On 2nd June 2016 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a new law designed to reform the Judicial System and modify the status of judges (hereinafter – “the Law”) The Parliament also passed relevant amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

The new Law and amendments to the Constitution introduce the following changes:

• elimination of the highest courts (i.e. court of the third instances);
• establishment of the Highest Court on Intellectual Property Issues and the Highest Special Anti-Corruption Court;
• changes to the Supreme Court of Ukraine that will consist of the Large Chamber, Administrative Court of Cassation, Commercial Court of Cassation, Civil Court of Cassation and Criminal Court of Cassation;
• only licensed attorneys will be able to represent private individuals and legal entities in court (starting from 1 January 2017 in the Supreme Court and Courts of Cassation, from 1 January 2018 – in Courts of Appeal, from 1 January 2019 – in Courts of first instance).

The legislation is yet to be signed by the President of Ukraine. It will come into effect the day following the day of its publication but not before the constitutional amendments become effective (within 3 months after publication).

*Bill No 4734 dated 30 May, 2016.

Contacts:

Camiel van der Meij, Partner & TLS Leader, camiel.van.der.meij@ua.pwc.com
Slava Vlasov, Partner, Tax and Legal Services, slava.vlasov@ua.pwc.com
Andrey Pronchenko, Partner, Tax and Legal Services, andrey.pronchenko@ua.pwc.com

75 Zhylyanska Street | Kyiv | Tel:  +380 44 354 0404 | Fax: +380 44 354 0790 | pwc.ukraine@ua.pwc.com |  www.pwc.com/ua 

This flash report is produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ tax and legal services department. The material contained in this alert is provided for general information purposes only and does not contain a comprehensive analysis of each item described. Before taking (or not taking) any action, readers should seek professional advice specific to their situation. No liability is accepted for acts or omissions taken in reliance upon the contents of this alert.
© 2016 Limited liability company «PricewaterhouseCoopers». All rights reserved. PwC refers to the Ukrainian member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

We will be sending additional Flash reports as issues arise.  If you do not wish to receive these Reports, please advise by return e-mail (pwc.ukraine@ua.pwc.com).  Alternatively, if there is someone else in your company to whom we should send our Alerts, please let us know.

We are pleased to inform that this Flash report is also available in Ukrainian and can be sent to you upon request.
Ми раді повідомити, що цей  Flash report також доступний українською мовою і може бути наданий Вам за запитом.