the case until the ruling is reviewed under the appellate or cassation proceedings, if under sub-clause 17.10 of this sub-clause, all case-files are transferred to the appellate or cassation court;
17.13) the duplicate court rulings shall be issued by the court where the case is kept at the time of receipt of the relevant application;
17.14) the court shall serve the judgments in paper form;
17.15) the court shall issue the enforcement documents in paper form.
The Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System shall start functioning 90 days after the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine publishes the announcement on the establishment and operation of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System, in the Holos Ukrainy newspaper and on the web-portal of the judiciary.
18) the pending cases under consideration on the basis of materials in paper form before the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System starts functioning, will be further considered on the basis of the files in paper form. If technically possible, the court may consider such a case on the basis of materials in electronic form;
19) before the day the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents starts functioning:
19.1) execution and issuance of enforcement documents shall be carried out in paper form by the court that adopted the relevant judgment, under the effective rules after this version of the Code enters into force;
19.2) execution and issuance of the judgments amending the enforcement documents (including the correction of an error in the enforcement document; recognition of the enforcement document as not subject to enforcement; recovery in favour of the debtor unreasonably received by the recoverer under the enforcement document; renewal of the missed period for submission of the enforcement document for enforcement; postponement of the enforcement or extension of the period of enforcement, change or determination of method and procedure for enforcement; suspension of judgment enforcement; replacement of a party to enforcement proceedings) shall be carried out in paper form by the court considering the case as a court of first instance under the rules effective after this version of the Code enters into force;
19.3) before the court considers the application on correction of an error in the enforcement document and/or recognition of it as not subject to enforcement, the court shall have the right to request for the enforcement document and to suspend enforcement under the enforcement document;
19.4) in case of loss of the enforcement document, the court that considered the case as a court of first instance, regardless of the court of which instance issued the enforcement document, may issue a duplicate, if the recoverer or state executor, private executor applied regarding this before expiration of the period, established for the presentation of the enforcement document for enforcement. The ruling on issuance of a duplicate enforcement document shall be adopted within ten days from the date of receipt of the application. A court fee in the amount of 0.03 times the subsistence level for able-bodied persons shall be charged for the issuance of a duplicate enforcement document to the recoverer. The ruling on issuance or refusal to issue a duplicate enforcement document may be appealed under appellate or cassation procedure;
20) the provisions of this Code shall be applied taking into account Sub-clause 11 of Clause 16–1 of Section XV “Transitional Provisions” of the Constitution of Ukraine;
21) special provisions for the court summonses and notifications, sending duplicate judgments to the case parties, if the address of their place of residence (stay) or location is in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine or in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone shall be determined by Laws of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine” and “On the Administration of Justice and Criminal Proceedings in Connection with the Conduct of the Anti-Terrorist Operation”;
22) if the court, whose jurisdiction under the requirements of procedural law includes resolving the issue on restoration of the lost proceedings, is located in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine or in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone, the restoration of lost the proceedings shall be carried out by a court with territorial jurisdiction of the court cases determined under the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine” or the Law of Ukraine “On the Administration of Justice and Criminal Proceedings in Connection with the Conduct of the Anti-Terrorist Operation”.
