CMS Expert Guide to Digital Litigation in Ukraine

The Ukrainian civil justice system has undergone a digital transformation in recent years, with the adoption of various digital tools aimed at improving the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of the judicial process in Ukraine. The implementation of digital technology has been a priority for the Ukrainian government, with investments being made in new infrastructure to modernise the national justice system. 

The key digital innovations in the judicial sphere were introduced after Ukraine amended its procedural codes, including, on 15 December 2017, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine, the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine and Other Legislative Acts”. The new law changed several procedures and supplemented them with new concepts and rules for dispute resolution, including e-evidence, e-filing of claims, videoconferencing, and others. 

Subsequently, the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System was developed and implemented. This system consists of several components, including:

• the Official Web Portal “Judiciary of Ukraine”;
• the Unified State Register of Court Decisions;
• the Unified Contact Centre of the Judiciary of Ukraine;
• the Unified State Register of Enforcement Documents;
• the Subsystem “Electronic Court”;
• the Subsystem “E-cabinet”; and
• the Subsystem of Videoconferencing.

These digital innovations helped to modernise the civil justice system in Ukraine and improve access to justice for citizens, while also increasing the transparency of the judiciary. 

The government’s ongoing investment in digitalisation will likely lead to further enhancements in the efficiency and accessibility of the judicial process. For example, from 15 February 2023 subpoenas to courts are sent via the smartphone application Viber, and in March 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine successfully launched a new initiative that allows parties to obtain a digital copy of a court decision via the Diia mobile application. These initiatives are designed to eliminate the need for personal visits to courts, allowing parties to promptly receive notifications on court hearings and enforceable court decisions on their smartphones.

There are multiple digital tools available in Ukrainian litigation. These tools vary depending on their users (e.g. parties to proceedings, lawyers, judges, etc.) and their functionality. The courts frequently use existing tools and technology as well.

The main digital measures in Ukrainian litigation are available as components of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System, which serves several main purposes. These purposes include electronic document management, keeping court cases and procedural documents in a central database, increasing the efficiency of courts and the justice system, and giving system users remote access. The other functions of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System include:

• appointing a judge to consider a specific case;
• selecting jurors for court hearings;
• selecting candidates for the asset manager of a debtor in bankruptcy proceedings; and
• storing case materials.

The subsystems of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System are available to all participants of a court case and include:

• the Official Web Portal “Judiciary of Ukraine”, which contains information that may be helpful when filing submissions with courts or monitoring the status of court cases. The website provides comprehensive information on cases being considered by the courts of all specialities and instances, including details on the appointed judges, hearing dates in courts, relevant contact details, etc.
• the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, which contains information on court decisions issued in civil, criminal, commercial, and administrative cases in Ukraine since 2003. Access to the register is free and available to everyone without registration.
• the Electronic Court, which enables case participants to file documents with the court in electronic form, and receive information about the status and results of their submissions. The Electronic Court also allows case participants to pay the required court fees online. The documents received through the Electronic Court are registered by courts on the day of their receipt or no later than the next business day if the documents were received outside normal working hours.
• the E-cabinet, which is a secure web service that provides case participants with an official email address, making it possible to use the capabilities of the Electronic Court and videoconferencing subsystems. Lawyers, notaries, private enforcement officers, court experts, state authorities and local bodies must mandatorily register their official electronic addresses in the subsystem. The registration of other individuals in the E-cabinet is voluntary. After registration in the E-cabinet, case participants are provided with an option to receive court decisions directly in their accounts created in the Electronic Court subsystem.
• videoconferencing, which allows case participants to attend case hearings remotely. This subsystem provides an opportunity for case participants and the court to participate in hearings from outside physical court premises using their E-cabinet accounts and personal technical devices. During the COVID-19 pandemic and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, national courts began to use this technical measure as a preferable option to conducting court hearings.

Also as mentioned above, to further eliminate the need to visit court premises and to save parties’ resources, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine launched an option in March 2023 to obtain a digital copy of the enforceable decision issued by the Ukrainian courts via their smartphones using the Diia mobile application. 

Overall, the use of digital tools and measures is optional in Ukrainian litigation except for one case. Lawyers, notaries, private enforcement officers, court experts, state authorities, and local bodies must register in the E-cabinet to create an official electronic address. Once registered, the Ukrainian courts will be able to share relevant court decisions with these users in cases where they are involved as parties to the proceedings.

It should also be noted that although the use of videoconferencing is optional for the parties, it is within the judge’s discretion to allow the parties to attend hearings via videoconference. In practice, to conduct a videoconference hearing, the court must ensure that it has the necessary technical means and capabilities in place.

Ukraine has made significant progress in digitalising the litigation system in recent years. The national government has implemented several initiatives aimed at streamlining court procedures and making them more accessible to citizens. As mentioned, the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System and its subsystems allows parties to access case files and submit procedural documents electronically, as well as receive notifications about developments in court cases and participate in hearings online. The digitalisation of litigation in Ukraine has resulted in a more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective justice system, providing greater access to justice for all parties. 

Nevertheless, a fully digitalised litigation process is still a work in progress in Ukraine. For example, the national judicial system faces challenges with digital infrastructure and technology, such as insufficient computer equipment and outdated software. In addition, there is a need to develop and implement other technological solutions (e.g. machine learning) to enhance the efficiency of data processing in courts. On the other hand, many people do not have the technical availability or relevant skills to interact with the court electronically, which also prevents the judiciary from utilising online methods fully.

Finally, because the use of digital methods for case participants is not compulsory, this sometimes creates obstacles to productive interaction between parties and courts.

The use of technology in Ukrainian litigation is governed by framework rules set forth in the procedural codes, outlining the general framework for the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System, including its purposes, registration requirements, and potential users.

In addition, Ukraine has laws that provide a framework for the use of electronic documents, electronic document circulation, and qualified digital signatures in civil litigation, namely the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management”, and the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Trust Services”.

The rules for using the subsystems of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System are regulated by specific orders and decisions of the High Council of Justice and State Judicial Administration, including:

• Order of the State Judicial Administration No. 30 dated 17 February 2014, which outlines the structure and content of the “Judiciary of Ukraine” web portal;
• Decision of the High Council of Justice No. 1200/0/15-18 dated 19 April 2018, which establishes the procedure for maintaining the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, and the requirements for publishing and accessing court decisions; and
• Decision of the High Council of Justice No. 1845/0/15-21 dated 17 August 2021, which addresses the rules for using the Electronic court, E-cabinet, and videoconferencing subsystems.

The digitalisation of Ukraine’s justice system is a topic that has gained widespread attention as the country continues to modernise its legal procedures and systems. The goal of utilising technology is to enhance the efficiency of court proceedings, improve access to justice, and reduce bureaucratic delays.

In 2021, the President of Ukraine issued Decree No. 231/2921, which outlines the key priorities for further developing Ukrainian judicial legislation. The decree focuses on developing Ukraine's electronic justice system in line with global IT standards and integrating it into the national electronic governance infrastructure.

The strategy stipulated the introduction of online case consideration for certain categories of cases, regardless of location, the implementation of modern electronic document management in court, the improvement of the official web portal for obtaining court and case information, and the regular updating of judicial statistics data.

Some of these priorities have already been implemented, such as the modern electronic document management system: the Electronic Court and E-Cabinet. These systems allow case participants to file procedural documents online and receive court decisions to their official electronic addresses. 

Other digital initiatives are still pending implementation. For example, a pilot project was initiated to support the development of online courts to facilitate the online consideration of small disputes that do not exceed EUR 10,000. The first phase of the project was a comprehensive assessment of the court’s performance indicators and standards to establish target indicators for the concept of online courts, while the second phase of the project was focused on identifying the necessary legal, technical, and budgetary requirements for establishing online courts. However, as of 2023 online courts for minor claims have not yet commenced publicly.

Currently, there are no specific rules governing the use of AI in Ukrainian litigation. However, Ukraine is attempting to introduce AI into its justice system following the objectives of the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence Development in Ukraine approved by Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1556-р dated 2 December 2020.

According to the Strategy, justice is one of the priority areas of AI application. AI should be used for legal advice and the resolution of disputes of minor complexity. The High Council of Justice approved the testing of the latter by its decision in February 2021.

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is also considering using AI software as a decision support tool in criminal justice. The minister previously announced that the developed software should allow the authorities to assess the potential risk of recidivism and to help judges make custodial decisions. However, no further information on this AI software and its usage by the authorities in practice is currently available. 

According to the strategy, the deadline for the implementation of AI tools in the Ukrainian justice system is 2030. However, the Ukrainian government will have to address the key outstanding issues concerning AI (e.g. risks, ethics, funding, etc.) before the fully-fledged implementation of AI in Ukrainian legal institutions can take place. 

Although Ukrainian legislators have not explicitly disclosed measures to address issues related to unwanted access or IT security breaches, our experience in using the digital litigation tools that are available in Ukraine indicates that such measures do exist in practice.  

For example, the Unified Judicial Informational and Telecommunication System, as well as its subsystems, are secured against unwanted access by using electronic digital signatures. Only verified persons are allowed to use these signatures.

Moreover, to prevent unauthorised access to virtual hearings, users need to be authorised by the court to join a videoconference. A judge’s secretary usually enables this option in the E-cabinet subsystem, access to which is granted only to users registered with a digital electronic signature. These measures are put in place to protect the security and integrity of the Ukrainian justice system and to prevent unauthorised access to court proceedings by third parties.

Additionally, the Ukrainian government takes measures to safeguard judicial websites by blocking foreign IP addresses from accessing them. This practice aims to reduce the potential risk of cyber-attacks and unauthorised access to sensitive information. Furthermore, this strategy helps to prevent DDoS attacks that can considerably slow or shut down the judicial websites.

In recent years, Ukraine has actively pursued digital initiatives in the field of justice. As previously noted, the parties to proceedings are now entitled to make e-submissions and participate in court hearings online, and the national courts are equipped with the technical and legal methods to adjudicate cases more efficiently using digital means.  

There is no publicly available information that would indicate that such developments led to the rise of legal tech companies collecting (consumer) claims and then jointly or individually filing them on a large scale, using digital and automated processes. However, since the digitalisation of Ukrainian litigation is still ongoing, it cannot be ruled out that these or similar legal risks might arise in the future.

In 2011, the Ukrainian Parliament passed the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”, which aimed to create a comprehensive framework for providing free legal assistance to all Ukrainian citizens in need. Since its enactment, the system of free legal aid centres has grown significantly, and Ukrainian citizens can now access free legal services both online and offline.

One of the most convenient ways of accessing free legal aid services online is through the Free Legal Aid System’s Contact Centre. Citizens can also communicate with lawyers from the system via popular mobile apps. This online platform has proved to be an efficient and accessible way of providing legal aid services to citizens who are unable to visit a legal aid centre physically.

In addition to the online platform, the Ukrainian government has established an informational resource for legal consultations called WikiLegalAid. The primary objective of this platform is to increase legal awareness and education among the population by providing up-to-date information on the most pertinent legal issues that Ukrainian citizens may encounter. The platform is regularly updated and provides valuable insights and legal guidance, covering a broad range of topics.