Amicus curiae: procedural and ethical dimensions of external assistance to the Supreme Court in matters of law

The article focuses on the peculiarities of implementation of amicus curiae practice in Ukrainian court proceedings, i.e. external assistance in resolving complex issues which go beyond the interests of the parties to a particular court case. The author points out that in the national context, the permissible forms of such assistance relate to the resolution of issues of law. The article focuses on the concept and current manifestations of amicus curiae practice in the legal systems where it is particularly widespread, and also highlights the trend towards the expansion of this practice. The author argues that in Ukrainian legal proceedings, assistance of legal experts, institutions and groups in resolving complex legal issues is based on the principle of jura novit curia, which embodies the irrefutable presumption of the court’s knowledge of the law. The author argues that, as a result of this principle, any statements, including those publicly made or directly addressed to the court, from professionals, professional communities and organisations containing arguments on the resolution of legal issues cannot be perceived as an unauthorised influence on the court and do not pose a threat to the independence of the court or impartiality in the administration of justice. At the same time, the author draws attention to the fact that ethical restrictions must be observed: opinions should not concern how the case before the court should be finally resolved, and the opinion should not contain criticism of valid court decisions that goes beyond criticism of the opinions in matters of law. The article outlines the main formats in which the Supreme Court engages the assistance of legal experts: individual opinions; meetings of working groups of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Supreme Court. The author points out the ways of further development of group formats of amici curiae work and justifies the use of techniques for organising this work in court proceedings which are typical for obtaining legal expert evidence in international arbitration. The article draws a general conclusion that it is permissible to expand the practice of amicus curiae, involve professional legal communities in the development and debates around pending legal matters and that this is in the interests of the administration of justice, legal practitioners and other professional communities and society as a whole.