THE NEW LAW ON COVID-19: CHANGES TO PROCEDURAL RULES

On 2 April 2020, the changes to the Procedural Codes became effective, introduced as part of a legislative response to the COVID-19 threat in Ukraine.

What's new

From now on, the following rules will apply to all court cases pending in the commercial, civil and administrative courts in Ukraine:

• during the officially declared quarantine, the parties may attend the court hearings online using personal video-conference equipment (please note, that the law does not state the specific procedure for the holding of such hearings, the technical requirements of the equipment etc.)
• most of the procedural terms, established by the law, are extended for the duration of the officially declared quarantine (e.g., terms for challenging the court decisions, amending claims, consideration of cases)
• where the procedural term is established by the court, it will not be shorter than the term of the officially declared quarantine (for commercial and administrative courts only)

The limitation period terms (both, general and specific) were also prolonged for the time of the officially declared quarantine.

Impact

The changes are aimed at addressing the existing hurdles in the operation of the courts, secure the procedural rights of case participants during the officially declared quarantine caused by the COVID-19 threat in Ukraine.

In the absence of a unified approach as to the operation of the courts and holding hearings during the quarantine, and in view of the unclear perspectives of the application of the new regulations in part of the online court hearings, in particular, we recommend monitoring the status of all court cases of interest on a regular basis.

Further news, law perspectives and other information can be viewed at Baker McKenzie's Coronavirus Resource Center, which compiles key resources, legal alerts by jurisdiction and contacts in our offices who may provide any additional information.