Civil justice: access under martial law

Abstract

The article examines the obstacles in access to justice in civil cases arising in Ukraine due to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.
 In particular, the article points out the following problematic issues. A large percentage of national courts during the military aggression were deprived of the opportunity to administer justice; justice is not carried out in the occupied territories even at the current moment. At the same time, the procedure for changing the territorial jurisdiction, provided for by law, has not been finally settled. Attention is also drawn to the problems with the introduction of e-justice in Ukraine, adjournment of the case, remote participation of persons in the trial, notification of participants about the time and place of the case, restoration/extension of terms, loss and resumption of court proceedings.
 It is concluded that there is insufficient normative regulation of the procedure for considering civil cases in a state of war or a state of emergency. It is proposed to supplement the procedural codes with a separate section regulating the procedure for the administration of justice in a state of war or a state of emergency. Proposals have been made to improve the procedural legislation. In particular, it is proposed to provide for the possibility of restricting the principle of openness of civil proceedings, additional mechanisms for notifying participants in a case, a procedure for obtaining copies of court decisions issued by courts that subsequently ended up in the occupied territory, additional mechanisms for resuming lost proceedings, etc.