Problems of access to justice in civil cases in Ukraine

The article analyzes the urgent and key issue of access to justice in civil cases which requires immediate resolution to ensure that a person has the right to apply to court for the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine. This right is enshrined in part 1 of Article 15 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, which provides for the right of every person to protect his or her civil right in case of its violation, non-recognition or challenge, and in Article 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine, which states that every person has the right to apply to the court for protection of his or her violated, unrecognized or challenged rights, freedoms or legitimate interests in accordance with the procedure established by this Code. By analyzing the case law, the author establishes that by leaving claims without motion or refusing to initiate proceedings in a case, courts neglect such basic principles as the rule of law, reasonableness of the timeframe for court consideration of a case, and the guaranteed right of everyone to access to justice. The article provides a detailed analysis of specific rulings on leaving a case without motion and refusing to initiate proceedings by local courts of Ukraine, identifies inconsistencies with the rules of procedural and substantive law, as well as neglect of relevant rulings of the Supreme Court, which leads to delays in the consideration of a case, and prevents a person from going to court to protect his or her violated right through the prism of excessive formalism and free interpretation of the law by the courts of first instance. The author proposes a solution to the problem of access to justice based on the current practice of the Supreme Court, a comparative analysis of the decisions of the appellate courts that overturn the decisions to refuse to open proceedings in a case, the conclusions of leading scholars and her own attorneys’ experience. This article will serve as a “handbook” for attorneys who will face difficulties in accessing justice to protect the rights of their clients.