Ukraine

The Law on Private International Law lists categories of foreign court and other decisions that may be recognized and enforced in Ukraine. They include judgments of foreign courts rendered in civil, employment, family and commercial matters, sentences in criminal cases (in part related to compensation for damages and losses), as well as foreign arbitral awards and decisions of other foreign authorities competent to consider civil and commercial cases. The procedure for recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments, grounds to deny the same and other relevant issues are governed by the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPC).

If there is a valid international treaty ratified by Ukraine, a foreign court judgment is recognized and enforced on the basis of that treaty.

What are the main international treaties or conventions that apply?

The main international treaties on the matters of recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments to which Ukraine is a party are as follows:

• the Hague Judgments Convention 2019 (Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters) (in force for Ukraine since 1 September 2023);
• the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 (in force for Ukraine since 1 August 2008); and
• the European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children 1980 (in force for Ukraine since 1November 2008).

Ukraine also has bilateral treaties with several countries governing recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments.

What legal principles apply if there is no applicable international treaty or convention?

In the absence of an applicable international treaty or convention, a foreign court judgment can be recognized and enforced in Ukraine under the CPC, on the basis of the reciprocity principle. In that case, it is presumed that reciprocity exists unless proven otherwise.

In order to be recognized and enforced in Ukraine, a foreign court judgment must have entered into legal force. It can only be recognized and enforced in Ukraine if a debtor is located/resides in Ukraine, or if the debtor’s assets are in Ukraine

Enforcement of a foreign court judgment in Ukraine can be sought within three years after the date when it entered into force. The deadline can be extended if the court finds that it has been missed for a valid reason. Judgments providing for recovery of periodical payments are an exception — their enforcement may be sought throughout the whole recovery period, with debt repayment only for the last three years.

An applicant seeking to have a foreign judgment recognized and enforced in Ukraine, shall submit to the competent Ukrainian court the relevant application with a duly certified copy of the foreign judgment, an official document stating that the foreign judgment has entered into legal force (unless this is stated in the decision itself), among other documents. Certified translations of these documents into Ukrainian (or a language provided for by international treaties binding in Ukraine) shall also be filed.

Unless other grounds are envisaged by a specific international treaty, the Ukrainian court may deny enforcement of a foreign court judgment if any of the following circumstances are present:

• a foreign court judgment has not entered into legal force under the law of the country where it was rendered;
• the party against whom the judgment was issued was deprived of the possibility to take part in the litigation because they were not duly and timely informed about the case;
• a foreign court judgment was rendered in a case falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of a Ukrainian court or another competent Ukrainian authority;
• there is a judgment rendered by Ukrainian court between the same parties, on the same subject matter and based on the same grounds, and that judgment has already entered into force;
• a case between the same parties, on the same subject matter and based on the same grounds is pending before Ukrainian court, and this case had been opened before the foreign court proceedings were commenced;
• the deadline for submitting a foreign court judgment for enforcement in Ukraine, established by the applicable international treaties and by Ukrainian procedural law, has been missed;
• the subject matter of the dispute is not subject to judicial review under Ukrainian law;
• enforcement of a foreign court judgment would pose a threat to the interests of Ukraine (which may include, inter alia, cases involving sanctioned persons and their assets); or
• a foreign court judgment in a dispute between the same parties, on the same subject matter and based on the same grounds as the judgment sought to be enforced has already been recognized and enforced in Ukraine.

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and presents only the most common grounds to deny enforcement of a foreign court judgment in Ukraine.

Ukrainian law also prohibits recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in cases concerning recovery of debt from defense industry enterprises in favor of legal entities of the aggressor state/occupying state (Russian Federation).

In Ukraine, foreign arbitral awards are recognized and enforced under the rules established in the CPC, the UNCITRAL Model Law-based Law of Ukraine On International Commercial Arbitration ("ICA Law"), and international treaties of Ukraine, primarily the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (“the New York Convention”, in force for Ukraine since 10 January 1961). Ukraine is also party to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States 1965 (“the ICSID Convention”, in force for Ukraine since 7 July 2000) and the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration 1961 (in force for Ukraine since 7 January 1964).

The time limit for filing an application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award to the competent Ukrainian court is three years from the date when the award was rendered. This deadline can be renewed if the court finds that it has been missed for a valid reason.

Foreign arbitral awards can be recognized and enforced in Ukraine only if a debtor is located/resides in Ukraine, or if the debtor’s assets are in Ukraine.

An applicant seeking to have a foreign arbitral award recognized and enforced in Ukraine, shall submit the relevant application with the original duly certified arbitral award (or a notarized copy) and the original arbitration agreement (or a notarized copy), among other documents. Unless the documents are in Ukrainian, certified translations into Ukrainian shall also be filed.

The competent Ukrainian court can deny recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award based on the grounds listed in Article V of the New York Convention (and repeated — to a significant, but not, full extent — in the CPC and the ICA Law, which apply when the New York Convention does not). This list of grounds is exhaustive albeit some may be interpreted quite broadly. For instance, there were cases where Ukrainian courts denied recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards rendered in cases involving sanctioned persons (and their assets) on public policy grounds. Similarly, public policy defense covers a prohibition on recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in cases where collection of debt is sought from a defense industry enterprise in favor of a legal entity of the aggressor state and/or the occupying state.

When the court is considering an application for recognition and enforcement, it does not check whether the arbitral award is correct on the merits. Rather, the court’s review is focused on determining whether the application meets applicable procedural requirements and whether any circumstances constituting grounds for denial of recognition are in place.

A motion for enforcement of a foreign court judgment is considered by a local general (civil) court at the place of a debtor’s residence or location. If the debtor has no place of residence or location in Ukraine, or if such place is unknown, the application is considered by the local general (civil) court at the place where the debtor’s assets are located.

If recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award is sought, there is one specific court in Ukraine dealing with the relevant applications as the first-instance court: the Kyiv Court of Appeal (provided the debtor has a place of residence, location or assets in Ukraine). While this court considers applications for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards as the court of first instance, the Supreme Court hears appeals against any decisions taken by the Kyiv Court of Appeal in this category of cases.

The court procedure on recognition and enforcement of a foreign court judgment or a foreign arbitral award is expected to take from two to six months (depending on whether the decision of the first-instance court is appealed) but delays do happen occasionally.

Court fee payable for a writ of execution in Ukraine of a foreign arbitral award or a foreign court judgment is rather modest: in 2026 it is approximately EUR 34 for applicants-legal entities and EUR 13 for applicants-individuals.

A ruling issued by the lower Ukrainian court following consideration of a motion for enforcement of a foreign court judgment can be appealed to the courts of appeal. A cassation appeal to the Supreme Court is also available.

A ruling rendered by the Kyiv Court of Appeal in the result of consideration of an application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award can be appealed to the Supreme Court. No cassation appeal is available.

If no appeal is filed against a ruling in either of the two categories of cases referred to immediately above, the ruling enters into force once the period for filing appeal expires. If a ruling is appealed, it enters into force after the appeal process is over (provided the ruling is upheld). A court issues a writ of execution only once the ruling granting enforcement enters into force; in such cases appeal does prevent enforcement. Filing a cassation appeal (as available in cases regarding recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments) does not prevent enforcement unless the Supreme Court suspends it.

Measures

A number of measures aimed at obtaining information about a debtor’s assets are available in the context of enforcement proceedings conducted after a competent Ukrainian court has granted a motion for enforcement of a foreign court judgment or a foreign arbitral award, pursuant to the Law on Enforcement Proceedings. First, a debtor under a monetary judgment or award is obliged to submit to a bailiff a declaration of income and assets within five business days from the date when the enforcement proceedings are opened. Among the bailiff’s powers related to obtaining information about debtor’s assets are those listed below. The bailiff may:

• directly access information about debtors, their assets, income, and funds (including confidential information) contained in state databases and registers;
• receive explanations, statements and other information (including confidential information) required for conducting enforcement actions from state authorities, enterprises, institutions, organisations, officials, parties and other participants in the enforcement proceedings; and
• receive from banks, other financial institutions, non-bank payment service providers, electronic money issuers, as well as from state authorities (including tax authorities), and other entities, information about the existence of any accounts/e-wallets, the status of such accounts or e-wallets, movement of funds and transactions involving the debtor’s accounts or e-wallets, and so on.

If the debtor’s assets are in possession of other persons, or if other persons owe assets to the debtor, such persons are under an obligation to provide the bailiff with information about the relevant assets upon the bailiff’s request.

Ukrainian law also allows seeking a court-ordered disclosure (from a bank) of information about its client, which is protected by banking secrecy. The relevant applications are to be filed with local general (civil) courts for the location of the bank. The application is to be heard within five days in a closed session and the judgment is subject to immediate execution. This tool — although quite beneficial — may require creditors under foreign judgments or arbitral awards going an extra mile: while they remain “non-domesticated” in Ukraine through the recognition procedure, a Ukrainian judge may find them insufficient as a ground to order the disclosure sought, in which case the creditor may need to rely not only on the respective foreign judgment or arbitral award but also on the evidence, which had been submitted in order to obtain it.

Sanctions

Non-criminal liability

Individuals who fail to comply with a bailiff’s lawful demands, fail to provide information about the debtor’s income and assets or provide false information, fail to appear upon the bailiff’s request without a valid reason, or commit other violations of the laws governing enforcement process, risk being fined for commission of an administrative offense.

In addition, courts have powers to impose fines on participants in the judicial proceedings for non-performance of procedural duties (e.g., for failure to submit evidence requested by the court without valid reasons). Courts are also empowered to fine debtors as part of judicial control over enforcement of judgments.

Criminal liability

If the actions of a person who deliberately obstructs enforcement of a judgment or award (or otherwise violates the laws on enforcement) contain features of a criminal offense, the bailiff shall draw up a report and refer the matter to pre-trial investigation authorities. Interference with the activities of a bailiff, aimed at hindering the performance of their official duties or achieving an unlawful decision, is punishable under the Ukrainian Criminal Code. So too is the deliberate non-performance of a court decision that has entered into legal force, which includes rulings on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.

A party may seek court-ordered interim measures at any stage of consideration of its application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign court judgment or a foreign arbitral award. In the context of international arbitration, Ukrainian courts can grant interim measures in aid of arbitration (including where the seat of arbitration is abroad) as soon as the arbitration has been commenced.

To obtain the interim measures, the applicant shall prove that, if the measures are not taken, future enforcement of a judgment or an award may be significantly more difficult or impossible.

Ukrainian law provides for a non-exhaustive list of court-ordered interim measures, including:

• attachment of assets or funds owned by or owed to a debtor;
• prohibition for the debtor to perform certain actions;
• prohibition for third parties to perform actions with respect to the subject matter of the dispute, to make payments, to transfer assets to the debtor, or to perform obligations in the debtor’s favor; and
• suspension of customs clearance of goods, and so on.

Once a court issues a writ of execution, and the enforcement proceedings commence upon a creditor’s application, a bailiff also has a number of powers to ensure that the judgment or arbitral award are in fact successfully enforced.

The primary measure to preserve the debtor’s assets pending enforcement proceedings is attachment of assets (to be followed by seizure of the debtor’s assets and compulsory sale thereof).

The following types of assets may be subject to attachment:

• funds;
• securities;
• other property (property rights);
• corporate rights;
• intellectual property rights; and
• other assets, including those held by third parties or co-owned by a debtor.

Funds that can be attached include, inter alia:

• those held in accounts in banks and other financial institutions;
• non-bank payment service providers; and
• those in securities accounts, as well as funds in e-wallets.

A bailiff may restrict a debtor’s right to dispose of and/or use their assets, including funds, or impose an obligation on the debtor to use such assets under the conditions specified by the bailiff.

A bailiff is authorized to seal the property, premises, and places where funds are stored, withdraw the property from the debtor, and transfer it to other persons for safekeeping.

The attached property (except for securities, including shares, and certain other valuable items, such as jewellery) is usually transferred for safekeeping either to the debtor or another person appointed by the bailiff. The custodian may use the property if this does not reduce its value and if the creditor does not object.

With respect to the territorial scope of measures aimed at preservation of assets pending enforcement, such measures, if ordered by the competent Ukrainian court, are binding throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. The same applies to measures undertaken by a bailiff — they also have nationwide binding nature.

Once a Ukrainian court allows enforcement of a foreign arbitral award or court judgment, the court shall issue a writ of execution and enforcement proceedings can be initiated within three years after. A creditor can usually choose between state and private bailiffs but, in certain cases, only state bailiffs can handle the matter.

In its application to the bailiff (or shortly after it has been filed), a creditor can — and should — include information that can facilitate enforcement, such as information about the debtor’s bank accounts, sources of income, specific assets and their location. The more relevant information provided by the creditor, the higher the chances of speedy and efficient enforcement. If a creditor identifies particular assets of a debtor, the bailiff shall immediately verify whether the debtor is indeed their owner and, if so, attach the assets. Generally, a bailiff shall take all necessary measures to identify the debtor’s assets.

The law provides for a variety of enforcement actions that can be undertaken by a bailiff in order to have a judgment or award successfully enforced. The non-exhaustive list of such actions includes:

• recovery of different types of debtor’s assets, including those held by third parties or co-owned by a debtor (recovery of assets includes their attachment, seizure and compulsory sale);
• recovery of debtor’s income (including, inter alia, salary);
• seizure of items identified in a judgment or award from a debtor and transfer thereof to a creditor;
• prohibition for a debtor to dispose of and/or use their assets; and
• imposition of an obligation to use such assets under the terms specified by a

Enforcement against different types of assets listed below are governed by the general rules on enforcement measures but certain peculiar rules apply.

Bank accounts

Debtor’s funds in national and foreign currencies, as well as other valuables (including funds on the debtor’s accounts in banks and other financial institutions) are the primary target of enforcement. They shall be attached no later than the next business day after their discovery. Funds in accounts, which the debtor opens after a resolution on attachment of funds is issued, are also subject to the attachment.

If a debtor does not possess sufficient funds or other valuables to satisfy the creditor’s claims, other assets owned by the debtor shall immediately be subject to recovery. Enforcement against a debtor’s assets does not interrupt enforcement against the debtor’s funds. A debtor may propose which types of assets should be used first in the recovery process, but the bailiff is not bound by such proposals.

The law establishes several exceptions of types of funds that cannot be subject to attachment and recovery (they include, for example, funds in certain accounts related to payment of taxes).

Shares

Securities discovered by the bailiff are also subject to mandatory seizure and shall be transferred to a Ukrainian bank for safekeeping no later than the next business day pursuant to the terms of a contract entered into between the bank and the bailiff. Securities are attached in accordance with the procedure established by the laws on the depository system of Ukraine.

Debts due to the judgment debtor from third parties

A bailiff has the right to recover debtor’s assets held by other persons, as well as assets owed to the debtor by other persons. The said persons are under an obligation to provide information on the relevant assets upon the bailiff’s request. Once the bailiff receives information about the aforementioned assets, they shall make an inventory, attach and collect the assets, and arrange for their compulsory sale.

Recovery of funds held in accounts with banks and other financial institutions shall be carried out on the basis of a separate court ruling. Cash funds and physical assets owed to a debtor from other persons shall be seized by a bailiff from such persons in the presence of witnesses.

Real estate

Enforcement against real estate (as well as unfinished construction objects and future real estate objects) owned by an individual shall be carried out only if the debtor does not have sufficient funds or movable property. A residential house or apartment where the debtor actually resides shall be the last choice for enforcement among real estate objects owned by the debtor.

Having received confirmation of the debtor’s title to the real estate object, the bailiff shall attach it and enter information about such attachment in the relevant state register. If the debtor’s title to real estate is not officially registered, the bailiff shall ask the court to resolve the issue of enforcement against such property.

Movable property

The Law on Enforcement Proceedings establishes several peculiarities with respect to enforcement against movable property. For instance, food and other perishable items shall be attached and transferred for sale immediately after the attachment. Jewellery and certain other valuable items shall be subject to seizure from a debtor and shall be transferred for safekeeping to a Ukrainian bank no later than the next business day. Enforcement against certain types of assets is prohibited. Such assets include, for example, personal items used in day-to-day life, prizes and awards received by a debtor, etc.

As a general rule, enforcement is not permitted against assets that are beneficially — but not directly — owned by a judgment debtor. Ukrainian enforcement proceedings are primarily based on formal legal title (and, where applicable, its registration), and enforcement measures are typically applied only to assets directly belonging to the debtor. This also applies to cases where enforcement is directed against the debtor’s assets held by third parties or assets owed to the debtor by other persons.

Ukrainian courts may allow enforcement beyond formal ownership based on the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil but the application of this doctrine is possible only in exceptional circumstances, where other means of achieving justice are not available (Judgment of the Supreme Court dated 8 June 2023 in Case No. 22-з/824/316/2023, in which the Supreme Court did not find the exceptional circumstances required to pierce the corporate veil).

At present, the principles governing piercing the corporate veil are not sufficiently codified in Ukrainian law and have been developed primarily through court practice. They may, however, allow bringing claims against beneficial owners and, thus, make them direct debtors under a court judgment or arbitral award, rather than enforce a court judgment or arbitral award against the assets that are beneficially owned by the direct debtors. In order to have this doctrine successfully applied, exceptional circumstances must exist, under which the application of the doctrine is the only option for achieving justice (which is a high threshold).

Yes, the Law on Enforcement Proceedings expressly provides that one of the measures of enforcement is the attachment and recovery against assets, including those owned jointly by the debtor and other persons.

Where the debtor’s share in jointly owned property has not been determined, the bailiff shall ask the court to determine such share. A dispute between the co-owners as to the size of such share cannot serve as an obstacle to preventing enforcement against the debtor’s share (Judgment of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court dated 6 October 2020 in Case No. 2-24/494-2009).