The Supreme Court ruled that a screenshot from Viber was admissible as evidence

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has ruled that a screenshot of a conversation on the Viber messaging app can serve as full-fledged electronic evidence in a court case. A post or message is admissible in court provided that the content of the correspondence and the identities of the participants can be reliably established; the absence of an electronic digital signature does not render such evidence inadmissible.

The basis for this clarification was a case involving a lawsuit filed by the former head of the internal security department at JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia.” The employee was terminated in 2024 upon the expiration of his employment contract. 

The plaintiff sought a court ruling declaring the April 2022 order suspending his contract unlawful and demanding payment of his average earnings for the period of forced absence from work. He claimed that the employer could have provided him with work (including remotely) and that he had not been properly informed of this decision; furthermore, he allegedly only learned of the suspension of payments at the time of his dismissal.

Representatives of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” refuted this claim, providing the court with evidence of messages sent via Viber and pay stubs sent by email. The court found that on April 19, 2022, the employee received a notification regarding the suspension of his contract on his personal phone number, to which he replied: “Hi. OK.” Since the phone number matched the information in the complaint, the court deemed the fact of proper notification to be confirmed. 

This is reported in a ruling by the Supreme Court.

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