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Territorial Jurisdiction of Ukrainian Courts in the Conditions of Martial Law
In connection with the armed invasion of the russian federation1 into the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, throughout Ukraine martial law was introduced by a decree of the President of Ukraine. For the second time, due to active hostilities and the temporary occupation of part of the state’s territory, the judicial system of Ukraine faced urgent issues in ensuring individuals’ rights to access to justice, material-technical and organizational support of courts’ activities under conditions of increasing number of cases being filed and a shortage of judges. Administering justice under such conditions became practically impossible, endangering the right to a fair trial, guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). According to Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, certain restrictions on rights and freedoms may be imposed under martial law or a state of emergency. However, the right to a fair trial, which encompasses access to justice, is a fundamental right guaranteed by the state that must not be restricted, although its exercise may be subject to certain specific conditions under exceptional circumstances.
Therefore, legislative measures were determined to ensure the proper functioning of judicial bodies and unhindered access to justice. One of these measures is the change of territorial jurisdiction of court cases from courts operating in temporarily occupied territories and territories where hostilities are ongoing.
The result of the research is a comprehensive analysis of the legal regulation and international cases concerning the change of territorial jurisdiction of court cases. The study identifies key legal challenges in this area and outlines potential solutions for addressing them.
Full Abstracthttps://iacajournal.org/articles/10.36745/ijca.625
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