Changes to the Civil Procedure Code and the Code of Administrative Procedure Regarding Minor Cases
On July 19, 2024, the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine to Ensure the Right to Judicial Protection in Minor Disputes" (hereinafter referred to as the Law) came into effect.
The Law was developed and adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in compliance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine dated November 22, 2023, in case No. 3-88/2021(209/21, 47/22, 77/23, 188/23), which declared unconstitutional points 1 and 5 of part six of Article 19 of the Civil Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as the CPC) of Ukraine. These provisions established criteria for recognizing civil cases as minor while simultaneously limiting the right to appeal decisions in such cases. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine concluded that the criteria established by the previous version of the CPC of Ukraine are no longer relevant and indicated the need to bring these norms in compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine.
- Changes to the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine
The Law provides for the reduction of the upper limit of the claim price for a case to be recognized as minor. From now on, for the purposes of the CPC of Ukraine, minor cases include, in particular, the following:
- Cases where the claim price does not exceed thirty (previously one hundred) times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons (hereinafter referred to as SM);
- Cases of minor complexity recognized by the court as minor, except for cases that must be considered only under the general lawsuit proceedings, and cases where the claim price exceeds eighty (previously two hundred and fifty) times the SM;
- Consumer protection cases where the claim price does not exceed sixty (previously two hundred and fifty) times the SM.
Additionally, part three of part six of Article 19 of the CPC of Ukraine has been revised. It now states that minor cases also include cases related to the collection of alimony, increasing or decreasing the amount of alimony, terminating alimony collection, paying additional expenses for a child, indexing alimony, and changing the method of alimony collection if such demands are not related to establishing or disputing paternity (maternity). This formulation indicates that the legislator simultaneously expanded this category with cases regarding the reduction of alimony amount and the termination of its collection, and also removed cases of penalty (fine) collection for delayed alimony payment from the list.
The new provisions defined the conditions when the court refuses to consider a case under simplified lawsuit proceedings, namely:
- If, after the court has accepted the plaintiff's application for consideration, a counterclaim or a third-party claim with independent demands is properly filed;
- If, under the original claim, the amount of claims is increased or the subject of the claim is changed.
The Law also aligns other provisions of the CPC of Ukraine with these changes. Thus, appeals against court decisions in cases where the claim price is less than thirty times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, except those that cannot be considered under simplified lawsuit proceedings, are considered by the appellate court without notifying the parties involved.
- Changes to the Code of Administrative Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the CAP) of Ukraine
From the moment the Law comes into force, within the administrative process, cases in disputes will be considered exclusively under the general lawsuit proceedings rules:
- Regarding the appeal of decisions, actions, and inactions of the authority if the plaintiff also claims compensation for damages caused by such decisions, actions, or inactions, in an amount exceeding one hundred times the SM;
- Regarding the appeal of the decision of the authority, on the basis of which a claim for monetary recovery can be made in an amount exceeding five hundred times the SM for legal entities and eighty times the SM for individuals and individual entrepreneurs (hereinafter referred to as IE).
Additionally, the upper limit of the claim price for recognizing cases concerning the appeal of the decision of the authority, on the basis of which a monetary recovery claim can be made, as minor complexity cases has been increased. From now on, the claim price for such cases should not exceed one hundred times the SM for legal entities and thirty times the SM for individuals and IE. Such cases will be considered by the court under simplified lawsuit proceedings.
Also, cases in disputes cannot be considered under simplified lawsuit proceedings:
- Regarding the appeal of decisions of the National Commission on Rehabilitation in legal relations arising on the basis of the Law of Ukraine "On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Repressions of the Communist Totalitarian Regime of 1917-1991";
- Regarding the appeal of individual acts of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals, the Ministry of Finance, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, and decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers (as defined by part 1 of Article 266-1 of the CAP of Ukraine).
Finally, the Law establishes that the court will consider cases regarding the recovery of monetary amounts based on the decisions of the authority, for which the appeal period established by the CAP of Ukraine has expired and the amount does not exceed one hundred times the SM for legal entities and thirty times the SM for individuals and IE, under simplified lawsuit proceedings without notifying the parties involved (in written proceedings).
For further information, please contact Asters' Partner Talina Kravtsova and Counsel Yuri Neklyaev.
