The Verkhovna Rada is preparing a law on “respect for the court”: what will change for Ukrainians

The Verkhovna Rada plans to adopt draft law No. 11387 in the near future. It increases the penalties for contempt of court, changes the procedure for appearing at hearings, and introduces new rules for participants in the process. The main idea is to make courts more disciplined and reduce delays in the consideration of cases.

Penalties for disrespect

Ignoring summonses, refusing to comply with a judge’s orders, or disrupting order in the courtroom will result in a fine of between 1,700 and 3,400 hryvnia. If the situation repeats itself within a year, the fine will increase to 6,800 hryvnia.

The same penalties apply to experts, translators, or specialists who fail to attend a hearing without a valid reason.

Separate fines are provided for contempt of the Constitutional Court, ranging from 3,400 to 6,800 hryvnia.

New attendance rules

A new article is being added to the Code of Administrative Offenses: officials will be fined for ignoring a summons (to bring a person to a hearing). If the document is returned without explanation, the penalty will range from 1,700 to 3,400 hryvnia.

In addition, in most administrative cases, the offender must now appear in person. If they fail to do so, they may be brought in by force. Exceptions will apply to minors, pregnant women, and people with disabilities of groups I and II.

Responsibility of officials and deputies

High-ranking officials and deputies who ignore sessions of the Verkhovna Rada without valid reasons risk receiving fines ranging from 13,600 to 17,000 hryvnia. This also applies to cases where requests from temporary investigative commissions are ignored or false information is provided.

Changes in criminal cases

Innovations are also being prepared in criminal proceedings:

• motions to recuse a judge will be considered within 24 hours;
• prosecutors are required to ensure the appearance of witnesses;
• compensation for witnesses and victims will be calculated based on the minimum subsistence level;
• fines for failure to appear when summoned will double: ignoring a summons from an investigator or prosecutor will cost 1,514–3,028 hryvnia, and missing a court summons will cost up to 12,112 hryvnia.

Disciplinary responsibility for lawyers and prosecutors is specified separately: in the event of absenteeism, the court will notify the management, and the prosecutor will be replaced by another.

Lay judges to be abolished

The draft law removes the concept of “lay judges” from regulatory acts. In the future, only jurors will work in courts.

“Strengthening responsibility for contempt of court and introducing new mechanisms for bringing people to court is a step towards disciplining participants in the process. At the same time, it is important that increased fines do not become a form of pressure, but actually contribute to compliance with procedural rules. The new rules should ensure a balance between the speed of case consideration and respect for the rights of all participants,”

says Yulia Nazarenko, a lawyer with the Strategic Advocacy Law Firm.

What does this mean for citizens?

If the law is passed, any delays in proceedings or attempts to disrupt hearings will be punished much more severely. On the other hand, the innovations are designed to make court proceedings faster and more predictable.