Complex Commercial Litigation in Ukraine 2025

Frequency of use

How common is commercial litigation as a method of resolving high-value, complex disputes? What are the common alternatives to commercial litigation for resolving such disputes?

Litigation market

Please describe the culture and ‘market’ for litigation. Do international parties regularly participate in disputes in the court system in your jurisdiction, or do the disputes typically tend to be regional?

Legal framework

What is the legal framework governing commercial litigation? Is your jurisdiction subject to civil code or common law? What practical implications does this have?

Bringing a claim - initial considerations

Key issues to consider

What key issues should a party consider before bringing a claim?

Pre-action conduct requirements

Are there requirements for pre-action conduct and what are the consequences of non-compliance?

Establishing jurisdiction

How is jurisdiction established?

Applicability of foreign laws

In what circumstances will the courts apply foreign laws to determine issues being litigated before them?

Freezing assets

When is it appropriate for a claimant to consider obtaining an order freezing a defendant’s assets? What are the preconditions and other considerations?

Other interim relief

What other forms of interim relief can be sought?

Alternative dispute resolution

Does the court require or expect parties to engage in ADR at the pre-action stage or later in the case? What are the consequences of failing to engage in ADR at these stages?

Claims against natural persons versus corporations

Are there different considerations for claims against natural persons as opposed to corporations?

Class actions

Are any of the considerations different for class actions, multiparty or group litigations?

Third-party funding

What restrictions are there on third parties funding the costs of the litigation or agreeing to pay adverse costs?

Contingency fee arrangements

Can lawyers act on a contingency fee basis? What options are available? What issues should be considered before entering into an arrangement of this nature?

The claim

Launching claims

How are claims launched? How are the written pleadings structured, and how long do they tend to be? What documents need to be appended to the pleading?

Serving claims on foreign parties

How are claims served on foreign parties?

Key causes of action

What are the key causes of action that typically arise in commercial litigation?

Claim amendments

Under what circumstances can amendments to claims be made?

Remedies

What remedies are available to a claimant in your jurisdiction?

Recoverable damages

What damages are recoverable? Are there any particular rules on damages that might make this jurisdiction more favourable than others?

Responding to the claim

Early steps available

What steps are open to a defendant in the early part of a case?

Defence structure

How are defences structured, and must they be served within any time limits? What documents need to be appended to the defence?

Changing defence

Under what circumstances may a defendant change a defence at a later stage in the proceedings?

Sharing liability

How can a defendant establish the passing on or sharing of liability?

Avoiding trial

How can a defendant avoid trial?

Case of no defence

What happens in the case of a no-show or if no defence is offered?

Claiming security

Can a defendant claim security for costs? If so, what form of security can be provided?

Progressing the case

Typical procedural steps

What is the typical sequence of procedural steps in commercial litigation in this country?

Bringing in additional parties

Can additional parties be brought into a case after commencement?

Consolidating proceedings

Can proceedings be consolidated or split?

Case allocation

How are cases allocated? Are cases allocated to a specific judge? If so, at what stage?

Court decision making

How does a court decide if the claims or allegations are proven? What are the elements required to find in favour, and what is the burden of proof?

How does a court decide what judgments, remedies and orders it will issue?

Evidence

How is witness, documentary and expert evidence dealt with?

How does the court deal with large volumes of commercial or technical evidence?

Can a witness in your jurisdiction be compelled to give evidence in or to a foreign court? And can a court in your jurisdiction compel a foreign witness to give evidence?

How is witness and documentary evidence tested up to and during trial? Is cross-examination permitted?

What options are there to gather evidence from third parties?

Time frame

How long do the proceedings typically last, and in what circumstances can they be expedited?

Gaining an advantage

What other steps can a party take during proceedings to achieve tactical advantage in a case?

Impact of third-party funding

If third parties are able to fund the costs of the litigation and pay adverse costs, what impact can this have on the case?

Impact of technology

What impact is technology having on complex commercial litigation in your jurisdiction?

Parallel proceedings

How are parallel proceedings dealt with? What steps can a party take to gain a tactical advantage in these circumstances, and may a party bring private prosecutions?

Trial

Trial conduct

How is the trial conducted for common types of commercial litigation? How long does the trial typically last?

Use of juries

Are jury trials the norm, and can they be denied?

Confidentiality

How is confidentiality treated? Can all evidence be publicly accessed? How can sensitive commercial information be protected? Is public access granted to the courts?

Media and public interest

How is media interest dealt with? Is the media ever ordered not to report on certain information? Are trials public? How do the public and media access trials?

Proving claims

How are monetary claims valued and proved?

Post-trial

Costs

How does the court deal with costs? What is the typical structure and length of judgments in complex commercial cases, and are they publicly accessible?

Appeals

When can judgments be appealed? How many stages of appeal are there and how long do appeals tend to last?

Enforceability

How enforceable internationally are judgments from the courts in your jurisdiction?

How do the courts in your jurisdiction support the process of enforcing foreign judgments?

Other considerations

Interesting features

Are there any particularly interesting features or tactical advantages of litigating in this country not addressed in any of the previous questions?

Jurisdictional disadvantages

Are there any particular disadvantages of litigating in your jurisdiction, whether procedural or pragmatic?

Special considerations

Are there special considerations to be taken into account when defending a claim in your jurisdiction, that have not been addressed in the previous questions?

Update and trends

Key developments of the past year

What were the key cases, decisions, judgments and policy and legislative developments of the past year?