How to Appeal a Court Decision in Ukraine: Appeal and Cassation

A first-instance court decision is not always the final word. Ukrainian procedural codes give the parties two main ways to have it reviewed: an appeal and a cassation. Each has its own deadlines, formal requirements and scope of review, and these details are where most chances of success are lost. Below we explain how challenging a decision works in civil, commercial and administrative cases, and what to check before filing.

What can be appealed and who may appeal

First-instance judgments can be appealed in full or in part. Procedural rulings can be appealed separately from the judgment only where the code expressly allows it: for example, rulings on interim measures, on returning a statement of claim, or on suspending or closing proceedings. Objections to other rulings are included in the appeal against the judgment itself.

The right to appeal belongs to:

• the parties to the case: the claimant, the defendant and third parties;
• persons who did not take part in the case, if the court decided on their rights, freedoms, interests or obligations.

The second group matters in practice: if a judgment in someone else’s dispute actually affects your property or rights, you can appeal it even though you were not a party.

Deadlines for an appeal

The deadlines depend on the type of proceedings:

• civil cases (Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine): 30 days for a judgment, 15 days for a ruling;
• administrative cases (Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine): 30 days for a judgment, 15 days for a ruling, though certain categories of urgent cases have much shorter deadlines;
• commercial cases (Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine): 20 days for a judgment, 10 days for a ruling.

The period runs from the day the judgment is announced. If the court announced only the introductory and operative parts, or heard the case without notifying the parties, the period starts on the day the full text is drawn up.

A separate rule applies to a party who was not served with the full text on the day it was announced or drawn up. Such a party is entitled to have the deadline renewed if the appeal is filed within the relevant period from the day the full text was served. So it is worth recording the date you actually received the decision, including in your electronic cabinet, straight away.

What an appeal must contain

The appeal is filed in writing directly with the court of appeal, including through the Electronic Court subsystem. The codes set out mandatory content:

1. the name of the court of appeal;
2. details of the appellant and the other parties to the case;
3. the judgment or ruling being appealed and which part of it;
4. what makes the decision wrong: circumstances not fully established, established circumstances not proven, the court’s conclusions not matching the facts of the case, or a breach of substantive or procedural law;
5. any new evidence, with reasons explaining why exceptional circumstances prevented filing it with the first-instance court;
6. the relief sought from the court of appeal;
7. the date the copy of the appealed decision was received;
8. a list of attached documents.

The appeal must be accompanied by proof of payment of the court fee, a power of attorney or a lawyer’s warrant for the representative, and proof that copies were sent to the other parties (unless they have an electronic cabinet, in which case the court delivers the copies itself).

A court fee is payable for filing an appeal and a cassation appeal. Its amount depends on the rate that applied to the original claim and on what is being appealed. Certain categories of persons are exempt, and the court may defer the fee, allow payment in instalments or reduce it in light of a person’s financial situation.

If the appeal does not meet the requirements, the court leaves it without progress and sets a deadline to correct the defects. Defects left uncorrected mean the appeal is returned.

Renewing a missed deadline

A missed deadline can be renewed if the court accepts the reasons as valid. The request for renewal is filed together with the appeal, and the reasons must be backed by evidence: for example, a medical certificate, proof that the decision was received late, or evidence of being out of reach of communication. General statements without evidence usually do not work.

There is also a hard limit. If one year has passed since the full text of the decision was drawn up, the court refuses to open appeal proceedings regardless of how valid the reasons are. Exceptions apply to persons who were not notified of the case or not joined to it although the court decided on their rights, and to cases of force majeure.

What happens in the court of appeal

The court of appeal reviews the case within the arguments and requests set out in the appeal. It checks both whether the law was applied correctly and whether the facts were fully established, which means it can assess the evidence afresh. However, new evidence is admitted only where the party proves it could not have submitted it earlier for reasons beyond its control.

Following the review, the court may uphold the decision, set it aside in full or in part and adopt a new one, amend the decision, or close the proceedings or leave the claim without consideration. The appellate court’s resolution takes legal effect on the day it is adopted.

Cassation and its filters

A cassation appeal is heard by the Supreme Court, sitting as the relevant cassation court: civil, commercial or administrative. The deadline is 30 days in civil and administrative cases and 20 days in commercial cases, counted from the day the full text of the appellate resolution is drawn up. The rules on renewing the deadline are similar to those for appeals.

The key difference is that the Supreme Court does not establish facts or reassess evidence. It only checks whether the rules of law were applied correctly. A cassation appeal must therefore rely on one of the specified grounds:

• the court of appeal applied a legal provision without taking into account the Supreme Court’s conclusion on its application in similar legal relations;
• there is a need to depart from such a conclusion;
• there is no Supreme Court conclusion on the application of that provision in similar legal relations;
• the court committed a procedural violation that the code treats as a mandatory ground for setting aside the decision, or failed to examine the evidence collected.

A separate filter applies to minor cases and cases with a small claim value: as a general rule, they are not admitted to cassation. The codes provide exceptions, in particular where the case is of fundamental importance for consistent case law, where cassation is the only way to protect a right, where the case is of significant public interest or of exceptional importance to the party, or where the court wrongly classified the case as minor.

Common mistakes

• Counting the deadline wrongly. People count from the day they learned about the decision rather than from the date set by the code, or confuse civil and commercial deadlines.
• Repeating the claim instead of criticising the decision. The court of appeal needs to see exactly where the first-instance court went wrong, not a retelling of your position.
• New evidence without an explanation. Without reasons why it was not submitted earlier, the court will most likely refuse to admit it.
• Formal defects: no proof of fee payment, of the representative’s authority or of copies sent to the other parties.
• Treating cassation as a second appeal. A cassation appeal that disputes the assessment of facts and does not name a specific cassation ground and the relevant Supreme Court resolution usually ends with a refusal to open proceedings.
• Ignoring the electronic cabinet. A decision delivered to the cabinet is deemed served, and the deadline can start running before anyone has opened it.

Conclusion

An appeal can correct both legal and factual errors of the court, while cassation deals only with legal ones, and its filters are the hardest to pass. In both cases the outcome depends on deadlines, precisely worded grounds and the evidence gathered at first instance. If you disagree with a court decision, it is best to consult a lawyer right after it is announced, while there is still time to analyse the case file. Learn more about our practice in civil law and litigation, commercial law and litigation and administrative law and litigation.

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