Shortage of judges, case delays, and enforcement issues: what hinders the consideration of disputes regarding children

The Supreme Court applies flexible approaches to the consideration of disputes regarding children and regularly mentions mediation and reconciliation in its procedural decisions. In addition, the Supreme Court requests up-to-date information from child welfare authorities, taking into account possible changes in the family situation and the overall context in which the child is situated. At the same time, the Supreme Court draws attention to problems with the enforcement of court decisions in such disputes. On this matter, the court has repeatedly issued separate rulings addressed to the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet of Ministers.

For example, on May 27, 2026, the Cassation Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court considered case No. 344/432/24, in which the appellate court, applying the imperative norm of Article 251 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, granted the father's motion to suspend proceedings in the case because the father is a serviceman. The cassation court annulled this court decision. When making its decision, the Cassation Civil Chamber assessed the balance of rights and interests of the parties, taking into account the principles of fairness, good faith, and the best interests of the child. The court noted that the father, who had not paid child support at all, had the opportunity and in fact actively participated in the case – submitting applications, complaints, and motions, sending them from a city in western Ukraine. Under these circumstances, the Cassation Civil Chamber concluded that the case should be considered on the merits by the appellate court.

Regarding the formation of the concept of joint parental custody in Ukraine, the Supreme Court noted that since 2022, the Cassation Civil Chamber has consistently drawn attention in a number of rulings to the possibility of applying such a model, gradually developing new approaches to resolving relevant disputes. As noted by the Supreme Court, lawyers reported that thanks to this, in some cases conflicts were resolved already at the pre-trial stage, in particular by applying the "bird's nest" model, where the child remains in the usual residence, and the parents take turns visiting the child according to a schedule determined by the court.

By the ruling of February 16, 2024, in case No. 465/6496/19, the court for the first time directly established alternating residence of the child with each parent according to the respective schedule, taking into account international norms and the principle of equality of parental rights. This approach was later confirmed and developed in the ruling of May 22, 2024, in case No. 643/7509/21.

Legislators have also taken notice, and in October 2024 two draft laws were registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding amendments to the Family Code of Ukraine concerning joint parental custody (No. 12123 dated October 15, 2024, and No. 12132 dated October 17, 2024). The draft new Civil Code of Ukraine (Part 2, Article 1551) also provides for direct legislative consolidation of the court's authority to establish alternating residence of the child with the parents if there are circumstances of significant importance and if this corresponds to the child's interests.

At the same time, the Supreme Court draws attention to some problems. One of them is the enforcement of court decisions in this category of cases. The Supreme Court has repeatedly issued separate rulings on this matter, addressing the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Supreme Court also noted that the duration of cases involving children is affected by general problems of the judicial system. In particular, this concerns the shortage of personnel: currently, 36% of positions in first-instance courts are vacant, and in the Cassation Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court this figure is 30%.

Moreover, there is a problem attracting qualified specialists to work in courts due to low salaries.

At the same time, the Supreme Court emphasized that the specialization of judges, particularly in family and child-related cases, should be accompanied by the specialization of court staff. Such staff can carry out certain preliminary communications before the court hearing stage, and in some cases, this may contribute to pre-trial dispute resolution.

Among other challenges is the issue of involving psychologists and cooperating with child welfare authorities, since a quality conclusion from these bodies must include a deep analysis of the case circumstances and the child's opinion.

Finally, there is a problem with the technical support of courts. The Supreme Court notes that in leading jurisdictions judges use built-in artificial intelligence, the information of which does not leave the judicial system and significantly speeds up case consideration.

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