How to Postpone a Court Hearing if an Air Raid Alert Occurs on the Way to Court
Russian aggression and martial law in Ukraine have introduced adjustments to the procedural status of court participants to ensure the physical protection of citizens during air raid alerts or other threats to their health and life.
The Korosten City District Court of Zhytomyr region reminds that the Supreme Court has established a clear position that a participant's failure to appear due to the announcement of an air raid alert is considered a force majeure circumstance and a valid reason that necessitates postponing the case review or recognizing the justified absence of a party's representative.
This reason is recognized as valid regardless of the form of proceedings: civil, criminal, administrative, or commercial, and serves as grounds for postponing the case review; re-summoning the parties to the court hearing; recognizing the parties' absence as justified when considering the case in their absence; and restoring procedural deadlines.
To protect their procedural rights by postponing the court hearing due to being in a shelter during an air raid alert, a court participant must promptly notify the court of their absence.
Notification to the court about being in a shelter is an official statement by the participant about the impossibility of safely attending the hearing due to the air raid alert.
Information can be submitted in several ways:
Phone call: call the court registry or the court hearing secretary immediately after moving to the shelter using the numbers indicated in the court summons or on the Judiciary of Ukraine portal.
Email: send a statement to the court's official email.
Viber/Telegram/WhatsApp: if such a communication method is approved by the court, send a message via messenger.
Through the registry office: if you are already in the court building and heading to the shelter, submit a written statement to the registry staff or the Court Security Service employees.
The notification is composed in free form and must include the following data:
Name of the court.
Case number, full name of the presiding judge.
Personal data (full name, contact phone number, procedural status).
Reason for postponing the court hearing: "being in a shelter due to an air raid alert."
According to the practice of the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), safe participation in the judicial process is an integral element of ensuring state access to justice by creating conditions where citizens can defend their rights and interests without endangering their lives and health.
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