Chapter VIII. Justice
Article 124
Justice in Ukraine is administered exclusively by courts.
Delegation of court’s functions as well as appropriation of these functions by other bodies or officials is not permitted.
The jurisdiction of the courts covers any legal dispute and any criminal charge. Courts consider also other matters in cases prescribed by the law.
Mandatory pre-trial dispute resolution procedures may be provided for in the law.
The people directly participate in the administration of justice through jurors.
Ukraine may recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court as provided for by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (paragraph six of Article 124 becomes effective from June 30, 2019).
Article 125
The judiciary system in Ukraine is based on the principles of territoriality and specialisation and is defined by the law.
Court is established, reorganised and dissolved by law, which draft shall be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine after consultation with the High Council of Justice.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the system of judiciary in Ukraine.
Higher specialised courts may function in accordance with the law.
Administrative courts function to protect human rights, freedoms, and interests of a person in the sphere of public law.
Establishment of extraordinary and special courts is not permitted.
Article 126
Independence and inviolability of a judge are guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
Any influence on a judge is prohibited.
Judge shall not be detained or kept under custody or under arrest without the consent of the High Council of Justice until a guilty verdict is rendered by a court, except for detention of a judge caught committing serious or grave crime or immediately after it.
Judge is not held liable for the court decision rendered by him or her, except the cases of committing a crime or a disciplinary offence.
Judge holds an office for an unlimited term.
The grounds to dismiss a judge are the following:
- inability to exercise his or her authority for health reasons;
- violation by a judge of the incompatibility requirements;
- commission by him or her of a serious disciplinary offence, flagrant or permanent disregard of his or her duties incompatible with the status of judge or reveal his or her non-conformity with being in the office;
- submission of a statement of resignation or voluntary dismissal from office;
- refusal to be removed from one court to another in case the court in which a judge holds the office is to be dissolved or reorganised;
- violation of the obligation to justify the legality of the origin of property.
The powers of a judge shall be terminated in case of:
- the judge’s attainment of the age of sixty-five;
- termination of Ukraine’s citizenship or acquiring by a judge citizenship of another state;
- taking effect of a court decision on recognition or declaration of a judge missing or dead, or on recognition of a judge to be legally incapable or partially legally incapable;
- death of a judge;
- taking effect of a guilty verdict against him or her for committing a crime.
The State ensures the personal security of a judge and members of his or her family.
Article 127
Justice is administered by judges. In cases prescribed by law justice is administered with participation of jurors.
Judge shall not belong to political parties, trade unions, take part in any political activity, hold a representative mandate, occupy any other paid office, engage in other paid work except academic, teaching or creative activity.
A citizen of Ukraine, not younger than the age of thirty and not older than sixty-five, who has a higher legal education and has professional experience in the sphere of law for no less than five years, is competent, honest and has command of the state language may be appointed to the office of a judge. Additional requirements to be appointed to the office of a judge may be provided for in the law.
As for judges of specialised courts other requirements with regard to education and professional experience may be provided by law.
Article 128
Judge is appointed to office by the President of Ukraine on submission of the High Council of Justice according to the procedure prescribed by law.
Judge is appointed on competition basis, except the cases provided for in the law.
The Chairperson of the Supreme Court is elected to office and dismissed at the Plenary Sitting of the Supreme Court by secret ballot, according to the procedure prescribed by law.
Article 129
While administering justice, a judge is independent and governed by the rule of law.
The main principles of justice are:
- equality of all participants in a trial before the law and the court;
- ensuring the guilt to be proved;
- adversarial procedure and freedom of the parties to present their evidence to the court and to prove the weight of evidence before the court;
- exercising public prosecution by the prosecutor in court;
- ensuring to an accused the right to defence;
- openness of a trial and its complete recording by technical means;
- reasonable time of case consideration by a court;
- ensuring the right to appeal and, in cases prescribed by law, the right to cassation of court decision;
- the legally binding nature of a court decision.
Other principles of justice can be determined by law.
Justice is administered by a single judge, by a panel of judges, or by jurors.
Persons found guilty of contempt of court or against a judge shall be held legally liable”.
Article 129-1
A court renders the decision in the name of Ukraine. The court decision is legally binding and is to be enforced.
The State ensures that a court decision is enforced according to the procedure prescribed by law.
The court supervises the enforcement of the court decision.
Article 130
The State ensures funding and proper conditions for the operation of courts and the activity of judges.
Expenditures for the maintenance of courts are allocated separately in the State Budget of Ukraine, taking into account proposals of the High Council of Justice.
Remuneration of judges is defined by the law on judiciary.
Article 130-1
Judicial self-governance operates pursuant to the law protecting professional interests of judges and deciding internal activity of the courts.
Article 131
In Ukraine, the High Council of Justice functions which:
- presents submission for the appointment of a judge to office;
- decides on the violation by a judge or a prosecutor of the incompatibility requirements;
- reviews complaints on decisions of the relevant body imposing disciplinary liability on a judge or a prosecutor;
- decides on dismissal of a judge from office;
- grants consent for detention of a judge or keeping him or her under custody;
- decides on temporal withdrawal of the authority of a judge to administer justice;
- takes measures to ensure independence of judges;
- decides on transfer of a judge;
- exercises other powers defined by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
The High Council of Justice consists of twenty-one members: ten of them are elected by the Congress of Judges of Ukraine among judges or retired judges; two of them are appointed by the President of Ukraine; two of them are elected by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; two of them are elected by the Congress of Advocates of Ukraine; two of them are elected by the All-Ukrainian Conference of Public Prosecutors; two of them are elected by the Congress of Representatives of Law Schools and Law Academic Institutions.
The procedure for election (appointment) of members of the High Council of Justice to office is prescribed by law.
The Chairperson of the Supreme Court is a member of the High Council of Justice ex officio.
Term of the office for elected (appointed) members of the High Council of Justice is four years. The same person cannot hold the office of a member of the High Council of Justice for two consecutive terms.
A member of the High Council of Justice shall not belong to political parties, trade unions, take part in any political activity, hold a representative mandate, occupy any other paid office (except for the office of the Chairperson of the Supreme Court), engage in other paid work except academic, teaching or creative activity.
Member of the High Council of Justice shall be a legal professional and meet the requirement of political neutrality.
Additional requirements for member of the High Council of Justice may be provided for in the law.
The High Council of Justice is competent if not less than fifteen its members, the majority of whom being judges, are elected (appointed).
In the system of the judiciary, according to the law, there are established bodies and institutions which provide selection of judges, prosecutors, their professional training, assessment, consider disciplinary responsibility cases, provide financial and organisational support for the courts.
Article 131-1
In Ukraine, public prosecutor’s office functions which exercises:
- public prosecution in the court;
- organisation and procedural leadership during pre-trial investigation, decision of other matters in criminal proceeding in accordance with the law, supervision of undercover and other investigative and search activities of law enforcement agencies;
- representation of interests of the State in the court in exceptional cases and under procedure prescribed by law.
Organisation and functioning of the public prosecutor’s office is determined by law.
Public prosecutor’s office in Ukraine is headed by the Prosecutor General who is appointed to office and dismissed by the President of Ukraine on the consent of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The term of the office of the Prosecutor General is six years. The same person can not hold the office of the Prosecutor General for two consecutive terms.
The Prosecutor General is early dismissed from his or her office exclusively in cases and on grounds prescribed by this Constitution and law.
Article 131-2
In Ukraine, the bar is functioning to provide professional legal assistance.
The independence of the bar is guaranteed.
The fundamentals of organisation and functioning of the bar and advocates’ activity in Ukraine is defined by law.
Only an advocate represents another person before the court and defends a person against prosecution.
Exceptions for representation before the court in labour disputes, social rights protection disputes, disputes related to elections and referendums or in disputes of minor importance, and for representation before the court of minors or adolescents, declared by court legally incapable or partially legally incapable can be determined by law.
Chapter IX. Territorial Structure of Ukraine
Article 132
The territorial structure of Ukraine is based on the principles of unity and indivisibility of the state territory, the combination of centralisation and decentralisation in the exercise of state power, and the balanced socio-economic development of regions that takes into account their historical, economic, ecological, geographical and demographic characteristics, and ethnic and cultural traditions.
Article 133
The system of the administrative and territorial structure of Ukraine is composed of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, districts, cities, city districts, settlements and villages.
Ukraine is composed of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Vinnytsia Oblast, Volyn Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast, Zakarpattia Oblast, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Kyiv Oblast, Kirovohrad Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Lviv Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Odesa Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Rivne Oblast, Sumy Oblast, Ternopil Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast and Chernihiv Oblast, and the Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
The Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol have special status that is determined by the laws of Ukraine.
