The court is a place where, it seems, it is better not to get into. However, the reality is that almost all of us find ourselves on the doorstep of a courtroom sooner or later. It can be the collection of alimony, consideration of utility debts, subpoena as a witness or even a conflict with a neighbor. And when the question arises, what to do next, the first thing that most people think about is to contact a lawyer. But what if there are no funds for legal aid, or there is simply no time to look for it? Is it possible to go through the legal process on your own and avoid making fatal mistakes? As it turns out, you can! The main thing is to understand how the system works and what rights you have.
Lawyers of the «Repeshko and Partners» Bar Association commented on the current legislation and provided practical advice to those who want (or are forced) to represent themselves in court. This will help you navigate civil proceedings and avoid typical mistakes, as well as understand that the court is not always scary if you know how to act.
Probably, at least once in life, every person faces a trial. Someone is asked by neighbors to be a witness, someone collects alimony for a child, and someone is sued by communal services for debts. Court cases are quite different, regulated by different codes, and the status of a person in the court process may be different. Indeed, citizens do not always have the funds or the ability to conclude an agreement or consult with a lawyer when there is an urgent need for a court case.
The Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPC) is the document in which everything is spelled out — terms, rights and obligations of the parties, jurisdiction, appeal procedure, stages and types of the process. But let’s start with the fact that quite often citizens believe that they have to come to court twice — to submit a statement of claim to the court office, and then to come for a ready-made decision. No, that’s not how it works! It should be taken into account that they go to court already when it is not possible to resolve the issue or obtain the document in any other way, and therefore there is a dispute and you need to prove that you have the right to what you are asking for in the lawsuit or statement.
Not going to court on a case is possible only in one case — if the judge’s assistant or secretary tells you to write a statement about the case being considered without your participation, stating in it your attitude to the case — do you support or recognize the claims, in full or in part, what in part, what exactly are you asking the court to satisfy and what to refuse. In all other cases, court appearance is mandatory!
The fact is that the court makes a decision to leave the claim without consideration, if the duly notified plaintiff (the person who appealed to the court) did not appear again at the preparatory session or at the court session or did not inform about the reasons for the non-appearance, except in the case if an application was received from him to consider the case in his absence and his non-appearance does not prevent the consideration of the case. As for the defendant (the person who was approached through the court), it is easier to defend yourself against the claims made to you in the court of first instance, than to appeal the already ready decision to the appeals court.
According to the current regulations, most cases that go to court have two stages:
- preparatory proceedings;
- judicial review of the case on the merits.
Why is this important to know? According to the Civil Code of Ukraine, all evidence and motions that the party to the case wishes to present to the court must be presented precisely at the stage of preparatory proceedings. There are cases when it is not possible to receive a certain document in time by a certain date, it is possible to provide them to the court later, but it must be noted in the preparatory proceedings.
It is at the stage of preparatory proceedings, after the opening of the case and receipt of the decision to open the proceedings, that a response to the statement of claim or counterclaim, all evidence in the case, conclusions, statements that are an integral part of the response to the claim / counterclaim, must be submitted within the time limit set by the court. A counterclaim is the same as an objection to a lawsuit, but it is filed before the trial begins. Usually, the deadline for filing a response to a claim is set at fifteen days from the date of receipt of the claim, but you need to read the court ruling — it may contain another term.
Is it necessary to file a response to a claim? Yes! A judge usually has several hundred cases pending, so he cannot physically remember the nuances of each case. When submitting a written response to the court, the defendant clearly outlines his position on the case and notes the evidence he refers to. This document is a counterweight to the statement of claim. At the stage of preparatory proceedings, the court may, by its decision, demand the evidence necessary for the consideration of the case. Referring to the protection of personal data, hospitals do not release information about patients, bank secrecy protects accounts and the flow of funds through them, notarial secrecy reliably protects inheritance cases, and the Pension Fund even responds to court orders with difficulty. But before asking the court to demand some evidence, it is absolutely necessary to apply for it yourself, and in case of refusal, submit such a written refusal to the court and, relying on it, ask to demand evidence in the case.
In general, the success of this or that case largely depends on how well the package of documents for the court is prepared — the statement of claim and the evidence attached to it, and how fully the preparatory proceedings were used to obtain the necessary evidence. Let’s give an example. The court must refuse, as the claim was filed against the wrong person to whom it should be filed. In the case of establishing an additional term for acceptance of inheritance, it is necessary to request information from a private notary or state notary office by court order about who has already applied for acceptance of inheritance after the deceased. It is these persons who should be placed as defendants in the case, regardless of whether, in your opinion, they really have the right to this inheritance (common-law spouse if the testator has children).
Therefore, make the most of the preparatory proceedings! Submit documents, ask the court to request documents, file a request for expert examinations and call witnesses — there will be no other chance to do this! It is at this stage that the plaintiff can also increase or decrease the claims, clarify his claims, taking into account the received information, which was requested by the court in the case. Usually, this is quite relevant to the circle of persons about inheritance rights, to the scope of claims after carrying out an examination on the determination of the order of use or allocation in kind of a part of the house, etc.
In addition, preliminary proceedings are the best time to conclude a settlement agreement on the case. A settlement agreement in a civil proceeding is a statement submitted by the parties and confirmed by the court, according to which the plaintiff and the defendant, through mutual concessions to each other, liquidate the dispute that has arisen between them. Judges are always happy with this way of resolving a dispute, and therefore usually favor it. The settlement agreement concluded by the parties is approved by a court decision, the operative part of which specifies the terms of the agreement. Approving the settlement agreement, the court simultaneously closes the proceedings in the case with the same decision.
In this regard, the Civil Code of Ukraine even has separate norms that regulate mediation with the participation of a judge. Settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge is the communication of the parties with the judge to obtain clarifications and additional information in order to assess the prospects of the litigation of the dispute by the parties. The mediator in the settlement of a dispute with the participation of a judge is the judge in whose proceedings the case is pending. Settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge is possible before the start of consideration of the case on the merits, with the agreement of the parties.
As for the duration of the procedure, it should be noted that the mediation period is determined by the agreement of the parties, and settlement of the dispute with the participation of a judge is possible within a reasonable period of time, but no more than thirty days from the date of the resolution on settlement. In practice, it looks like communication between the judge and the parties to the case, not in the courtroom, but in the judge’s office. At the same time, the judge, remaining impartial, explains to the parties in the case what evidence must be submitted to the case, to what extent the claims comply with the law, etc. If at the mediation stage the parties do not reach an agreement and do not conclude a settlement agreement, then the case is transferred to another judge through automated distribution and everything starts anew. That is, if the judge offers to go through the mediation station (this is voluntary), then consider how much the parties are ready for it, because it can be both a quick end to the case and its delay.
In addition, we will note what else must be remembered in court. You must always stand up when the judge addresses you, as well as when you address the court as well or another participant in the case. The judge cannot be asked questions, it is forbidden to interrupt the judge. The judge is addressed: «Your honor.» It is possible to answer at a court hearing only when you are addressed. All court hearings are recorded in audio mode and are an integral part of the case file.
After the closing of the preliminary proceedings, when all the documents are received, the examinations are conducted (which can be conducted at the stage of the preliminary proceedings), the judge appoints a hearing on the merits of the case. It is at this stage of the court process that the parties give their explanations, ask each other questions, witnesses are questioned, the judge studies the case materials and asks the parties additional questions about them. This stage ends with court debates — the party expresses its final request to the court and may pay attention to certain evidence or nuances in the case.
How long does the trial last? This is quite an interesting question, because in different cases it can be completely different terms. For example, in the event of a divorce, if the defendant immediately comes to the court and writes a statement that he does not object to the divorce, the case will go through the court in a couple of months. If the defendant does not appear in court at all in this same case, then the case is guaranteed to be considered for at least half a year. On average, consideration of a not very complicated case in court lasts a year and a half. But cases are different, in the lawyer’s case there is a case that has been ongoing since the end of 2018 and as of the beginning of 2025 has not yet been considered by the court of first instance.
The consideration of the case begins with the opening of the proceedings by the court decision, which indicates the time of the first meeting. Usually, this happens no earlier than a month after the statement of claim is submitted to the court. In the future, the interval between court sessions is from three weeks to one and a half months — it depends on the workload of the judge. Let us remind you that the judge has 45 days of vacation, and in what parts he will take it is his personal matter.
In addition, judges also get sick, like other people, and they also have sudden unpleasant family situations. There is also an unspoken rule in court — criminal cases have priority over civil cases. And therefore, if you came to the hearing of your case, and the judge is considering sanctions or a criminal case, and your case is postponed again in connection with this, it is normal. The case can also be postponed to a hearing at the party’s request, but this requires a valid reason that must be documented (hospital, death certificate, birth certificate, proof of business trip, etc.). In general, although the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine has written deadlines for consideration of the case by stages, in practice the courts almost never follow this. At the same time, you should know that the court’s decision takes effect within 30 days. It is during this period that the party who is not satisfied with the result of the case has the right to file an appeal to the court of second instance.
From the point of view of tracking court cases, the «Action» application is quite convenient. Based on the specified identification tax number in the claim, the court links the person to the Electronic Court, and all court decisions and dates of court hearings come to Diya. Since the RNOCPP is not specified in the claim statement, the person will not receive anything in «Diya», so it is necessary to monitor Ukrposhta’s messages in the mailbox. In «Actions» you need to search in the «Services» — «Court services» — «Court cases» section. As soon as you found out that there is a case in court that concerns you, and messages are not received in «Diya», write a corresponding statement in the name of the judge, attaching a photocopy of the identification code, with which you will be asked to join the Electronic Court.
However, there are categories of cases that do not go through any of the specified stages. This is an injunctive proceeding. In some cases, alimony, debts for the payment of communal services and some other categories of undisputed claims are collected by court order. The peculiarity of this proceeding is that it is automatic — the parties are not invited to the court, in addition, there are slightly different terms for considering the case.
The court considers an application for the issuance of a court order within 5 days from the date of its receipt, and if the debtor is an individual who does not have the status of an entrepreneur, in the application for the issuance of a court order, within 5 days from the day the court receives information about the place of residence (residence) of the natural person — the debtor, registered in accordance with the procedure established by law. Based on the results of consideration of the application for the issuance of a court order, the court shall issue a court order or pass a decision on refusal to issue a court order.
The court order is not subject to appeal, but it can be canceled by the local court (that is, an application for cancellation of the court order can be submitted to the local court). The debtor has the right within 15 days from the date of delivery of a copy of the court order and the documents attached to it to submit an application for its cancellation to the court that issued it.
How is it guaranteed to track court cases? There is a site — https://court.gov.ua/fair/ in which case, if a person is a party to the case, then such a case will be found one hundred percent. You just need to try different dates and spellings of surnames (sometimes they are written by mistake).
All courts of Ukraine also have their personal websites on this platform. Here is an example of the website of the Pechersk District Court. Kyiv — https://pc.ki.court.gov.ua/sud2606/ Such sites are useful in that they contain contact information, working hours, the schedule of court sessions, and most importantly, the details for paying the court fee, which can be paid through this site and without visiting a bank branch.
We cannot now tell you about all the nuances of the court process, but we hope that in a critical situation, our advice will help you navigate the right way in protecting your rights.
