Ucrania - Autoridad central (Art. 2) e información práctica

Central Authority(ies):

Ministry of Justice of Ukraine 

Contact details:
Address: Competent authority (Art. 8)
Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
Directorate on International Law and Co-operation
Department on International Law
13, Horodetskogo St.
Kyiv, 01001
Ukraine
Telephone: +380 44 279 69 77
+380 44 278 11 76
+380 44 279 72 56
Fax: +380 44 278 11 76
E-mail: mdcivil@minjust.gov.ua or ilad@minjust.gov.ua 
General website: http://www.minjust.gov.ua/
Contact persons:
  • Ms Kateryna Shevchenko, Deputy Head of the Directorate; Head of the Department on  International Law (Russian, English, French)
  • Mrs Ryabets Tetyana, Deputy Head of the Division on Private International Law (Russian)
  • Mrs Victoria Bilokon, Chief specialist of the Division on private International Law (Russian, English)
Languages spoken by staff: Ukrainian, Russian, English, French

Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Evidence Convention Questionnaires)
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.

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
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.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): Judicial authority competent to execute the request.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): Declaration of applicability.
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).
Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33):  Accepts Letters of Requests in or translated into Ukrainian (see reservation).
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.
Time for execution: In general 2-3 months.
Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: Letter of Request will not be executed (full exclusion).
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  Requests on taking evidences are executed according to the Ukrainian legislation.  

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.

Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? Letters of Request should include specific questions, according to which the witness should be examined.
Is it a public or private hearing? Public hearing.
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)? Ukrainian legislation does not have any special provisions on this issue.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? The witness may produce written evidence, however courts as a rule only certify the authenticity of a copy.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? Yes.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? A properly called witness, who without reasonable excuse did not appear before the court or did not give a reason for non-appearance, may be subjected to delivery to the court the internal affairs bodies.

The court announces writ of delivery, where the following information is mentioned: the name of the individual, who should be delivered, place of residence, work or studies, reasons for delivery, when and where this person should be delivered, who is responsible for delivery.

Writ of delivery is announced to the witness by the enforcement officer.

In case of impossibility of the delivery of the witness, the enforcement person through the head of the internal affairs body immediately returns it to the court, providing the reasons for non-enforcement.

Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? No. 
How is the testimony transcribed? According to the Ukrainian legislation, full trial recording using audio recording technology is provided during the court proceedings.

At the same time the secretary of the court hearing keeps the written court records.

Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable, no prior permission required.
Article 16 Not applicable (see reservation).
Article 17 Not applicable (see reservation).
Article 18 Not applicable (see reservation).
Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)
 
Chapter I
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.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? No information available.
Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No information available.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
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.

Useful links:  

(This page was last updated on 25 July 2014)

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