
934
Iryna Izarova, Yurii Prytyka, Tetiana Tsuvina y Bohdan Karnaukh
Case Management in Ukrainian Civil Justice: First Steps Ahead
3. Organization of the Сase Сonsideration in a Timely Manner
The second component of the organization of consideration of the 
case is connected with the equally actual problem of the duration of legal 
proceedings. According to the CPC 2004, reasonable time was provided for 
the consideration of a civil case, but not more than two months from the 
date of opening of the proceedings. Reduced terms were set only for two 
categories of cases, which are alimony and labor disputes. The CPC 2017 
secures the principle of the reasonableness of the terms of consideration of 
the case by the court. Accordingly, a reasonable period of consideration is 
provided for simplied proceedings, but not more than sixty days from the 
date of opening of the proceedings. 
The following time limits are foreseen for the general proceedings: 
the court must begin the examination of the case on the merits no later 
than sixty days from the date of opening of the proceedings, and, in case 
of extension of the preparatory proceedings, no later than the next day 
after the expiration of such term; the court should consider the case on the 
merits no later than thirty days from the date of the beginning of the trial 
on the merits. According to Article 189, preparatory proceedings must be 
held within sixty days of the opening of the proceedings, but in exceptional 
cases, in order to properly prepare the case for substantive consideration, 
this period may be extended by no more than thirty days at the request of 
one of the parties or by the initiative of the court. Thus, proceedings in the 
case may take about 120 days or 4 months: the preparatory proceedings 
may take 90 days, then 30 days to consider the case on the merits. 
The judge, in accordance with the provisions of the new CPC, even 
received more power: in accordance with Article 121, he should establish 
reasonable time limits for the conduct of procedural actions. Procedural 
terms in national legislation have always been divided into two types: the 
ones established by law and those established by court. According to the new 
CPC, the court should set such terms as submission of written applications, 
etc. However, there are some weaknesses in the new CPC the provisions of 
part 7 Article 178, according to which a revocation shall be submitted within 
the period set by the court, but not later than fteen days from the date of 
delivery of the decision on the opening of the proceedings. 
This term must simultaneously allow the defendant to prepare this 
revocation and the relevant evidence and allow other participants of the 
case to receive a revocation no later than the rst preparatory meeting in the 
case. According to Articles 179 and 180, the plainti and the defendant are 
also entitled to exchange the response to the revocation and the objections 
in time set by the court, but before the start of the trial on the merits. That 
means that, on the one hand, the basis for the cooperation between the 
court and the parties is created, but, on the other hand, it is hardly possible