Appeal and cassation in criminal proceedings: who, where and within what time limits

A judgment or ruling of a court in criminal proceedings is appealed first to the court of appeal and then to the Supreme Court by way of cassation. Below — who files the appeal, where and within what time limits, what cannot be appealed, and when the court sets aside or changes a decision. Everything is under the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPC); civil cases are covered briefly at the end.

What can be appealed to the court of appeal

Decisions of the court of first instance that have not yet entered into legal force are appealed to the court of appeal: judgments, rulings on compulsory measures of a medical or educational nature, and other rulings in the cases provided for by the CPC. Rulings of the investigating judge — also in the cases determined by the CPC (Article 392(1) and (3) of the CPC).

Rulings made by the court before the judgment are not appealed separately, except in the cases determined by the CPC: objections to them can be included in the appeal against the judgment. Separately, one can appeal, in particular, a ruling on detention in custody (Article 392(2) of the CPC).

Who can file an appeal

The circle of persons is determined by Article 393 of the CPC. Among them:

• the accused, their defence counsel or legal representative — regarding a judgment of conviction in the part concerning the interests of the accused, and regarding a judgment of acquittal — in the part concerning the reasons and grounds for the acquittal;
• the suspect, their defence counsel or legal representative;
• the prosecutor;
• the victim or their representative — in the part concerning their interests and within the limits of the claims made in the court of first instance;
• the civil claimant and the civil defendant — regarding the resolution of the civil claim.

Where to file and within what time limits

An appeal against a judgment or ruling of the court of first instance is filed through the court that made the decision. An appeal against a ruling of the investigating judge or a court ruling on detention in custody made before the judgment is filed directly with the court of appeal (Article 395(1) of the CPC).

Time limits, unless the CPC sets others (Article 395(2) of the CPC):

• against a judgment or a ruling on compulsory measures of a medical or educational nature — 30 days from the day of pronouncement;
• against a court ruling on detention in custody made before the judgment — 5 days from the day of announcement;
• against other rulings of the court of first instance — 7 days from the day of announcement;
• against a ruling of the investigating judge — 5 days from the day of announcement.

For a person in custody, the time limit is counted from the moment a copy of the decision is served on them. If a ruling of the court or of the investigating judge was made without summoning the person who appeals it, or a judgment in simplified proceedings concerning a criminal misdemeanour (Article 382 of the CPC) was delivered without summoning the person who appeals it, the time limit for that person is counted from the day of receiving a copy of the decision (Article 395(3) of the CPC). A missed time limit is restored by the investigating judge or the court by a ruling — on the motion of the interested person, if the reasons for missing it are valid (Article 117(1) of the CPC).

An appeal suspends the judgment’s or ruling’s entry into legal force and its enforcement, and if no appeal is filed, the decision enters into legal force after the time limit for appeal expires. An appeal against a ruling of the investigating judge or a court ruling on detention in custody before the judgment suspends only its entry into legal force, while the ruling continues to be enforced. Exceptions to these rules may be established by the CPC (Article 400, Article 532(1) of the CPC).

Appeals against preventive measures are examined in detail in the article on preventive measures, and appeals against bail — in the material on bail.

What cannot be appealed, or can be appealed only to a limited extent

• A judgment after simplified proceedings is not appealed on the grounds of consideration without the participation of the participants, failure to examine evidence at the hearing, or in order to dispute the circumstances established by the pre-trial investigation (Article 394(1) of the CPC).
• A decision cannot be appealed by disputing circumstances that nobody contested during the trial and whose examination the court found inexpedient (Article 394(2) of the CPC).
• A judgment based on a reconciliation agreement or a plea agreement is appealed only on grounds exhaustively named in the law. For the accused, these are a punishment stricter than the agreed one, a judgment passed without their consent to the punishment, and the court’s failure to comply with certain requirements of Article 474 of the CPC, in particular failure to explain the consequences of the agreement. The victim and the prosecutor have their own grounds (Article 394(3) and (4) of the CPC).

What to state in the appeal

An appeal is filed in writing, signed by the person filing it. The appeal states, in particular, the court of appeal, the appellant, the decision being appealed, the claims and their substantiation — in what the decision is unlawful or unfounded, motions to examine evidence and a list of enclosures. If reference is made to circumstances that the court of first instance did not examine, or to evidence that was not submitted to it, the reasons are explained. Defence counsel or the victim’s representative attaches documents confirming their authority. Copies of the appeal and enclosures for the other participants whose interests it concerns are attached by everyone except an accused held in custody or under house arrest (Article 396 of the CPC).

When the court of appeal sets aside or changes a decision

The grounds for setting aside or changing a decision are incompleteness of the trial, inconsistency of the court’s conclusions with the factual circumstances, material violation of the requirements of criminal procedure law, and incorrect application of the law on criminal liability. For a judgment — also inconsistency of the imposed punishment with the severity of the offence and the personality of the accused (Article 409 of the CPC).

The court may worsen the position of the accused, for example by imposing a stricter punishment, only when an appeal on these grounds has been filed by the prosecutor, the victim or their representative (Article 421(1) of the CPC).

Cassation: what, when and where

The court of cassation instance is the Supreme Court (Article 3(1)(21) of the CPC). Judgments and rulings on compulsory measures are appealed in cassation after their review on appeal, as well as the decisions of the court of appeal concerning them. Other rulings — only if they prevent further proceedings. A ruling of the investigating judge after review on appeal is not subject to cassation appeal (Article 424 of the CPC).

A cassation appeal is filed directly with the Supreme Court within three months from the day the court of appeal pronounces its decision, and by a convicted person in custody — within the same period from the day a copy of the decision is served on them (Article 426 of the CPC). It may be filed, in particular, by the convicted person and their defence counsel, the acquitted person — regarding the reasons and grounds for the acquittal, the prosecutor, and the victim — within the limits of the claims made in the court of first instance (Article 425 of the CPC).

The Supreme Court does not review the facts: it checks the application of legal norms and the legal assessment of the circumstances, but does not examine evidence and does not establish circumstances that are not in the contested decision (Article 433(1) of the CPC). The grounds for setting aside or changing a decision are the same as on appeal, except for incompleteness of the trial and inconsistency of the conclusions with the factual circumstances (Article 438(1) of the CPC).

Time limits in civil, commercial and administrative proceedings are different — they are summarised in the article on time limits for appealing court decisions.

If you are preparing an appeal

First find out the exact date from which the time limit runs in your criminal proceedings: the pronouncement or announcement of the decision, or the service or receipt of a copy. An attorney can assess whether there are grounds for appeal, draw up the appeal and represent you in court. For defence in criminal cases, see the page “Criminal Law”; to contact us, use the contacts.

The provisions are cited as currently in force as of 13 October 2026.