Free Legal Aid System Library

Review of the practice of Ukrainian courts

Editorial cut: 3rd quarter of 2026

This page is a navigator, not a comprehensive overview. The main channels of verification are the USSR, official reviews of the Supreme Court and materials for monitoring court proceedings.

Open sources of practice

Quarterly report

  1. Create a list of new decisions under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
  2. Check the entry into force of law and movement in appeal or cassation.
  3. Highlight issues of qualification, subjective side, status of victims and admissibility of evidence.
  4. Compare with the current version of the legislation and international sources.
  5. Enter only verified legal positions with the case number, date and court.

Standard case card

  1. Case number, court, instance, date. Link to the full text in the USSR or an official source.
  2. Procedural status. Verdict, appeal, cassation, entry into force, further review.
  3. Factual basis. Brief description without personal and sensitive data.
  4. Qualification. Part of the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the limits of the accusation.
  5. A specific norm of IHL. The contractual or customary norm on which the qualification is based.
  6. Nexus. How the court established the connection between the act and the armed conflict.
  7. The status of a person or object. The facts and the norm justifying the defense.
  8. Actus reus. Action, consequence, causation and other material elements.
  9. Mens rea. Form of guilt, knowledge of the circumstances and evidence of the subjective side.
  10. Key evidence. Origin, admissibility, reliability and validation.
  11. Defense position. Objection, alternative version, motion and response of the court.
  12. Value of the decision. Narrow legal opinion, its limits and subsequent decisions.