The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court defended the right to cassation: without the full text of the decision, it is impossible to prepare a complaint

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court in case No. 760/12094/13 reviewed court decisions in exceptional circumstances after the European Court of Human Rights established a violation of the right to access to a court in the case of Sokolov and Others v. Ukraine.

The court concluded that a person cannot be effectively deprived of the right to a cassation appeal solely because the full text of the appellate court’s decision was prepared much later than the announcement of its introductory and operative parts.

What was the dispute?

An attempt was made to deprive a convicted person in a fraud and money laundering case of the right to a cassation review due to the alleged missed deadline for the appeal.

The Court of Appeal announced only the introductory and operative parts of the ruling on December 27, 2017, while the full text of the decision was prepared and announced only on January 17, 2018. The defense insisted that it was from this date that the term for the cassation appeal should be calculated.

However, the Criminal Court of Cassation refused to renew the term three times and returned the cassation appeals. After that, the case reached the ECHR.

What the Grand Chamber decided

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court emphasized that the right of access to a court, guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, must be real, not formal.

The court emphasized that without familiarizing itself with the motivational part of the decision, the party is effectively deprived of the opportunity to prepare a meaningful cassation appeal.

The Supreme Court of Appeal also drew attention to the complexity of the case, the significant volume of materials and the delay in preparing the full text of the appellate court’s ruling.

The court applied the principle of restitutio in integrum

The Grand Chamber separately referred to the principle of restitutio in integrum – the restoration of a person’s position that existed before the violation of his or her rights.

As a result, the Supreme Court of Ukraine overturned the decision of the Criminal Court of Cassation on the refusal to renew the term for cassation appeal and transferred the case to the Criminal Court of Cassation to resolve the issue of opening cassation proceedings.

Why is this decision important

The legal position formed will be important for the entire judicial practice regarding the calculation of the terms for cassation appeal.

The Grand Chamber effectively confirmed: the right to cassation cannot depend only on the formal date of the announcement of the short part of the decision, if the party did not have a real opportunity to familiarize itself with its full content.