Towards sustainable civil justice: Lessons from Ukraine and Austria

Abstract

The judiciary has always been a crucial part of rule of law states and open societies, guaranteeing the right to protection, if needed, to perform and establish justice in general. Today, we face many challenges that require a more flexible and more resilient judicial mechanism aimed at achieving fair and equal justice for all amid pandemics, armed conflicts, and crises. In this article, we explore the Ukrainian experience in civil justice development, which is worth attention for many reasons. Despite the soviet inheritance’s wide-reaching impact on legal development, 30 years later, novel approaches have been realized in the new Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine. Therefore, in the first part of the article, particular attention will be devoted to the dichotomy of the right of protection vs dispute resolution as the main aim of civil justice evolution in a democratic state. In the second part, we will summarize how to ensure equal access to justice amid COVID-19. Comparing the examples of Ukraine and Austria provided a basis for the concluding remarks, which allow us to contribute to furthering civil justice evolution for the next generation.

Keywords

• Sustainable justice; Civil procedure; Alternative dispute resolution; European civil procedure; Harmonization of civil procedure; Ukrainian-Austrian relations; Strengthening of judicial cooperation.