How to Appeal a Court Decision in Ukraine • DSA GROUP

An appeal is the way to challenge a decision of a court of first instance before a higher court. The rules depend on the type of case: civil cases are governed by the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPC), commercial cases by the Commercial Procedure Code (CommPC), disputes with public authorities by the Code of Administrative Procedure (CAP), and criminal cases by the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Below: the deadlines, where to file, what to include, how much to pay and why an appeal may not be accepted.

Deadlines for filing

Civil case: 30 days against a judgment and 15 days against a ruling, from the day it is pronounced; 10 days against a judgment on the adoption of a child (part 1 of Article 354 CPC).
Commercial case: 20 days against a judgment and 10 days against a ruling (part 1 of Article 256 CommPC).
Administrative case: 30 days against a judgment and 15 days against a ruling (part 1 of Article 295 CAP). Some categories have a shorter period of 10 days:
- cases on bringing a person to administrative liability (part 4 of Article 286 CAP);
- cases concerning the State Enforcement Service or a private enforcement officer (part 6 of Article 287 CAP);
- cases on the forced return or expulsion of foreigners (part 3 of Article 288 CAP).
Criminal proceedings (part 2 of Article 395 CrPC):
- against a verdict – 30 days from the day it is pronounced;
- against a ruling on detention made during the trial – 5 days;
- against other rulings of the court of first instance – 7 days;
- against a ruling of an investigating judge – 5 days.

Under the CPC, CommPC and CAP, the period runs from the day the full judgment is drawn up in two cases: if only the introductory and operative parts were pronounced at the hearing, or if the case was heard without notifying the participants (under the CAP, in written proceedings). A participant who was not served with the full judgment on the day it was pronounced or drawn up is entitled to have the period restored if they file the appeal within the same period from the day of service (parts 1 and 2 of Article 354 CPC, Article 256 CommPC, Article 295 CAP).

In criminal proceedings, for a person held in custody the period runs from the moment they are served with a copy of the decision. If the decision was made without summoning the person, it runs from the day they receive a copy (part 3 of Article 395 CrPC).

If the deadline has been missed

The period may be restored if the reasons for missing it are valid (part 3 of Article 354 CPC, Article 256 CommPC, Article 295 CAP).
If the appeal is filed late and there is no request to restore the period, or the reasons are found not to be valid, the court leaves the appeal without action. Within 10 days of being served with that ruling, the appellant may apply to restore the period or give other grounds (part 3 of Article 357 CPC).
If a year has passed since the full judgment was drawn up, the court will refuse to open appeal proceedings regardless of the reasons. The exceptions are an appeal by a person who was not notified of the case or not joined to it, and force majeure (part 2 of Article 358 CPC, part 2 of Article 261 CommPC). Under the CAP, this limit applies only to a prosecutor and a public authority (part 2 of Article 299 CAP).

Where to file

CPC, CommPC, CAP: directly with the appellate court (Article 355 CPC, Article 257 CommPC, Article 297 CAP). An appeal filed in any other way is returned (item 3 of part 5 of Article 357 CPC).
CrPC: an appeal against a verdict or another decision of the court of first instance is filed through the court that made it; an appeal against a ruling of an investigating judge is filed directly with the appellate court (part 1 of Article 395 CrPC).
Electronic cabinet: advocates, notaries, public authorities, legal entities and certain other participants are required to register one in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (part 6 of Article 14 CPC). If such a participant has not registered an electronic cabinet, their appeal is left without action (part 2 of Article 357 CPC).

What to include in an appeal

The requirements of the CPC (Article 356); those of the CommPC (Article 258) and the CAP (Article 296) are almost the same:

the name of the court to which the appeal is addressed;
details of the appellant (name or company name, address, taxpayer registration number (RNOKPP) or EDRPOU code, contact details, whether they have an electronic cabinet) and of the other participants in the case;
the judgment or ruling under appeal;
why the decision is unlawful or unfounded: incomplete or incorrect establishment of the facts, incorrect assessment of the evidence, incorrect determination of the legal relationship;
new circumstances and evidence, with an explanation of why they were not submitted to the court of first instance;
the appellant’s requests;
the date on which a copy of the decision under appeal was received;
a list of enclosures.

The appeal must be accompanied by (part 4 of Article 356 CPC):

a power of attorney or another document confirming the representative’s authority, if it is not already in the case file;
a document confirming payment of the court fee, or the grounds for exemption from it;
evidence of the date on which the decision was received;
when filing through the electronic cabinet, evidence that copies have been sent to the other participants.

The CAP has one particular rule: if the appeal does not contain a request for the case to be heard with the appellant’s participation, the appellant is deemed not to wish to take part in the hearing (part 3 of Article 296 CAP).

The CrPC requirements are shorter (Article 396): the name of the court, details of the appellant, the decision under appeal, the requests and the grounds for them, any request to examine evidence, and a list of enclosures. If the appeal refers to circumstances or evidence not examined at first instance, the reasons must be explained.

New evidence on appeal

The appellate court reviews the decision within the limits of the arguments and requests in the appeal. It accepts evidence that was not submitted at first instance only in exceptional cases, if the participant proves that they could not submit it for reasons objectively beyond their control. New claims and new grounds for a claim are not considered on appeal (parts 1, 3 and 6 of Article 367 CPC).

Court fee in 2026

Rates are calculated from the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as at 1 January of the year in which the appeal is filed (part 1 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On Court Fee”); in 2026 it is UAH 3,328. A coefficient of 0.8 applies when the appeal is filed electronically (part 3 of Article 4).

Civil case, appeal against a judgment: 150% of the rate that was payable on the claim. For an individual or an individual entrepreneur there is a cap (subitem 6 of item 1 of part 2 of Article 4):
- in property disputes, no more than 8 subsistence minimums (UAH 26,624);
- in disputes over the protection of social, employment, family and housing rights (other than ownership of property) and compensation for harm to health (other than moral damage), no more than 3 (UAH 9,984).
Civil case, appeal against a ruling: an individual pays 0.2 of the subsistence minimum (UAH 665.60); a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur pays 1 subsistence minimum (UAH 3,328) (subitem 9 of item 1 of part 2 of Article 4).
Commercial case: 150% of the rate that was payable on the claim for an appeal against a judgment; 1 subsistence minimum for an appeal against a ruling (subitems 6 and 8 of item 2 of part 2 of Article 4).
Administrative case: 150% of the rate that was payable on the claim for an appeal against a judgment, but no more than 15 subsistence minimums (UAH 49,920); 1 subsistence minimum for an appeal against a ruling (subitems 2 and 5 of item 3 of part 2 of Article 4).
Criminal proceedings: the CrPC does not require proof of payment of a fee to be attached (Article 396 CrPC), and the Law “On Court Fee” sets no rates for appeals in criminal proceedings.

No court fee is payable, in particular, for appeals concerning the protection of the rights of minors (item 12 of part 2 of Article 3 of the Law “On Court Fee”).

How long the review takes and what the court can decide

An appeal against a judgment is heard within 60 days, and an appeal against a ruling within 30 days, of the opening of appeal proceedings (Article 371 CPC, Article 273 CommPC, Article 309 CAP). Under the CPC and the CAP, the period may be extended in exceptional cases by no more than 15 days.

The appellate court may (Article 374 CPC):

uphold the judgment;
set it aside in whole or in part and give a new judgment, or vary the judgment;
close the proceedings or leave the claim without consideration;
refer the case to another court of first instance.

In criminal proceedings, the appellate court may worsen the position of the accused (apply the law on a more serious offence or impose a harsher sentence) only if an appeal on those grounds was lodged by the prosecutor, the victim or the victim’s representative (part 1 of Article 421 CrPC). A verdict based on an agreement can be appealed only on the grounds expressly listed in Article 394 CrPC.

A decision of the appellate court can be challenged before the Supreme Court if the case passes the cassation filter; the deadlines, grounds and court fee are explained in Cassation Appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

Why an appeal is returned or proceedings are not opened

Under the CPC (Articles 357 and 358):

the appeal is not signed, or is signed by a person not entitled to sign it;
the appeal was not filed with the appellate court;
the appeal concerns a ruling that cannot be appealed separately from the judgment (the rulings that can be are listed in Article 353 CPC);
the decision is not open to appeal, or the opening of proceedings on an appeal by the same person against the same decision has already been refused, or such an appeal has already been dismissed;
the deadline was missed without valid reasons, or a year has passed since the full judgment was drawn up.

An appeal with formal defects is first left without action so that they can be corrected (part 2 of Article 357 CPC).

Frequently asked questions

Can I appeal if I did not take part in the case?

Yes, if the court decided on your rights, interests or obligations (part 1 of Article 352 CPC, part 1 of Article 254 CommPC, part 1 of Article 293 CAP).

Can any ruling be appealed?

No. Only the rulings expressly listed in the code can be appealed separately from the judgment (Article 353 CPC, Article 255 CommPC, Article 294 CAP). Objections to other rulings are included in the appeal against the judgment (part 3 of Article 293 CAP, part 2 of Article 392 CrPC).

How much does an appeal against a ruling in a civil case cost?

For an individual, UAH 665.60; when filed through the electronic cabinet, the 0.8 coefficient applies, giving UAH 532.48.

This article reflects the position as of October 2026 (the CPC, CommPC, CAP, CrPC and the Law of Ukraine “On Court Fee” as currently in force). It is general information and does not replace advice on a specific case.

Need to challenge a court decision? A lawyer will assess the prospects, check the deadlines and prepare the appeal → Civil and commercial disputes · Administrative disputes · Appealing a verdict: appeal and cassation