What to Do During a Search in Ukraine: Rights and Steps

A search almost always comes as a surprise: a knock on the door early in the morning, several investigators and police officers in your flat or office, and no time to think. These first minutes are when people most often make mistakes that are hard to undo later. Below we explain how to act during a search under the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The advice applies to both individuals and businesses.

The first minutes: stay calm and call a lawyer

Open the door, or at least talk through it. Ask the officers to introduce themselves, show their service IDs and explain the grounds for their visit. Physical resistance or refusing to let them in will only make things worse: officers are entitled to use force, and your actions may be treated as obstruction.

Say straight away that you are calling a lawyer, and call one. The investigator has no right to stop you from getting legal assistance. At the same time, the law does not require investigators to wait long for your lawyer to arrive, so make the call in the very first minute, not after the search has started.

• Write down the names and positions of everyone who has come.
• Ask them not to begin until you have read the documents.
• If there are children or elderly relatives at home, make sure someone stays with them.

Check the investigating judge's ruling

As a general rule, a home or other property of a person may be searched only on the basis of a ruling by an investigating judge. Before the search begins, the investigator must present the ruling and hand you a copy. Insist on the copy and read it carefully. Take your time; this is your right.

What to check in the ruling:

1. The date it was issued. A ruling is valid for a limited period of no more than one month.
2. The address. Only the premises named in the ruling may be searched. A neighbouring flat, another floor of the office or a garage not listed in the document is not covered.
3. The owner or user of the property, the criminal proceedings number, and the investigator or prosecutor who has been authorised.
4. The purpose of the search and the list of items and documents being sought.

A search without a ruling from an investigating judge is allowed only in urgent cases involving saving people's lives or property, or the direct pursuit of persons suspected of a crime. After such a search the investigators must promptly apply to an investigating judge, who may declare the evidence obtained inadmissible.

Your rights during a search

The law gives the person whose premises are searched a clear set of rights. Know them and use them calmly, without confrontation.

• The right to a lawyer. Your defence lawyer or representative may be present throughout the search and may make statements and remarks.
• The right to record. The search is recorded on continuous video. You may also film everything on your phone yourself, and the investigator cannot forbid this.
• The right to be present. You, your lawyer and your representative are entitled to be present during the search. Make sure officers do not spread out into different rooms unobserved.
• The right to remain silent. A search is not an interrogation. You are not obliged to give explanations or to testify against yourself or close relatives.
• A personal search, if one is carried out, must be conducted by persons of the same sex.

The search must stay within the purpose set out in the ruling and take place at a time that least disrupts the owner's ordinary activities, unless the investigator considers that this would seriously hinder the purpose of the search. The investigator may invite you to hand over the items sought voluntarily. Make that decision together with your lawyer.

What not to do

• Do not destroy or hide documents, phones or storage media. This may lead to new proceedings and will certainly not help your defence.
• Do not give "off the record" explanations over a cup of coffee. Anything you say may end up in reports and protocols.
• Do not give out passwords to phones, laptops or accounts without consulting your lawyer.
• Do not agree to an inspection of premises not listed in the ruling, and do not sign any "voluntary consent" to such an inspection.
• Do not sign any document without reading it in full.

For businesses: a search at the office

A search at a company affects not only the director but the whole team's work. It is best to prepare in advance:

• Appoint a responsible person who meets the investigators and calls the lawyer first.
• Brief your staff: be polite, make no comments, delete no files.
• Keep backups of key data so that seizure of equipment does not stop the business.
• Keep the company's constitutional documents and your lawyer's contact details at hand.

Computers and servers may be seized only in cases defined by law, for example when this is necessary for a forensic examination. Otherwise the investigators should copy the information. During the search, insist on copying the data instead of seizing the equipment, and record this in your remarks.

The protocol and your remarks

A protocol is drawn up at the end of the search. It is the key document that determines how the court will view the search.

1. Read the protocol in full, together with your lawyer.
2. Check that the start and end times, the persons present and every seized item are recorded correctly: name, quantity, serial numbers, distinguishing features.
3. Write all your remarks into the protocol: breach of the right to a lawyer, a ban on filming, going beyond the ruling, seizure of items not listed in the ruling, damage to property.
4. Demand a copy of the protocol and an inventory of the seized property.

Remarks written into the protocol on the spot carry far more weight than complaints filed a week later.

Seized property

Make sure everything seized is packed and sealed in your presence and that the inventory matches exactly what was taken. If the packaging has no signatures or seals, note this in the protocol.

Items and documents not expressly named in the ruling are treated as temporarily seized property. A strict rule applies to it: the investigator or prosecutor must apply to the court for an arrest (freezing) of that property very quickly, no later than the next working day after the seizure. If the application is not filed in time, or the court refuses the arrest, the property must be returned immediately.

If the property is not returned, the investigator's inaction can be challenged before an investigating judge. An arrest of property can also be appealed, or you can ask the court to lift it once the grounds for it no longer exist.

After the search

• Put together a detailed timeline of events with your lawyer while your memory is fresh.
• Store your own video recordings in several places.
• Find out your status in the proceedings: witness, suspect, or a person whose property was simply searched.
• Do not give any testimony or respond to summonses without your lawyer.
• Decide with your lawyer whether to challenge the investigator's actions, apply for the return of property or argue that the evidence is inadmissible.

As a rule, the ruling authorising the search cannot itself be appealed. Violations during a search usually become arguments against the evidence at trial, which is why it matters so much to record them immediately.

Conclusion

During a search what matters most is staying calm, calling a lawyer, reading the ruling and the protocol carefully, and recording on video. Even after a search has taken place, a great deal can still be put right, but the earlier a defence lawyer is involved, the more options remain. If investigators have come to search your premises, or you expect them to, speak to our criminal law and procedure team. For companies we also offer comprehensive business protection.

This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific situation. To assess your case, consult a lawyer.