
Territorial Jurisdiction of Ukrainian Courts in the Conditions of Martial Law
By: Yurii Prytyka and Bohdana Zahrebelna
References
“10 Members of the Supreme Council of Justice Resigned Prematurely of Their Own Accord.” 2022. Jurliga.https://jurliga.ligazakon.net/news/209589_10-chlenv-vishcho-radi-pravosuddya-dostrokovo-sklali-povnovazhennya-za-vlasnim-bazhannyam - Alivizatos, Nicos, Veronika Bílková, Iain Cameron, Ott Kask, and Kaarlo Tuori. Compliance with the Principles of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the State of Emergency: Considerations. Report. Venice Commission, 2020.
https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2020)014-e - Baylis, Elena.
“Parallel Courts in Post-Conflict Kosovo.” Yale Journal of International Law 32 (2007): 1–37.https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=956368 - Boulègue, Mathieu, and Orysia Lutsevych.
Resilient Ukraine: Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression . Technical report. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2021. - Case Georgia v. Russia. Application no. 39611/18. Judgment of April 9, 2024. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#%7B%22appno%22:%5B%2239611/18%22%5D,%22itemid%22:%5B%22001-232000%22%5D%7D - Case Ilaşcu and Others v. Moldova and Russia. Application no. 48787/99. Judgment of July 8, 2004. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22fulltext%22:[%22Ila%C5%9Fcu%20and%20Others%20v%20Moldova%20and%20Russia%22],%22itemid%22:[%22001-5948%22]} - Case Judgment of December 4, 1995. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-57952%22]} - Case Mozer v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia. Application no. 11138/10. Judgment of February 23, 2016. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-161055%22]} - Case Taganova and Others v. Georgia and Russia. Application no. 18102/04. Judgment of January 21, 2025. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22appno%22:[%2218102/04%22],%22itemid%22:[%22001-238515%22]} - Case Tsezar and Others v. Ukraine. Applications nos. 73590/14, 73593/14, 73820/14, 4635/15, 5200/15, 5206/15, and 7289/15. Judgment of February 13, 2018. European Court of Human Rights.
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-180845%22]} - Center for Civil Liberties, under the Coalition of Public Organizations and Initiatives Justice for Peace in Donbas. Justice in Exile: Adherence to the Right to a Fair Trial in Eastern Ukraine, Including the Territory Temporarily Uncontrolled by the Ukrainian Government.
https://ccl.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/zvit_pravosuddya-v-ekzyli_ccl.pdf . - Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, No. 1618-IV (adopted March 18, 2004). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy (Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine), 2004, nos. 40–41, 42, art. 492.
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1618-15#Text - Code on Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, No. 2747-IV (July 6, 2005). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy (Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine), 2005, nos. 35–36,
37 , art. 446.https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2747-15#Text - Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine, No. 1798-XII (adopted November 6, 1991). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy, 1992, no. 6, art. 56.
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1798-12#Text - Commissioner Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Annual Report on the State of Observance and Protection of Human and Citizen Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine in 2014. 2015.
https://ombudsman.gov.ua/report-2022/images/documents/annual-report-2022.pdf - Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Annual Report on the State of Observance and Protection of Human and Citizen Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine in 2014. 2015.
https://www.theioi.org/downloads/efpon/Parliament%20Commissioner%20-%20Annual%20Report%202014%20-%20ukr.pdf - Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Annual Report on the State of Observance and Protection of Human and Citizen Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine in 2022. 2023.
https://ombudsman.gov.ua/report-2023/ - Constitution of Ukraine (Adopted June 28, 1996). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy, 1996, no. 30, art.
141 .https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/254%D0%BA/96-%D0%B2%D1%80#Text - Council of Judges of Ukraine. Decision No. 13, February 24, 2022.
https://rsu.gov.ua/uploads/news/risenna-rsu-no9-vid-240222-2de02988e4.pdf - Council of Judges of Ukraine. “The Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine on the Work of Courts during the War, Competition for the Supreme Court of Appeals, Cases Related to War Crimes, and Judges at the Front.” 2023.
https://rsu.gov.ua/ua/news/golova-radi-suddiv-ukraini-pro-robotu-sudiv-pid-cas-vijni-konkurs-do-vkks-spravi-sodo-voennih-zlociniv-ta-suddiv-na-fronti - “Courts in evacuation: how the war changed the map of Ukrainian courts” Mipl.org.ua, 2023.
https://mipl.org.ua/sudy-v-evakuacziyi-yak-vijna-zminyla-kartu-sudiv-ukrayiny-infografika/ - Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, No. 4651-VI (adopted April 13, 2012).
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4651-17#Text - Danylenko, E. “Courts from the ATO Zone: Procedure and Consequences of Changing Jurisdiction.” 2014.
https://zib.com.ua/ua/98810.html - Decision Council of Judges of Ukraine. Decision No. 5, February 3, 2023.
https://rsu.gov.ua/uploads/article/risenna-rsu-no-5-vid-03022023-so-6be2bf8fbc.pdf - Decision High Council of Justice of Ukraine. Decision No. 399/0/15-23, April 20, 2023.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/userfiles/media/new_folder_for_uploads/supreme/rizne/399_20_04_2023.pdf - Decision High Council of Justice of Ukraine. Decision No. 974/0/15-23, October 12, 2023.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/userfiles/media/new_folder_for_uploads/supreme/rozporyadjennya/974_12_10_2023.pdf - Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 866/2014, “On Amendments to the Network of Administrative Courts,” November 12, 2014.
https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/8662014-17991 - Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 867/2014, “On Amendments to the Network of Administrative Courts,” November 12, 2014.
https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/8672014-17993 - Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 868/2014, “On Amendments to the Network of Administrative Courts,” November 12, 2014.
https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/8682014-17992 - “Despite Supreme Court of Ukraine. “Despite All the Difficulties, Courts Must Adhere to High Standards of Administration of Justice—Chairman of the Supreme Court.” 2023.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/supreme/prescentr/news/1457012?fbclid=IwAR0ixhuaXhNG_L3uVP7pTcqxc_GwX0T-pSdwPOCrOAUaFtjynsRNDhMGqHg - Donbas Regional Council on Judicial Reform. Justice in Conditions of Armed Conflict and Quarantine (Правосуддя в умовах збройного конфлікту та карантину). 2020.
https://www.pravojustice.eu/storage/app/media/4%20Donbas%20RJRC%20digest_%20Justice%20in%20conditions%20of%20armed%20conflict%20and%20quarantine_UKR.pdf - European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 1950.
https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/convention_ENG - Gondek, M. 2005. “Extraterritorial Application of the European Convention on Human Rights: Territorial Focus in the Age of Globalization?” Netherlands International Law Review 52: 349–368. DOI: 10.1017/S0165070X05003499
- High Council of Justice of Ukraine “HCJ urgently solves the problem of personnel shortage in the courts - Hryhoriy Usyk” 2023.
https://hcj.gov.ua/news/vrp-nadterminovo-vyrishuye-problemu-kadrovogo-golodu-v-sudah-grygoriy-usyk - High Council of Justice of Ukraine. “The Authorized Composition of the Supreme Council of Justice Was Restored.” 2023.
https://www.hcj.gov.ua/news/vidnovleno-povnovazhnyy-sklad-vyshchoyi-rady-pravosuddya - Kuibada, Roman, Liana Moroz, and Roman Smaliuk.
Justice in Eastern Ukraine in the Conditions of Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation: Report on the Results of the Study of the Capacity of the Judicial System to Provide Justice in the Conditions of Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine, 2016–2017 . Kyiv: Centre of Policy and Legal Reform, 2018.https://www.irf.ua/content/files/justice_in_eastern_ukr.pdf - Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories, No. 431 (adopted October 23, 2008). Parliament of Georgia. Legislative Herald of Georgia, no. 28 (October 30, 2008).
https://www.matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/19132?publication=6 - Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Regulation of the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine,” No. 2217-IX (April 21, 2022).
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2180-20#Text - Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges’ on Changing the Jurisdiction of Courts,” No. 2112-IX (adopted March 3, 2022).
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2112-20#n5 - Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine,” No. 1207-VII (adopted April 15, 2014).
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1207-18#Text - Law of Ukraine “On the Administration of Justice and Criminal Proceedings in Connection with the Anti-Terrorist Operation,” No. 1632-VII (adopted August 12, 2014).
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1632-18/ed20231018#Text - Law of Ukraine
“On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges,” No. 1402-VIII (adopted June 2, 2016). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy, 2016, no. 31, art.545 .https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1402-19#Text - Law of Ukraine
“On the Legal Regime of Martial Law,” No. 389-VIII (adopted May 12, 2015). Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy, 2015, no. 28, art.250 .https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/389-19#Text - Leonard, John.
Rule of Law in Iraq: Transitional Justice under Occupation . Monograph. 2004. - Mashevska, O. P., and A. R. Androschuk. “Changes in the Administration of Justice in Conditions of War.” 2023.
https://archive.interconf.center/index.php/conference-proceeding/article/view/3168/3199 - Miklasová, Júlia. 2024. “The Conflation of Jurisdiction and Attribution Tests, the ‘Law,’ and the International Legal Status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia: A Review of Recent ECtHR Case Law.” Strasbourg Observers, 23 August 2024.
https://strasbourgobservers.com/2024/08/23/the-conflation-of-jurisdiction-and-attribution-tests-the-law-and-the-international-legal-status-of-abkhazia-and-south-ossetia-a-review-of-recent-ecthr-case-law/ DOI: 10.1163/9789004702646_020 - Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The Right to a Fair Trial: Practice of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Ukraine.
https://minjust.gov.ua/m/str_7474 - O’Donnell, Guillermo “The Quality of Democracy: Why the Rule of Law Matters,” Journal of Democracy 15, no. 4 (2004): 32–46. DOI: 10.1353/jod.2004.0076
- Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Situation with Human Rights during the Russian Occupation of the Territory of Ukraine and Its Consequences from February 24, 2022 – December 31, 2023. Geneva: OHCHR, 2024.
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/ukraine/2023/2024-03-20-OHCHR-Report-Occupation-Aftermath-UKR.pdf - Order of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of March 6, 2022 No. 1/0/9-22 “On changing the territorial jurisdiction of court cases under martial law”.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/userfiles/media/new_folder_for_uploads/supreme/war/Rozp_06_03_2022.pdf - Order of the Chairman of the Supreme Court No. 7/0/9-22 of March 14, 2022.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/userfiles/media/new_folder_for_uploads/supreme/war/temp/test/Rozp_14_03_2022.pdf - Orders of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Nos. 2/0/9-22 (March 8, 2022), 4/0/9-22 (March 10, 2022), 7/0/9-22 (March 14, 2022), 10/0/9-22 (March 16, 2022), 11/0/9-22 (March 18, 2022), 14/0/9-22 (March 25, 2022), 16/0/9-22 (April 6, 2022), 17/0/9-22 (April 8, 2022). On the Territorial Jurisdiction of Court Cases under Martial Law.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/supreme/gromadyanam/terutor_pidsudnist/ - “Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Parallel Structures in Kosovo. October 2003.
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/1/42584.pdf - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Parallel Structures in Kosovo. 2006–2007.
https://www.osce.org/kosovo/24618 - Paskar, A. L. “Change of Territorial Jurisdiction (Jurisdiction) of Court Cases – a Tool for Ensuring Accessibility of Administrative Proceedings.” 2023. DOI: 10.21564/2414-990X.161.278568
- Pravo.ua. “The State Court Administration of Ukraine Summarized the State of Administration of Justice in 2022 under Martial Law.” 2023.
https://pravo.ua/dsa-ukrainy-pidbyla-pidsumky-shchodo-stanu-zdiisnennia-pravosuddia-u-2022-rotsi-v-umovakh-voiennoho-stanu/ - Prytyka, Yu., I. Izarova, L. Maliarchuk, and O. Terekh. “Legal Challenges for Ukraine under Martial Law: Protection of Civil, Property and Labour Rights, Right to a Fair Trial, and Enforcement of Decisions.” 2022. DOI: 10.33327/AJEE-18-5.2-n000329
- Romanyshyn, I.
Ukraine’s Total Democratic Resilience in the Shadow of Russia’s War . Technical Report. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023. - State Judicial Administration of Ukraine. Analytical Report on Damaged and Destroyed Court Buildings as a Result of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation and the State of Their Restoration as of 26 May 2025. 2025.
https://court.gov.ua/storage/portal/dsa/analit_poshkodj_prymish/Analit_26.05.25.pdf - Supreme Court of Ukraine. “A Meeting Was Held in the Supreme Court on the Administration of Justice under Martial Law.” 2023.
https://supreme.court.gov.ua/supreme/pres-centr/news/1458022/ - Supreme Court of Ukraine. Recommendations to the Courts of the First and Appellate Instance in the Case of the Seizure of a Settlement and/or Court or the Immediate Threat of Its Seizure, approved by the Order of the Chairman of the Supreme Court No. 6/0/9-22, March 13, 2022.
https://rsu.gov.ua/uploads/news/rozp6vc130322-95d9ee902a.pdf - Uhrynovska, A., and Vitskar. “Administration of Justice during Military Aggression against Ukraine: The ‘Judicial Front.’” Access to Justice in Eastern Europe 3, no. 15. DOI: 10.33327/AJEE-18-5.3-n000310
- United Nations. Resolution 68/262 on the Territorial Integrity of Ukraine. March 27, 2014.
https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/68/262 - United Nations. Resolution 78/221. December 19, 2023.
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4033013?v=pdf - Yudkivska, Ganna. “Territorial Jurisdiction and Positive Obligations of an Occupied State: Some Reflections on Evolving Issues under Article 1 of the European Convention.” 2016.
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2825208 - Zürcher, Christoph.
“The Abkhazia and South Ossetia Cases: Spoilers in a Nearly Collapsed Peace Process.” In Challenges to Peacebuilding: Managing Spoilers During Conflict Resolution, edited by Edward Newman, Roland Paris, and Oliver P. Richmond, 282–300. United Nations University Press, 2006. DOI: 10.18356/9789211066593c015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36745/ijca.625 | Journal eISSN: 2156-7964
Language: English
Page range: 7 - 7
Published on: Feb 5, 2026
Published by: International Association for Court Administration
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Yurii Prytyka, Bohdana Zahrebelna, published by International Association for Court Administration
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.