How to Enforce a Ukrainian Court Decision if the Debtor is Abroad

The right to a fair trial, guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also covers the stage of enforcement of a court decision. This was reminded by the Dnipro Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

At the same time, a Ukrainian court decision automatically applies within the territory of Ukraine. For it to have legal consequences in another country, it is necessary to go through the procedure of its recognition or recognition and granting permission for enforcement.

It is important to distinguish two concepts:

- Recognition of a court decision means that a foreign state agrees to treat its legal consequences the same way as a decision of its own court.

- Enforcement is the possibility to apply coercive measures against the debtor in accordance with the legislation of the state where they are located.

Recognition of the decision is a mandatory prerequisite for its enforcement, but by itself does not guarantee the start of enforcement actions.

The court of the state where the recognition takes place does not review the substance of the decision or assess the correctness of the Ukrainian court's conclusions. Only compliance with the requirements established by international treaties and national legislation is checked.

According to Article 81 of the Law of Ukraine "On Private International Law," decisions of foreign courts in civil, family, labor, and commercial disputes, as well as certain decisions in criminal proceedings regarding compensation for damages, may be recognized and enforced in Ukraine. Similar mechanisms apply for the enforcement of Ukrainian court decisions abroad.

This issue remains especially relevant for the collection of alimony when the child lives in Ukraine and the payer is in another country.

Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child imposes an obligation on states to facilitate the receipt of child support even when the parents live in different countries. For this purpose, international treaties on legal assistance and the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance dated November 23, 2007, are in effect.

Practical instructions for the alimony claimant

Step 1. Make sure you have a court decision that has come into legal force.

Step 2. Find out in which country the debtor lives or works.

Step 3. Check whether there is an international treaty between Ukraine and the respective country regarding the recognition and enforcement of court decisions or the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support.

Step 4. Prepare a package of documents, which usually includes:

• a petition for recognition and enforcement of the decision;
• a copy of the court decision;
• a document confirming the decision has come into legal force;
• a certificate on the status of enforcement of the decision in Ukraine (if necessary);
• translation of documents into the language of the respective country.

Step 5. Submit the documents through the Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or another competent authority designated by the international treaty.

Step 6. After submitting the documents, the foreign competent authority considers the issue of recognition of the decision and takes measures to recover alimony in accordance with its national legislation.

Practice shows that cases of alimony recovery constitute a significant part of international legal assistance provided by justice authorities. This allows protecting the rights of children even when one of the parents is thousands of kilometers away from Ukraine.

Modern international mechanisms make it possible to ensure the enforcement of Ukrainian court decisions abroad, thereby supporting people in situations where the protection of their rights goes beyond one state.

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