The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is reviewing the constitutionality of the payment of court fees for appealing the actions of state and private bailiffs

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is considering a case concerning the constitutionality of the provisions of the Law "On Court Fees" regarding the collection of court fees for appeals to the administrative court in disputes related to challenging decisions, actions, or inaction of state and private bailiffs during the enforcement of court decisions that have entered into legal force.

The Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine reviewed the case in an open part of the plenary session in the form of written proceedings based on a constitutional submission by the Supreme Court.

During the plenary session, the reporting judge in the case, Alla Oliynyk, presented the content of the constitutional submission and the reasoning of the petitioner. The judge informed that the Supreme Court requests verification of the compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of part two of Article 3, subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 3 of part two of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Court Fees" dated July 8, 2011, No. 3674–VI.

Part two of Article 3 of the Law defines the list of claims, other applications, motions, appeals, and cassation complaints for which court fees are not charged.

Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 3 of part two of Article 4 of the Law establish the rates of court fees for filing an administrative claim and an appeal against a court decision, an application to join an appeal against a court decision, and an application for review of a court decision due to newly discovered circumstances to the administrative court.

Justifying the claim of unconstitutionality of the contested provisions of the Law, the subject of the constitutional submission notes that court fees are charged according to the Law for filing a claim under Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine and for filing an appeal or cassation complaint against a court ruling made as a result of consideration of such a claim.

Part one of Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure establishes the right, in particular, of participants in enforcement proceedings to apply to the administrative court with a claim regarding unlawful actions or inaction of a state or private bailiff.

The judge informed that the conclusion of the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court was the basis for the Supreme Court to submit the constitutional submission. The subject of the cassation appeal was a ruling of the appellate court to return the appeal due to non-payment of the court fee concerning the appeal of a decision of the state enforcement service, the procedure for which is defined by Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

In the context of this case, the disputed issue was the payment of court fees for filing an appeal against the ruling of the first instance court that returned the claim due to non-payment of the court fee for filing the claim under Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

The Supreme Court notes that after the Constitutional Court of Ukraine's decision dated May 13, 2024, No. 6-r(II)/2024, no court fee is charged for appealing decisions, actions, or inaction of state/private bailiffs in civil proceedings. Instead, court fees are charged in the general manner established in Article 4 of the Law for filing a claim under Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure and for appeal and cassation appeals of court decisions made as a result of such claims. This creates unequal conditions for the plaintiff/claimant in enforcement proceedings in whose favor a court decision was made under administrative proceedings compared to the plaintiff/claimant in enforcement proceedings regarding the enforcement of a court decision made under civil or commercial procedure rules.

The Supreme Court also drew attention to the amount of court fee rates, noting that subparagraph 1 of paragraph 3 of part two of Article 4 of the Law refers to a claim in general and does not specify the subject matter of the dispute.

The subject of the constitutional submission believes that the phrase "against a court ruling" in subparagraph 5 of paragraph 3 of part two of Article 4 of the Law has a generalizing character and does not differentiate rulings (contains no exceptions or reservations) for which court fees are not charged upon appeal.

Referring to the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine and the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court concluded that there are signs of inconsistency of the contested provisions of the Law that allow the claimant in enforcement proceedings to be charged court fees for filing an administrative claim, appeal, or cassation complaint in cases concerning decisions, actions, or inaction of the state enforcement service or private bailiff under Article 287 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, part one of Article 8, parts one and two of Article 55, and Article 129-1 of the Constitution of Ukraine, as they restrict the right to a fair trial.

"Considering the constitutional principle of the binding nature of a court decision enshrined in paragraph 9 of part two of Article 129 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person in whose favor a court decision has been made should not pay a court fee for applying to the court to ensure the enforcement of a court decision (establishment of judicial control) that has entered into legal force," the Supreme Court states.

The reporting judge informed that to ensure the completeness of the case review, requests were sent to state authorities, scientific institutions, and members of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine requesting legal analysis of the issues raised in the constitutional submission.

After examining the case materials in the open part, the Court moved to the closed part of the plenary session for further discussion of issues related to the constitutional proceedings.

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