Transformation of Electronic Justice During Russian Aggression: Experience of the Ukrainian Judicial System
Year: 2025
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: electronic justice had not reached full operational capacity.The situation regarding access to justice and the organization of court operations became significantly more complicated with the beginning of the full-scale invasion.Martial law was introduced by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated February 24, 2022, No. N 2102-IX 5 .The occupation of significant territory of Ukraine, the destruction of state institutions, the destruction of court cases, threats to the safety of judges and citizens, loss of access to court premises and their material support have caused the actual impossibility of exercising the constitutionally guaranteed right to protection of human and civil rights and freedoms.As of January 2024, 131 court buildings have been destroyed or damaged (15 of them completely destroyed, 116 damaged; 33 courts are not operating in Luhansk oblast, 45 in Donetsk oblast, 27 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 11 in Kharkiv oblast, 23 in Zaporizhzhia oblast, two in Kherson oblast, and also one court in Sumy oblast).Furthermore, problems of physical security and energy supply create serious obstacles to compliance with procedural norms of both traditional and electronic judicial proceedings.Ukrainian legislation formally prohibits the restriction of access to court.However, the realities of war have placed serious challenges before the courts regarding ensuring its uninterrupted operation.The legislation and judicial system were not prepared to ensure the right of access to justice under conditions of martial law.At the same time, the judicial system does not have the right to suspend the administration of justice.Therefore, the court as an institution must find flexibility and be able to apply current procedural norms taking into account current realities.Access to justice encompasses a complex of human rights, an integral part of which is the exercise of judicial protection through various means and forms of justice, including electronic ones.This is especially important for citizens with disabilities, physical limitations, persons who are in special conditions, or who reside in territories with a special legal regime 6 .The importance of the uninterrupted operation of the judicial system is critical.Therefore, state bodies must take all possible measures to adapt judicial proceedings to the conditions of war and ensure equal access of citizens to justice throughout the entire territory of Ukraine where this is possible from security considerations.These actions are aimed at establishing the rule of law and preventing the narrowing of constitutional 5 Про введення воєнного стану в Україні.Указ Президента України від 24.02.
Author: A. P. Kolesnikov
Institution: West Ukrainian National University
Language: English
Topic: Education, Law, and Society
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4417027751