Administrative Proceedings in Ukraine: Which Disputes Administrative Courts Hear and How to File a Claim

If a decision, action or inaction of a public authority violates your rights, you have to defend them in an administrative court. Administrative proceedings are the activity of administrative courts in hearing and resolving administrative cases in the manner established by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine (paragraph 5 of part 1 of Article 4 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine (CAP)). Below: which disputes fall within the jurisdiction of administrative courts, which court to apply to, within what time limit, how much to pay and how administrative proceedings differ from civil ones. The law is stated as at 28 October 2026.

What an administrative case is

• An administrative case is a public-law dispute referred to an administrative court for resolution (paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 4 CAP).
• A public-law dispute is, in particular, a dispute in which at least one party exercises public administrative functions of authority (including delegated ones) and the dispute arose in connection with the performance or non-performance of those functions; or a party provides administrative services that by law may be provided only by a public authority, and the dispute arose in connection with providing or not providing them (paragraph 2 of part 1 of Article 4 CAP).
• A public authority is a state authority, a local self-government body, a military command body, their official or officer, or another entity when it exercises public administrative functions of authority or provides administrative services (paragraph 7 of part 1 of Article 4 CAP).
• The task of administrative proceedings is the fair, impartial and timely resolution of disputes in public-law relations in order to effectively protect the rights, freedoms and interests of individuals and the rights and interests of legal entities against violations by public authorities (part 1 of Article 2 CAP).

Which disputes administrative courts hear

The jurisdiction of administrative courts extends to public-law disputes, in particular (part 1 of Article 19 CAP):

• challenges to decisions (regulatory and individual acts), actions or inaction of a public authority, unless the law establishes a different court procedure for such disputes;
• admission of citizens to public service, its performance and dismissal from public service;
• access to public information – challenges to decisions, actions or inaction of the information manager;
• challenges to decisions of attestation, competition and medical and social expert commissions, expert teams assessing a person’s everyday functioning and similar bodies;
• seizure or compulsory alienation of property for public needs;
• administrative contracts, elections and referendums, and disputes between authorities over their competence.

Administrative courts do not hear, in particular, cases referred to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, cases resolved under criminal procedure and cases on the imposition of administrative penalties, except in cases provided for by the CAP (part 2 of Article 19 CAP). In other words, cases on bringing a person to administrative liability are not heard under the CAP, but a public authority’s ruling imposing a fine may be challenged in court under the CAP rules (see below).

What you can ask the court for

A person may apply to an administrative court if they believe that a decision, action or inaction of a public authority has violated their rights, freedoms or legitimate interests, and ask the court to (part 1 of Article 5 CAP):

• declare a regulatory act or certain of its provisions unlawful and invalid;
• declare an individual act or certain of its provisions unlawful and set it aside;
• declare actions unlawful and oblige the authority to refrain from certain actions;
• declare inaction unlawful and oblige the authority to take certain actions;
• establish whether a public authority has or lacks competence (powers);
• together with one of the decisions listed above – recover from the defendant funds to compensate for damage caused by an unlawful decision, action or inaction.

The court may protect rights in another way that does not contradict the law and ensures their effective protection (part 2 of Article 5 CAP).

Which court to apply to

• Local general courts acting as administrative courts hear, in particular, cases concerning decisions, actions or inaction of authorities in cases on bringing persons to administrative liability (challenges to rulings imposing fines), certain election cases and cases concerning the stay of foreigners (part 1 of Article 20 CAP).
• District administrative courts hear all other administrative cases, except those assigned to other courts (part 2 of Article 20 CAP).
• Where exactly to file. Cases concerning individual acts, actions or inaction of an authority in respect of a specific person are heard, at the claimant’s choice, by the court at the claimant’s registered place of residence (stay, location) or at the defendant’s location (part 1 of Article 25 CAP).
• Appealing a court decision. An appeal against a decision is filed within thirty days, and against a ruling within fifteen days of its announcement (part 1 of Article 295 CAP); a cassation appeal is filed within thirty days (part 1 of Article 329 CAP).

Time limits for applying to court

• General time limit – six months from the day the person learned or should have learned of the violation of their rights, freedoms or interests (part 2 of Article 122 CAP). The CAP and other laws may set other time limits (part 3 of Article 122 CAP).
• Public service (admission, performance, dismissal) – one month (part 5 of Article 122 CAP).
• After a complaint to the authority. If the law provides for a pre-trial procedure and you used it (or it is mandatory), the time limit is three months from the day the decision on the complaint was served. If no decision on the complaint was taken or served in time – six months from the day the complaint was filed (part 4 of Article 122 CAP).
• Ruling on an administrative offence – ten days from the day it was issued, and in the field of road safety (including offences recorded automatically) – from the day it was served (part 2 of Article 286 CAP).
• If the time limit has been missed and there is no application to restore it, or the reasons are found not valid, the court leaves the claim without progress; within ten days of service of the ruling you may file an application to restore the time limit or state other grounds (part 1 of Article 123 CAP). Otherwise, the claim will be returned (part 2 of Article 123 CAP).

Court fee in 2026

The rates depend on the type of claim and the claimant (paragraph 3 of part 2 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On Court Fee”). The subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as at 1 January 2026 is UAH 3,328 (Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026”):

• non-property claim by an individual – 0.4 of the subsistence minimum, i.e. UAH 1,331.20;
• non-property claim by a legal entity, an individual entrepreneur or a public authority – 1 subsistence minimum, i.e. UAH 3,328;
• property claim by an individual or an individual entrepreneur – 1% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 1,331.20 and not more than UAH 16,640;
• property claim by a legal entity or a public authority – 1.5% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 3,328 and not more than UAH 33,280.

If the claim is filed electronically, the rate is multiplied by a coefficient of 0.8 (part 3 of Article 4 of the Law “On Court Fee”): for a non-property claim by an individual this is UAH 1,064.96. The Law provides exemptions for certain categories of claimants – check whether you are one of them. From 1 January 2027, the amounts will change together with the subsistence minimum.

How administrative proceedings differ from civil proceedings

• Who proves what. In cases on the unlawfulness of decisions, actions or inaction of a public authority, the burden of proving their lawfulness lies on the defendant, which must submit to the court all available documents and materials that may serve as evidence (part 2 of Article 77 CAP).
• Active role of the court. The court takes the measures provided by law to establish all the circumstances of the case, in particular, identifies and requests evidence on its own initiative (part 4 of Article 9 CAP). The court may go beyond the claims if this is necessary for the effective protection of rights (part 2 of Article 9 CAP).
• What the court checks. Whether the decision was taken (the action performed) on the basis, within the powers and in the manner provided for by the Constitution and laws; for the purpose for which the powers were granted; with due justification; impartially; in good faith; reasonably; with respect for equality; proportionately; taking into account the person’s right to participate in the decision-making; and in a timely manner (part 2 of Article 2 CAP).
• Silence of the authority. If a public authority fails to file a statement of defence without good reason, the court may treat this as admission of the claim (part 4 of Article 159 CAP).

General and simplified procedure

• Cases are heard under the general or the simplified claim procedure (part 1 of Article 12 CAP). The simplified procedure is intended for cases of minor complexity and other cases where speedy resolution is a priority (part 2 of Article 12 CAP).
• Cases of minor complexity include, in particular, disputes concerning public service (with exceptions for officials holding a responsible position), inaction of an authority in considering an appeal or a request for information, and pensions and other social payments to individuals (part 6 of Article 12 CAP).
• Only under the general procedure are heard, in particular, challenges to regulatory acts (except in cases provided for by the CAP) and cases where, together with a challenge to a decision, compensation for damage exceeding one hundred subsistence minimums is claimed (part 4 of Article 12 CAP).

How to file a claim

What to include in a statement of claim, which documents to attach and how to file it through the electronic cabinet is explained in our article on the statement of claim (it also covers the specifics of administrative cases); how to answer an authority’s statement of defence – in our article on the response to a statement of defence.

Frequently asked questions

Can a ruling imposing a fine be challenged in court?

Yes. Cases concerning decisions of authorities in cases on bringing persons to administrative liability are heard by local general courts acting as administrative courts (paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 20 CAP). The claim is filed within ten days of the day the ruling was issued, and in the field of road safety – from the day it was served (part 2 of Article 286 CAP). The case is decided within ten days of the opening of proceedings (part 1 of Article 286 CAP).

Do I have to complain to a higher authority first?

Only if the law establishes a mandatory pre-trial procedure. If you did use a complaint, the time limit for applying to court is three months from the day the decision on it was served (part 4 of Article 122 CAP).

What if the time limit for applying to court has been missed?

File, together with the claim, an application to restore the time limit, stating valid reasons. Without it, the court will leave the claim without progress and give you ten days to file it (part 1 of Article 123 CAP).

Can a public authority itself file a claim with an administrative court?

Yes, but only in the cases provided for by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine (part 4 of Article 5 CAP). For such claims, the general time limit is three months (part 2 of Article 122 CAP).

This article is for information only, reflects the law as at 28 October 2026 and is not a substitute for advice on your situation.

Has an authority taken an unlawful decision or failed to act? An advocate will assess the time limits and grounds, prepare the claim and evidence and represent you in the administrative court → Administrative disputes · Disputes with state authorities · Challenging administrative rulings and fines. If the court decision is not in your favour – see our articles on the appeal and the cassation appeal.