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Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the 2008 Evidence Convention Questionnaire)
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| Blocking statutes: |
No blocking statute in force.
However, under the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine,
as a general rule, a person may not be questioned as a witness when
that person in under a legal obligation of secrecy owing to his/her
official or professional duty.
The disclosure by a bank of information containing bank secrecy with
regard to a natural or legal person may be decided by a court pursuant
to a special proceeding brought by a reasoned application, and only in
cases determined by the law.
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Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
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| Transmission of Letters of Requests: |
Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the
requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the
requested State.
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| Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): |
Central Authority
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| Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): |
Declaration of applicability.
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| Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): |
Accepts Letters of Requests in or translated into Ukrainian (see reservation).
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| Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33): |
Accepts Letters of Requests in or translated into Ukrainian (see reservation).
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| Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): |
Ukraine has not sought any reimbursement of costs under Arts 14(2) and 26 before 2008.
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| Time for execution: |
Between two and four months.
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| Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: |
Letter of Request will not be executed (full exclusion).
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| Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: |
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine together with the State Court Administration of Ukraine has issued an Instruction
on the Procedure of the Implementation of International Treaties on the
Provision of the Legal Assistance in Civil Matters in Respect of the
Service of Documents, the Obtainment of Evidence, and the Recognition
and the Execution of Judicial Decisions (27.06.2008 No. 1092/5/54).
A chapter of the Instruction is dedicated to particularities of
applying the Hague Evidence Convention in relation to incoming and
outgoing requests.
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Witness examination under Chapter I
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| Should Letters of Request include specific questions
to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be
addressed? |
A list of specific questions would be desirable.
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| Is it a public or private hearing? |
Public hearing. Normally, all the hearings in civil matters are held
in open court. In several cases directly stipulated in the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine a judge may decide otherwise.
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| Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e.
rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or
offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the
laws of the requested State)? |
No.
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| Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? |
No.
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| Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? |
Yes.
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| Is an oath generally administered to the witness? |
Yes.
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| Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? |
Yes. Second Request necessary.
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| Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? |
According to Article 94 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, a witness may be compelled to appear before the court.
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| Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? |
No. Under the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine
(Article 55) a person having good command of the language of a
procedure as well of the language necessary for translation or
interpretation may act as a translator or an interpreter before the
court.
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| How is the testimony transcribed? |
Testimony is to be recorded in writing in the protocol of the proceedings. However, in accordance with Article 197 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine hearings are recorded by audio device.
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Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
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| Article 15 |
Applicable, no prior permission required.
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| Article 16 |
Not applicable (see reservation).
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| Article 17 |
Not applicable (see reservation).
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| Article 18 |
Not applicable (see reservation).
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Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)
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Chapter I
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? |
The Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine does not provide for special
procedures to take evidences by video-conference. However, the Code
contains general provisions that allow the use of technical devices.
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| Technology used: |
No information available.
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| Level of interpretation required: |
No information available.
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| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: |
No information available.
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| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? |
No information available.
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| Who pays for the interpretation? |
No information available.
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| How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? |
No information available.
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Chapter II
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? |
No information available.
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| Technology used: |
No information available.
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| Level of interpretation required: |
No information available.
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| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: |
No information available.
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| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? |
No information available.
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| Who pays for the interpretation? |
No information available.
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| Bilateral or multilateral agreements |
Bilateral conventions on judicial co-operation:
Bulgaria, China, Cuba (not yet in force), Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Estonia, Georgia, Greece,
Hungary, Islamic Republic of Iran (not yet in force), Latvia, Lithuania,
Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam.
Multilateral conventions on judicial co-operation: Minsk Convention on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal matters.
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| Useful links: |
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