The legal system of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

is based on the framework of civil law, and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law.

Customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudina ...

and

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...

are not as common, though case law is often used in support of the written law, as in many other legal systems. Historically, the Ukrainian legal system is primarily influenced by the French

civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...

Roman Law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

, and traditional Ukrainian customary law. The new civil law books (enacted in 2004) were heavily influenced by the German

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project. The BGB served as a template in sev ...

. The primary law making body is the

Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(''Verkhovna Rada''), also referred to as the legislature ( uk, законодавча влада, translit=zakonodavcha vlada). The power to make laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. In recent years, it has become common for the legislature to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments (e.g. a province or municipality). After laws are published in

Holos Ukrayiny ''Holos Ukrayiny'' ( ua, Голос України, lit=Voice of Ukraine), is a Ukrainian daily newspaper published in Kyiv. Laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are published in Holos Ukrayiny whem they come into force the next day. Hi ...

they come into force officially the next day.

Ukrainian politicians The politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic and of a multi-party system. A Cabinet of Ministers exercises executive power (jointly with the president until 1996). Legislative power is vested in Ukraine's par ...

and analysts have described the system of justice in Ukraine as "rotten to the core".

Areas

Ukrainian law is commonly divided into

Public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

Private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...

, and

International law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. These areas of the legal system are further subdivided into Civil law (including

Family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

Inheritance law Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officially ...

Contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

and

Commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

Law of Obligations The law of obligations is one branch of private law under the civil law legal system and so-called "mixed" legal systems. It is the body of rules that organizes and regulates the rights and duties arising between individuals. The specific rights a ...

Property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...

Intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, Companies law,

Land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use a ...

, and

Tort law A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

Criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

Constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

(including laws on the structure of the state),

Administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

, and

Civil law

Civil law regulates the everyday life of citizens and other legal entities, such as corporations. The main code of Ukrainian civil law is the

Civil Code of Ukraine The Civil Code of Ukraine ( uk, Цивільний кодекс України, ''Tsyvilnyi Kodeks Ukrayiny'') is a single normative legal act; Law of Ukraine, which is the main act of regulation of private law relations in Ukraine. It regulates ...

. It comprises provisions governing ownership, intellectual property rights, contracts, torts, obligations, inheritance law, and the definition of legal entities. The code introduces new types of business contracts into the legal practice, including factoring,

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

, rent service, and inherited contracts. Civil litigation is governed by the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine.

Criminal law

deals with the prosecution and punishment of criminal offenses. The Criminal Code of Ukraine contains the written criminal laws of Ukraine. There is no

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in Ukraine. The maximum

criminal punishment Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, which can be reduced by decree of the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

to 25 years of imprisonment, but only after 20 years of sentence service. The Parliament of Ukraine has the power of

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

for prisoners not serving life sentences. Criminal proceedings, investigation, and court examination in criminal trials are regulated by The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, which was not changed since 1962 when Ukraine was a republic of the Soviet Union till the

passed the new Code of Criminal Procedure in April 2012.

Constitutional law

frames the constitution and the structure of Ukraine. It regulates the powers of democratic institutions, the organization of elections and the division of power between central and local government. See also the article on the

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...

. Only the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is allowed to determine the constitutionality of laws created by the legislature.

Administrative law

is the area of law that regulates the operation of the various levels of Ukrainian Government, including the process for people and legal entities to appeal decisions by the government. This code is referred to as the Administrative Code in Ukraine.

International law

, also referred to as the Law of Nations, involves the application of international laws in Ukraine. International agreements, ratified by the Parliament of Ukraine, are a part of Ukrainian legislation. The Constitution of Ukraine allows the direct application of most international laws in Ukrainian courts. If an international agreement of Ukraine prescribes rules other than those set by the Law of Ukraine, the rules of that international agreement shall apply. Laws regulating jurisdiction with an international aspect, such as because parties come from different countries, are not part of international law, but form a specific branch of civil law. In September 2005, the Law of Ukraine on

Private International Law Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. This body of law deals with three broad t ...

was enacted. The Law sets the procedure for the regulation of private legal relations which are subject to other legal systems in addition to that of Ukraine.

Commercial law

The Commercial Code of Ukraine describes the details for compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine's clauses for commercial activity. The Code regulates the fundamentals of commercial activity, including business entities, property basis, responsibility for violations, peculiarities of legal regulation, and foreign commerce regulation.

Types of corporations

* TOV (Товариство з обмеженою відповідальністю, ТОВ) - Ukrainian "Limited liability company" with obligate charter capital * PP (Приватне Підприємство, ПП) - Ukrainian "Limited liability company" without obligate charter capital * TDV (Товариство з додатковою відповідальністю, ТДВ) - Ukrainian "Additional liability company" * PrAT, in past ZAT (Приватне акцiонерне товариство, ПрАТ) - Ukrainian "Private joint-stock company" * PAT, in past VAT (Публічне акцiонерне товариство, ПАТ) - Ukrainian "Public joint-stock company"

Legal liabilities

Ukrainian legal liability includes constitutional liability, which is imposed on President or Deputy ember of Parliamentby the Parliament of Ukraine, criminal liability, which is imposed by local courts in the form of

sentencing In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for mult ...

, civil liability, which is imposed by local courts in the form of decision, administrative liability, which is imposed by administrative courts in form of decision, and disciplinary liability, which is imposed by superior officials or specially created organizations.

How positions are assigned

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s are imposed by the Supreme Council of Ukraine. Attorneys at law are imposed by the Disciplinary Bar Commission.

Notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

are imposed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

Public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

s are imposed by regional Superior officials. Policemen are imposed by Superior officials.

List of acts of parliament

The

is a supreme law of Ukraine. Laws and other legislation should be adopted on its basis and conform to it. Because Ukrainian legal system is code-based, there are a number of codified laws in the main spheres of national legislation. These include: *

*Criminal Code of Ukraine *Family Code of Ukraine * Labor Code of Ukraine *Land Code of Ukraine *Water Code of Ukraine *Natural Resources Code of Ukraine * Administrative Code of Ukraine *Budget Code of Ukraine *Forestry Code of Ukraine *Customs Code of Ukraine *Maritime Code of Ukraine *Housing Code of Ukraine *Commercial Code of Ukraine *Air Transportation Code of Ukraine *Tax Code of Ukraine (pending) *Code of Civil Procedure *Code of Criminal Procedure *Administrative Procedure Code *Business Arbitration Code *Prison Code Only the Parliament of Ukraine is entitled to issue normative acts in the form of laws. The laws of Ukraine are the highest normative acts in Ukraine. The secondary legislation of Ukraine comprises other normative acts including decrees, resolutions, and orders issued by the President of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, National Bank of Ukraine, ministries and other state agencies. They are adopted on the basis and in realization of the general provisions of laws.

Courts system

Ukraine's court system is widely regarded as corrupt. Ukrainian judges have been arrested while taking

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

Courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

in Ukraine are divided by

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

including

constitutional court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

s, general (criminal and civil jurisdiction) courts, economic courts, and

administrative courts Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, adminis ...

. There is also the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ( ua, Конституційний Суд України) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of l ...

, the

Supreme Court of Ukraine The Supreme Court of Ukraine ( uk, Верховний Суд України, ) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europ ...

Appellate Court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

s (in every Region

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

of Ukraine), and District Courts in every

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, or

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

(which is a subdivision of oblast). As well, there is the High Administrative Court of Ukraine, Local Administrative Courts in every administrative district, usually

, the High Commercial Court of Ukraine, Local Commercial Courts in every administrative district, usually

, and

Military court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

in every Appellate Court in every regional

. There is also the Tertiary Court created in accordance to the law "On Tertiary Court" and registered in

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

of Ukraine. In order to become a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

in Ukraine, one must be 25 years old. Newly inducted judges are appointed by the President of Ukraine and serve for five years. Afterwards, judges are elected for life by the Parliament of Ukraine. Judges are not elected by the citizenry as practiced in many western countries. The judicial branch of power in Ukraine is not completely independent. To detain or arrest a judge, special permission by the Parliament of Ukraine is needed. A judge shall not refer to political parties and trade unions, as well as participate in any political activity, have representative mandate, occupy any other paid posts, or do any other paid work except that which is scientific in nature, teaching or creative value. According to the law, a judge, while executing justice, shall follow the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine and shall ensure full, thorough and objective consideration of the cases adhering to the terms set by law. They are also obliged to take measures concerning prevention of unauthorized dissemination of the information the state and/or commercial entity considers secret or is confidential and became known to him/her in the process of doing official duties. Moreover, the Law requires a judge to refrain from the actions that defame a judge and may cause doubt that she/he is objective, as well as unprejudiced and independent. The Law sets the system of guarantees of judge's professional activity which are necessary to approve unprejudiced and objective decisions. The Law guarantees to judges their personal immunity, secrecy of court decisions, legal protection, as well as material and social provision. The Law also prohibits any not envisaged by law interference in judge's activity concerning justice execution, detention or arrest of a judge without the consent of the ''Verkhovna Rada'' until bill of indictment concerning him/her is carried out by the court.

Law schools

Ukraine has taken steps to reform its education frameworks in consistence with the Bologna process. By the mid-2000s, Universities started granting undergraduate

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degrees (about 3 years for full-time students and 4 years for part-time students) and graduate

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degrees (about 5 years for full-time students and 6 years for part-time students). In Soviet times, the only undergraduate degree (following a 10-year secondary education) was a 5-year Specialist Diploma, with a thesis requirement, usually placing it somewhere between a bachelor's and master's degree in the West. Degrees are awarded by authorities of the State Examination Board of University. The University degree gives people the right to engage in professional legal activities in Ukraine as a legal advisor. However, judges and criminal defense attorneys must take an additional state licensing exam.

Post-graduate education

The post-graduate system has not been reformed. Law

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

s in Ukraine are the Candidate of Science of Jurisprudence (CSJ) and Doctor of Science of Jurisprudence (DSJ), equivalent to Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.) The

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

is awarded after the successful defense of dissertation (

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

) by the

Higher Attestation Commission Higher Attestation Commission (russian: Высшая аттестационная комиссия, uk, Вища атестаційна комісія, abbreviated Cyrillic: ВАК, Latin: VAK) is a name of a national government agency in Russia, ...

(VAK). Full text of all defended dissertations are kept in the

Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine The Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, VNLU ( uk, Національна бібліотека України імені В.І. Вернадського) is the main academic library and main scientific information centre in Ukraine, one of t ...

Fields of study

Scientific degrees awarded by VAK are classified into an established list of specialties, grouped into the following major sections. *12.00.01 Theory of Law *12.00.02

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

*12.00.03 Civil Law *12.00.04

Economic Law Economic law is a set of legal rules for regulating economic activity.Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge, Gerard Pieter van den Berg, William B. Simons (1985) "Encyclopedia of Soviet Law", '' BRILL'', O. S. (Olimpiad Solomonovich) Ioffe, Mark W. Ja ...

*12.00.05

Labor Law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

*12.00.06

*12.00.07

Administrative Law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

, Finance Law *12.00.08

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

*12.00.09

Criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

*12.00.10

Court system A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

*12.00.11

*12.00.12

Philosophy of Law Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal vali ...

A database of all practicing Doctors of Science of Jurisprudence is maintained by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.

University docents

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

of a university is one who has the right to teach. The qualifications include one dissertation (CSJ) and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently.

University professor

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of a university is one who has the right to teach. The qualifications include one dissertation (

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

(DSJ)) and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently.

Academician

The title Academician denotes a full member of the National

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

of Law.

Corresponding Member

There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member of the National academy of Sciences of Law.

Lawyers and law firms

Law is practiced in Ukraine by

jurists A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

(legal consultants, counsels, attorneys), professionals awarded a diploma after graduation from a law faculty of a university. Law offices are maintained by lawyers who register it as a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

in the

, and are awarded state certification. The Constitution of Ukraine defines an attorney's work as "securing the right for protection against accusation and provide legal assistance while considering cases in courts and other state bodies in Ukraine". In this case, the Law “On the Bar and Advocate's Activity” defines the Bar as a voluntary professional public association. In order to defend a person charged with criminal offense, a person must be an attorney. An attorney under the Law “On the Bar and Advocate's Activity” can be a person who has higher legal education, stated by the diploma of Ukraine, or in line with the international treaties of Ukraine diploma of a foreign country, the work experience in the field of law no less than two years, fluent in the Language of the State, has passed a qualification exam, received a certificate entitling him to practice law, and taken the Ukrainian Oath of the Attorney. The Law determines that attorneys cannot hold a previous conviction. The Law also stipulates that the attorney cannot work in court, a prosecutor's or state notary's office, bodies of internal affairs, security service, or state administration bodies. In order to defend a person charged with criminal offense, an attorney must have a certificate entitling him to practice law (issued by Regional Qualification-Disciplinary Bar Commission) or a Power of Attorney letter. There are 25 Regional Qualifications- Disciplinary Bar Commissions in Ukraine: each in every Region (

) and one in the City of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and the City of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. A list of attorneys is kept and published by the Supreme Qualification Bar Commission of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. To represent a client in a non-criminal case or to be an in-house a person must have a higher legal education. A list of

s is kept and published on the official website of

of Ukraine. A list of lawyers from Kyiv University List of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv people. A list of lawyers from Ukraine

List of jurists The following lists are of prominent jurists, including judges, listed in alphabetical order by jurisdiction. Premodern *Ur-Nammu *Hammurabi * Solomon * Ancient India ** Manu ** Chanakya *Ancient Greece: **Draco **Lycurgus **Solon *Ancient Rome ...

Notaries

Notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

in Ukraine is based on the guidelines set forth by the law entitled "On Notariate". According to the law, the Notariate is a system of bodies and officials obliged to certify rights, certify facts that have legal force and perform other notary actions as stated in the law with the purpose of giving them legal force. In Ukraine, notary operations are carried out by state notaries, private notaries or officials of executive bodies of local (village, settlement, city) councils, if there are no notaries therein. The difference between state and private notaries is the service fees imposed by public notaries are fixed by the state, whereas the only aspect regulated by the State in regards to private notaries is the price floor. Any person who considers occupation of the notary post must be a citizen of Ukraine, have higher legal education (university, academy, institute), work on probation during 6 months in a state notary office or at private notary, pass a qualification exam and receive a certificate permitting notary actions. A person with any outstanding convictions cannot be a notary by law. The Certificate permitting notary activities may be abrogated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in the following cases: - on notary's own initiative; - loss of Ukrainian citizenship or departure to permanent residence outside Ukraine; - notary's non-conformity to the occupied post because of health condition preventing him from accomplishment of notary activities; - coming into force of conviction sentence against notary. Notaries are not allowed by law to work in courts, police, and prosecutor offices, nor represent citizens in courts or any other government offices. The major role of notaries in Ukraine is to notarize documents and contracts between persons in accordance to Civil Code of Ukraine. Every notarized document, agreement, contract, etc. is issued on numerated, special paper form, protected by security features and is registered in the notary's records which is kept after completion in regional (

) archives indefinitely. A notary database is kept and accessible to public on the official website of the

of Ukraine. As of 2007, about 13,000 registered notaries practice in Ukraine.

Criminal justice system

Criminal Investigations are carried out under official authority by law enforcement personnel such as the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, the tax police (tax militia),

Public Procurator A public procurator () is an officer of a state charged with both the investigation and prosecution of crime. The office is a feature of a civil law inquisitorial rather than common law adversarial system. Countries such as Japan, China, Russi ...

s (Public Prosecutors), and the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...

. In Ukraine and other civil law jurisdictions, the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

holds equal power to three professional

s. The

and judges first consider the question of guilt. Then, if applicable, they consider the penalty to apply. Juries are only used for severe felony cases with a ten-year or higher sentence.

Prison system

The State Department of Ukraine for Enforcement of Sentences oversees the prison system of Ukraine.Detailed information is on th
official website
of the department. As of 2007, the total prison population in Ukraine was 240,000 people out of the 48 million population. Prisons in Ukraine are classified as pre-trial or remand prisons (SIZO), high security prisons, medium security prisons, and low security prisons. Those who are charged with

criminal offense In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

s which entail sentencing for three years or more are arrested and held before trial in investigative isolation during the period of

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservatio ...

and after sentencing are moved to the prison as indicated by the courts in the sentencing decision. Bail is rarely used by courts in Ukraine.

Identification

In Ukraine, every person over 18 years of age must carry a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

or (for foreigners) an

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

document. A person unable to provide passport is allowed to be arrested and held in police custody for up to 72 hours in order to establish the identity thereof.