Ukraine is considering allowing court summonses to be sent via messaging apps
In Ukraine, there is a proposal to introduce remote notification of participants in criminal proceedings regarding court summonses via messaging apps and email. The bill also provides for a mechanism to recover criminal case files that were lost in the temporarily occupied territories.
Bill No. 15376 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, proposing to regulate criminal proceedings that have become impossible due to the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories.
The document provides for:
- the introduction of electronic summonses for suspects located in the temporarily occupied territories or in the Russian Federation via the Office of the Prosecutor General’s website, email, messaging apps, and social media;
- a mechanism for recovering criminal case materials lost due to the occupation;
- the ability to suspend and resume pretrial investigations, as well as to close certain cases after the statute of limitations has expired.
In addition, it provides for the invalidation of documents issued by the occupying authorities, with the possibility of using them as evidence only if their authenticity is confirmed.
The bill also establishes new rules for crediting time served by convicts who were held in the occupied territories and expands their rights to have in absentia convictions reviewed. It also grants the right to social reintegration to individuals who served sentences in the temporarily occupied territories or in the Russian Federation pursuant to judgments of Ukrainian courts.
Thus, Bill No. 15376 proposes a comprehensive mechanism for restoring justice in cases that have been stalled due to armed aggression. The introduction of electronic notifications, procedures for restoring lost materials at any stage, and clear rules for crediting the “occupation” period of imprisonment should ensure the inevitability of accountability, provided that the procedural rights of the parties are respected.
This was reported by the Judicial and Legal Gazette.
Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada on incentive contracts for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A bill on the liability of judges in cases where the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) finds violations in their decisions was also registered.
As a reminder, the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada on penalties for disinformation.
