Draw up, execute and submit a statement of claim to the court (Ukraine)

The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees everyone the right to appeal in court decisions, actions or inaction of public authorities, local governments, officials and officials. The rights and freedoms of man and citizen are protected by the court.

In case of violation of your rights or their unlawful restriction, you have a guaranteed right to apply for their protection in court.

In which court is the claim filed?

The system of courts in Ukraine is built on the principles of territoriality and specialization. In order to determine to which court a statement of claim is filed, it is necessary to find out exactly the nature of the relations from which the rights and obligations arise, for the protection of which the appeal to the court takes place.

The jurisdiction of the courts is determined by the procedural codes adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Thus, as a general rule, cases on disputes arising in the course of economic activity are considered in economic courts. The jurisdiction of economic courts also includes the consideration of cases on disputes arising from the conclusion, amendment, termination and execution of economic contracts; cases on disputes arising from corporate relations; cases on financial instruments; bankruptcy cases. In general, economic courts consider cases on disputes between business entities, which include both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

Administrative courts consider cases of public law disputes, which include, in particular, disputes of individuals or legal entities with the subject of power to appeal against his decisions (regulatory legal acts or individual acts), actions or inaction; disputes over the admission of citizens to public service, its passage, dismissal from public service; disputes over legal relations related to the electoral process. The defining feature of an administrative jurisdiction case is the existence of a public law dispute. At the same time, the participation of the subject of power is a mandatory sign in order to classify the dispute as a public law one. A typical category of cases in this jurisdiction are disputes on the claim of a private person to a public authority in order to recognize his actions or inactions as illegal.

Courts of general jurisdiction (local general courts) consider the widest range of cases, which, in particular, include cases of bringing to administrative responsibility for offenses provided for by the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, and criminal cases in the manner prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

Courts of general jurisdiction also quantitatively consider the largest array of cases arising from civil, land, labor, family, housing legal relations. Local general courts have jurisdiction over cases on the protection of consumer rights and cases on confirmation of the presence or absence of legal facts that are important for the protection of the rights and interests of a person or the creation of conditions for the exercise of personal non-property or property rights, as well as confirmation of the presence or absence of indisputable rights.

The nature of the relationship in which the plaintiff is a participant determines which court the claim should be filed with. If actions or omissions of a state or local self-government body are appealed, one should apply to the administrative court.

If the plaintiff is an individual – an entrepreneur or a legal entity as a business entity, and the defendant is another business entity, then such a dispute will be considered in the economic court.

If the appeal to the court occurs in order to protect civil, land, labor, family, housing rights, then such a statement of claim should be addressed to the local general court.

How to make a claim?

What to look for when making a claim?

Although Ukrainian legislation allows representation in court only by a lawyer, exceptions are labor disputes and minor disputes, however, everyone has the right to independently apply to the court with a statement of claim if their rights and interests are violated.

The statement of claim usually consists of three blocks / parts: introductory, descriptive, pleading.

In the introductory part of the statement of claim, the name of the court to which the statement is filed should be indicated; full name (for legal entities) or last name, first name and patronymic (for individuals) of the parties and other participants in the case, their location (for legal entities) or place of residence or stay (for individuals), postal code, identification code of the legal entity, as well as the registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card (for individuals), if any, or the number and series of the passport for individuals – citizens of Ukraine (if such information is known to the plaintiff), known numbers of means of communication, official e-mail address and e-mail address; indicate the price of the claim, if the claim is subject to monetary value; a reasonable calculation of the amounts charged or disputed.

The descriptive part of the statement of claim must contain:

• a statement of the circumstances by which the plaintiff substantiates his claims; description of the evidence confirming the specified circumstances;
• information on the adoption of measures of pre-trial settlement of the dispute, if they were carried out, including if the law defines a mandatory pre-trial procedure for the settlement of the dispute;
• information on the adoption of measures to secure evidence or a claim before filing a statement of claim, if any;
• list of documents and other evidence attached to the application; an indication of the evidence that cannot be submitted along with the statement of claim (if any); an indication that the plaintiff or other person has original written or electronic evidence, copies of which are attached to the application;
• preliminary (approximate) calculation of the amount of legal costs that the plaintiff has incurred and expects to incur in connection with the consideration of the case;
• confirmation of the plaintiff that he has not filed another (claim) against the same defendant (respondents) with the same subject and on the same grounds.

The pleading part of the statement of claim must contain one or more clear claims against one or more defendants, a method (methods) for protecting rights or interests provided for by law or an agreement, or another method (methods) for protecting rights and interests that does not contradict the law and which plaintiff asks court to determine by decision. The pleading part of the statement of claim should begin with the word “please” or “please”.

When drawing up a statement of claim, special attention should be paid to the statement of circumstances justifying the claims. It is advisable to note those norms of legislation that regulate disputed legal relations. The description of the circumstances must be made clearly, without resorting to embellishment and emotional coloring. Particular attention in the text of the statement of claim should be given to the evidence on which the claims are based.

In what form is a claim filed?

To the question in what form the statement of claim is filed, procedural codes give an unequivocal answer – the statement of claim is filed with the court in writing and signed by the plaintiff or his representative.

However, depending on the jurisdiction of the court, the execution of a statement of claim has its own characteristics. So, in economic and administrative proceedings, one copy of the statement of claim and its annexes is submitted to the court with confirmation that copies of the statement of claim and the documents attached to it have been sent to other participants in the case. Also, evidence of payment of the court fee or documents confirming the grounds for exemption from payment of the court fee in accordance with the law should be added to the statement of claim.

In a court of general jurisdiction, the plaintiff must add to the statement of claim copies of it and copies of all attached documents in accordance with the number of defendants and third parties involved in the case.

To the statement of claim, the plaintiff adds all the evidence at his disposal confirming the circumstances in support of the claims. The plaintiff is obliged to indicate in the text of the statement of claim about the presence or absence of the original of this or that evidence.

If necessary, a petition for reclamation of missing evidence, a petition for an expert examination shall be attached to the statement of claim.

The statement of claim is submitted in the form determined by the procedural code, but there are several alternative ways of filing it with the court.

How to file a claim in court, the plaintiff decides at his own discretion, taking into account the method of communication that is most convenient for him. Thus, the plaintiff can file a statement of claim and the documents attached to it directly to the court through the court office, send it by post with a list of attachments or using the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (“Electronic Court”), having previously registered an electronic office in it.

The latter option has an additional advantage over the others, since the Law of Ukraine “On the court fee” establishes the use of a coefficient of 0.8 to reduce the court fee rate when filing a claim in electronic form with the court.

Deadline for filing a claim

A statement of claim can be filed with the court within three years, this is the general limitation period established by the Civil Code of Ukraine. However, there are exceptions to this rule, established by Article 258 of the above-mentioned code on special limitation periods.

A limitation period of one year applies to claims:

• on the recovery of a penalty (fine, penalty);
• about the refutation of unreliable information placed in the media.
• on the transfer of the buyer’s rights and obligations to the co-owner in case of violation of the pre-emptive right to purchase a share in the right of common shared ownership;
• due to shortcomings of the sold goods;
• on termination of the donation agreement;
• in connection with the transportation of cargo, mail;
• on appealing against the actions of the executor of the will;
• on invalidating the decision of the general meeting of the company.

A four-year limitation period is applied to claims for the recognition of assets as unfounded and their recovery in state revenue.

There are other cases of application of a special limitation period under international treaties to which Ukraine has acceded.

Also, when filing a complaint against a decision in a case on an administrative offense with a local general court, it should be taken into account that the deadline for its submission is ten days.

It should be borne in mind that without practical skills, independently drafting, processing and filing a claim can be a difficult task. Today, it is not uncommon for the court to leave the statement of claim without movement or return it to the plaintiff, which is caused by shortcomings and errors that were made in its preparation and execution. Therefore, do not ignore professional assistance in the preparation and execution of a statement of claim.

If you have any questions, please call: + 38 097 646 46 44.

Information about the cost of counseling and other services