How to file a claim in court in Ukraine

The procedure for filing a statement of claim consists of several stages:

1. Drafting the statement of claim in writing.
2. Payment of the court fee on the website of the judiciary of Ukraine.
3. Printing the claim and the necessary attachments in 3 copies (for yourself, the defendant and the court).
4. The claims must be submitted to the registry of the court that handles the case.

5. Waiting for notification of the scheduled time and date of the hearing.

6. Appear in court at the scheduled time. You must have your passport with you.

More detailed information on how to properly file a claim can be found at Statement of claim in court.

Unfortunately, inattention or lack of certain knowledge and experience in court practice leads to plaintiffs making mistakes when filing the claim. The most common mistakes include the following:

• failure to provide the receipt for payment of the state fee;
• submitting a copy of the receipt for payment of the state fee;
• payment of the court fee in an insufficient amount;
• lack of claims against each defendant named in the statement of claim;
• failure to present evidence that a copy of the claim was sent to the defendant.

A claim filed incorrectly will not be considered by the court.

When wondering how to write a statement of claim to the court, it is important to understand that this is an official document consisting of mandatory parts.

According to Article 119 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the claim must be submitted in writing. The second part of the same article states that the statement of claim must necessarily contain the following information:

1. The name of the court to which the claim is being filed.
2. Full names of the plaintiff and defendant (names of organizations for legal entities). Also the full name of the authorized person if a third party represents the plaintiff in court. Postal address of each party.
3. The content of the claims. In this part you should explain as fully and clearly as possible what exactly the plaintiff requests from the court. The list of claims that can be made is set out in Article 16 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. A consultation with a lawyer will help you review them in detail and determine whether your case falls within this list.
4. Value of the claim.
5. The basis on which the plaintiff files the claim and asks the court to rule in his favor.
6. Evidence supporting each basis.
7. A list of all documents attached to the statement of claim.

Items 5 and 6 usually cause the greatest difficulty when drafting a statement of claim. For explanations and recommendations, you should consult a lawyer who will prepare the claim competently and clearly so that the document does not raise questions or doubts in court. More details Statement of claim in the Commercial Court.

An improperly drafted statement of claim will not be accepted for consideration by the court. A sample of how to prepare a claim can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1guaLO_4wrWqB8cgNvx_5blwQFbqCu5-5XI68i7jq_PQ/edit.

The statement of claim is not the full set of documents that must be brought to the court registry. The complete list of documents required to initiate proceedings is presented below:

1. Documents demonstrating that steps were taken to resolve the dispute extrajudicially (in cases provided for by Article 5 of the Commercial Procedure Code).
2. Proof of sending a copy of the statement of claim to the defendant.
3. Receipt for payment of the state fee of the prescribed amount.
4. Receipt for payment of fees for information and technical support of the judicial process.
5. Evidence (any factual data) that supports the plaintiff’s statements and can be used in court to establish the presence or absence of the defendant’s fault.
6. Power of attorney if a representative will appear in the court session on behalf of the person filing the claim.

In practice, each item involves many nuances that are difficult to handle independently, and an incomplete package of documents or incorrectly formatted documents submitted to the court registry will not be accepted. Consequently, the case will not proceed.

The statement of claim is a rather complex document. Therefore, if this document is prepared for the first time, mistakes can be made. That is why you should consult a competent lawyer for assistance with preparation and representation in court. Otherwise, mistakes may lead to the claim not being considered by the court and, in the worst case, to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

If court representatives find errors in the statement of claim, they will send a ruling to the plaintiff by mail. This ruling will indicate the mistakes made. The plaintiff has the right to correct everything within five days. In this case the filing date will not change, and the court will begin proceedings.

If the plaintiff cannot correct the errors within five days, the court will return the statement of claim. The plaintiff will have to resubmit all documents to the registry after correcting the shortcomings. In this case the filing date will change.

Another common case when the statement of claim is returned to the plaintiff is when the content of the claim falls outside the jurisdiction of that court (or the court does not correspond to the addresses of the plaintiff and defendant).

One of the most difficult points when filing a statement of claim is deciding which court to file the claim in. A consultation with a lawyer will help you choose the appropriate instance.

In most cases Article 109 of the Civil Procedure Code prescribes filing the claim at the defendant’s place of registration; however, there are several exceptions to this rule:

• Claims concerning real estate are filed in the court at the location of the property.
• Claims regarding the removal of an arrest from property are filed at the location of that property.
• Claims by creditors of the deceased regarding property that has not passed to the heirs are filed at the location of that property.
• Claims against carriers arising from violations of rules for carriage of goods, baggage, passengers, etc. are filed at the carrier’s location.

Article 110 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine sets out cases in which the plaintiff is given the option to choose the court to which the claim will be submitted. Such cases are possible under the following circumstances of the claim:

• Claims for alimony, recognition of paternity, and claims arising from employment relationships may be considered at the plaintiff’s place of residence or stay.
• A divorce case may be heard at the plaintiff’s place of residence. In this case, the spouses also have the option to agree on whose place of residence or stay the case will be heard.
• Claims for compensation for bodily injury are considered at the plaintiff’s place of residence or at the place where the harm was caused.
• Claims related to consumer protection may be filed at the plaintiff’s place of residence, the place where the harm occurred, or the place where the contract was performed.
• Claims for compensation for damage to the property of individuals or legal entities may be brought at the place where the damage was caused.
• Claims related to violations in the activities of a legal entity’s branches may be filed at the place where those branches are located.
• Claims related to improper performance of a contract with a specific territorial connection may be brought at the place of performance.
• Claims related to collisions at sea and to life-saving are filed at the location of the vessel or the port of registry of the vessel.

If the defendant’s place of registration is unknown, the claim is filed at the location of their property or at the last known place of registration of the defendant. The same applies to claims addressed to persons who currently do not have registration in Ukraine.

The court fee is a payment to the budget of Ukraine for the court’s consideration of the statement of claim. The amount of the court fee is established by the Law of Ukraine “On court fees.” Its amount can vary significantly depending on the type of claim and the type of person who filed the claim.

Court fee for some claims:

1. For a property claim a legal entity will have to pay 1.5% of the claim amount, but not less than 1 and not more than 350 subsistence minimums; an individual — 1% of the claim amount, but not less than 0.4 and not more than 5 subsistence minimums.
2. For non-property claims legal entities and entrepreneurs will pay 1 subsistence minimum, and individuals — 0.4 subsistence minimums.
3. The court fee for a claim for divorce will be 0.4 subsistence minimums.

There is no single figure that can be named to describe the cost of lawyers’ services. The lawyer’s fee may depend on many factors: the court where the claim is filed, the lawyer’s experience, the complexity of the case, the need for expert examinations, requests for documents, witness interviews, involving experts in court, etc.

Many lawyers use an hourly payment system, which is regulated by Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On the maximum amount of compensation for legal aid costs in civil and administrative cases” and is not more than 40% of the subsistence minimum per hour of work.

Even preparing a claim can take a lawyer from 5 to 30 hours of work, so it is difficult to name the exact amount a lawyer will charge.

By contacting our lawyer, you can choose a package of services convenient for you in terms of price and scope of work. The package price is fixed, and the range of services provided is described in detail. Such a payment system will allow you not to worry about this during the entire court process.

Drafting a statement of claim and participating in court proceedings is a very energy-consuming and complex procedure. You can save your time and nerves by turning to a competent lawyer for help. More details Statement of claim.