In an era when information rules the world, having reliable data becomes the basis for making important decisions in any field. Information resources and registries created to ensure transparency, security and efficiency are becoming tools that shape modern society. They allow not only to check the reliability of information or solve complex legal issues, but also to find solutions that open new perspectives for citizens, businesses and organizations. The legal community has long made these resources an integral part of their work, but all citizens should be aware of them. Registers become a reliable source of data for checking property rights, analyzing risks, monitoring deals or finding answers in disputed situations.
IA “FAKT” asked the lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” bar association to tell what resources can become indispensable in various life situations and professional activities, as well as to comment on how to use them correctly.
It is no longer possible to imagine the modern world without the Internet and digital technologies. Life has sped up, what thirty years ago took a day or two, now it is possible to get it in a few minutes. In April 2020, the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services (“Action”) appeared in Ukraine, which is already used by almost 20 million Ukrainians. In addition, since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, 70 digital services have been launched. The most popular are digital documents. Ukraine became the first country in the world in which a digital passport has the same power as a paper or plastic counterpart. Ukraine became the fourth country in Europe to introduce digital driver’s licenses. Thanks to this, drivers were able to pay fines for traffic violations in just a few clicks through the “Action” application. You can also easily transfer the right to use the car to a relative or friend: after that, the technical passport for the vehicle will automatically appear in their “Action”.
The state continues to optimize the information space, doing everything so that ordinary citizens can fully use digital technologies. Yes, there are many official state registers, with the help of which it is possible to check information, avoiding fraudulent actions or to obtain information in a timely manner that will be decisive when making this or that decision.
What registers exist and how they can help citizens
We will comment on those registers that can really help an individual. We will not consider registers such as “Register of NSDC sanctions campaigns” or “Register of agricultural receipts”.
The unified state register of executive proceedings – https://asvpweb.minjust.gov.ua/#/search-debtors. If you woke up one morning and unexpectedly found out that your bank accounts have been blocked, then most likely you have an enforcement proceeding. Yes or no, this registry will help you find out. The search is by last name, first name, and patronymic (if available) (first name), the system provides data on when the proceedings were opened, by which executor, who is the debt collector, and on the basis of which document. The use of this register will also be useful for those who want to check the person with whom they intend to do business (conclude contracts, lend money, etc.). You can check both a natural person and a legal entity.
The unified register of debtors – https://erb.minjust.gov.ua/#/search-debtors. This is already a register in which, so to speak, malicious debtors who have no desire or ability to fulfill their obligations find themselves. The search is by full name and RNOCPP. The information will be useful for the same cases as in the previous point.
This register has several branches:
- Alimony arrears;
- Salary arrears;
- Debtors who interfere with seeing the child
If you have entered the register of debtors, you may be subject to prohibitions and restrictions, including: a ban on opening new bank accounts, a ban on leaving the country, notaries will not be able to execute property sales or purchase agreements, blocking of bank accounts and automatic write-off of debts, ban on driving a vehicle.
We recommend these two registers for use by those who hesitate whether or not to go to court with a claim against a specific person. It is no secret to anyone that litigation is not a cheap pleasure (court fee, examination or evaluation, paid references, lawyer’s services). Therefore, in cases where the amount to be collected is not large enough, everything must be calculated carefully, because if a person is already “hanging” in the debtors’ register with millions of debts and several open enforcement proceedings, it makes no sense to go to court to collect 20-30 thousand from him. there is not a single hryvnia, because even if a decision is made in your favor, it will remain on paper, because there will be nothing to enforce it. Thus, 10,000 UAH will be added to the 30,000 UAH already spent, wasted time, nerves, and a zero result.
Also another resource that will come in handy in these situations – https://court.gov.ua/fair/ – the portal on the status of court cases. It is on it that you can check not only in real time, but also for some past time, in which court cases a person (both physical and legal entity) took part. The maximum filling of this database takes place in the last 7 years, information from earlier times is partially available. The website states that “Information on stages of consideration of court cases changed after May 28, 2015 and reports on automated distribution available from September 1, 2015”, but in fact, you should not expect complete information for 2016 or 2015.
On the site throughout Ukraine, you can get information about which criminal cases were considered against this person, administrative cases, which civil proceedings he was a participant in. It should be noted that even in relation to the information that is currently entered into the register, there are restrictions. The system will not show you information about adoption cases, some military and criminal cases. The last name is enough for the search, but for the search to be as effective as possible, you should enter the full name or the case number immediately (if such information is available). This is a very important resource for those who suspect that they will be sued, or vice versa, there will be a trial, but without their participation (not indicated as a defendant or a third party). The display of a case that goes to court is delayed by 1-2 days (depends on the court).
The website about the status of court cases is linked to another resource https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/ – Unified state register of court decisions. When going to him, all the documents on the case, which have been approved by the court and are directly related to the given person, are provided for review. It is quite possible to use this register separately, but all decisions in it are impersonal and instead of the full name, they have the designation “Person_1”, “Person_22. Therefore, if there is a desire to know exactly how your case can be resolved in a particular court recently, you only need to choose a specific court, time period, type of court proceedings and enter the keywords you want to search for in the search term. This register is actively used by lawyers and advocates to understand the current practice in one or another category of cases, even within the framework of the whole of Ukraine. For those citizens who believe that they have enough strength to prepare a package of documents for court on their own, the analysis of several decisions in cases will be enough as a hint as to who to put as the defendant in the case and what list of documents is needed for submission to the court, as well as what exactly needs to be asked for court.
On the resource https://diia.gov.ua/services/informaciya-z-derzhavnogo-reyestru-rechovih-prav-na-neruhome-majno there is information from the State Register of Real Property Rights. From the point of view of lawyers, this is the most valuable resource, because it removes many questions and provides true information in real time. Access is provided using Internet banking or an electronic digital signature. The use of this register is paid – UAH 40 for one reference and UAH 1 – bank commission.
The complete information in this register has been contained since January 2013, the information for the previous time is in the register, but not in full, because it was entered according to archival data. It is in this register that it is possible to find out who exactly owns the neighbor’s apartment, from what date and on the basis of which documents, how much real estate your boss owns and its addresses. Also, this register contains information about encumbrances – arrest, by whom and when it was imposed. Information from this register is extremely necessary when you are going to buy or rent a particular property – you will see whether the owner communicates with you directly, or whether fraudsters want to get at least some money from you in the form of a deposit or monthly rent. If the neighbors from above flooded your apartment, visiting this register, you will know exactly who the owner is and who to sue. And of course, if even the owner of the apartment communicates with you and wants to sell it to you, and according to the register, the apartment is mortgaged by a bank or under the arrest of a state executor, then the purchase agreement can take a lot of time and require additional costs, and of course it will not suit those who who wants to buy real estate here and now. At the same time, the register contains information about the previous owners, but not always.
Another similar and interesting register is the State Register of Encumbrances of Movable Property (DRORM). Ordinary citizens do not have full and direct access, but it is still possible to extract some information from it. It should be noted that movable property includes everything else that is not immovable. First of all, this register is interesting for those who want to buy any vehicle.
It is possible to obtain partial information from this register regarding vehicles through the site https://opendatabot.ua/open/drorm. The search is carried out by the state registration number of the vehicle and costs UAH 99. However, the information given here is minimal, from the point of view of benefit it is not worth it. If the vehicle has changed its number, and one of the former owners has a ban, the register will not show it, because the information in the database is tied more to the VIN code. From this point of view, the website of the Ukrainian Credit History Bureau (UBKI) is more useful – https://www.ubki.ua/srmpe. It is here for 36 UAH that you will get more complete information – both about the encumbrance itself, and about the number of the encumbrance, and about the time of imposition and much more, the only condition is that you need to know the RNOKPP or EDRPOU of the debtor, because this is the criterion for the search.
In addition, on the specified site it is possible to check your credit history – https://www.ubki.ua/credit-history-ua. Entry is subject to digital authorization, and once a year information about yourself can be obtained free of charge. If you are a very active borrower and have a large number of open loans, check your credit history to track their status and see all your debts in one place.
If you discover a fraudulent loan on your credit history:
- appeal it to the bureau;
- contact the creditor with a statement that the loan was opened in your name without your knowledge and a request to conduct an official investigation and cancel the credit agreement;
- contact the law enforcement authorities with a statement about the commission of a criminal offense against you, in particular fraud, which consists in issuing a loan for you;
- if the creditor refuses to recognize the credit agreement as invalid, go to court.
Thus, the use of the specified resource can prevent fraudulent actions against you, and even if they did take place, the problem will be solved in a timely manner with quick detection and response.
The Unified Register of Lawyers of Ukraine will help you find out exactly who you trust with the fate of your cases – https://erau.unba.org.ua/. The presence of a person in this register 100% guarantees that the person is a lawyer, the register also contains the date of issuance of the lawyer’s certificate and real contact data. More than once, there were cases when a person called himself a lawyer, took large sums of money, promised to solve the issue and… disappeared So, don’t be lazy to find a lawyer in the registry and call him back at the indicated numbers. In this way, you will be sure that it is a lawyer who persistently offers you help, and not a fraudster, because unlike ordinary lawyers or anyone who is not known at all, the relevant council of the region and qualification and disciplinary chambers with sanctions prescribed in the relevant law stand over the lawyer.
Register of collection companies of Ukraine – https://opendatabot.ua/open/collectors. Only these companies have the right to carry out collection activities in Ukraine. It will be very useful together with the above-mentioned registry of the Ukrainian Credit History Bureau (UBKI). In the event that you receive a call regarding the return of an unclear loan, first find your credit history on UBKI, and then, accordingly, the collection campaign in the register. Depending on the available information, already decide how to act – pay off a really existing loan that you forgot about or file a police report on the fraudulent actions of “collectors”.
License register of the Ministry of Health for medical practice – https://moz.gov.ua/uk/licenzijnij-reyestr. The relevance of providing information in real time. You can also check through the site – https://opendatabot.ua/open/moz-licenses. The register contains the date of license issuance, contact details of the institution and the name of the manager, a list of medical referrals for which activities are carried out. It makes sense to use it before you intend to go to a private health care facility and check whether there is a medical license behind a beautiful banner and sweet promises and for what activities.
In addition, there is a Unified Register of Missing Persons of Ukraine. It includes persons who went missing under special circumstances. Unfortunately, the time is relevant for the current moment in connection with military operations on the territory of Ukraine. To obtain an extract from the Unified Register of Missing Persons, you must:
- Send an application to the Department of Informatization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine by e-mail: pgmia@mvs.gov.ua or to the address of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: m. Kyiv, str. Akademika Bogomoletsa, 10.
- Attach copies of the applicant’s passport and a document confirming family ties to the application. Also add a copy of the passport or other document that confirms the identity of the wanted person, where his personal data is clearly visible. The statement will be sent to the e-mail address specified in the application or to the return address.
This is far from a complete list of available registers and information resources, but it is the minimum that will be useful to you.
