On 18 October 2023, the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Mandatory Registration and Use of Electronic Accounts in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (UJITS) or its separate subsystem (Module) that provides for the exchange of documents" dated 29 June 2023 No. 3200-IX (hereinafter referred to as the Law) came into effect. The Law introduces changes to the provisions of procedural codes, particularly the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, the Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine.
The obligation to register electronic accounts in UJITS within the framework of civil and administrative proceedings arises gradually. As of 18 October 2023, the presence of an electronic account in UJITS became mandatory for lawyers, notaries, state and private bailiffs, arbitration managers, court experts, government authorities, local self-government bodies, and legal entities of state and communal ownership.
Starting from 21 February 2024 the registration of an electronic account in UJITS becomes mandatory for legal entities of private ownership, acting as participants in civil and administrative proceedings. This innovation is intended to simplify document circulation between participants in the judicial process and with courts. Importantly, after registering an electronic account in UJITS, the court sends all documents related to a case exclusively in electronic form to the participant's electronic account in UJITS. In turn, a participant to the dispute has the right to send documents to another participant or to the court in electronic form through the electronic account in UJITS (without duplicating in paper form through postal mail). Nevertheless, participants in the judicial process do not lose the right to:
- submit documents to another party or the court in paper form (complying with procedural laws)
- receive copies of court decisions in paper form upon a separate request
It should be noted that under specific circumstances, procedural law requires a party to the dispute to send documents to other participants before filing them with the court. At the same time, a party is exempted from the obligation to send such documents to participants who have not fulfilled the obligation to register an electronic account in UJITS.
In case a party who is obliged to have an electronic account in UJITS applies to the court without having it, the court applies procedural consequences such as leaving the document submitted by such party without action, returning it, or leaving it without consideration. These procedural consequences are also applied by the court if the interests of such party in case is represented by an attorney.
Thus, the obligation to register electronic accounts in UJITS for legal entities has become one of the stages of the gradual digitization of the judiciary in Ukraine and should be taken into account when seeking protection of rights and interests in court.
By Talina Kravtsova, Partner, Yuri Neklyaev, Senior Associate, Asters
