Recommendations of the European Commission on the efficiency of justice and their impact on improving enforcement proceedings in Ukraine

This article reveals the role of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) in improving the state of enforcement of court decisions and other bodies in Ukraine. The activities of this Commission are aimed at reducing the burden on the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the ECHR) by improving the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the member states. Since Ukraine is a member of the Council of Europe, it should take into account the CEPEJ Recommendations on improving the state of enforcement of court decisions, in particular, when improving the legislation on enforcement proceedings in Ukraine. The Guidelines for the implementation of the relevant Council of Europe recommendations on the enforcement of court decisions, developed by the CEPEJ, are analyzed. The need for such CEPEJ Recommendations is also due to the fact that Ukraine ranks third in the number of applications to the European Court of Human Rights, which indicates problems with the enforcement of decisions of national courts as well as decisions of the ECHR. It is proposed to develop a Program for the Implementation of the CEPEJ Guidelines into the legislation of Ukraine on enforcement proceedings and to take them into account in the draft amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings”. The following CEPEJ Guidelines have been analyzed: the principle of a fair enforcement procedure, the principle of balance between the needs of the plaintiff (claimant) and the rights of the defendant (debtor), the principle of procedural equality of the parties, and the expediency of their implementation into the Ukrainian legislation on enforcement proceedings. Attention is drawn to the debatability of the issue of “flexibility” of enforcement of decisions and the ability of the enforcer to perform the function of a mediator. The author’s opinion boils down to the impossibility of combining the professional powers of the enforcer and the mediator, if only because the statuses and functions of these subjects are regulated by different legislation and to some extent conflict with each other in matters of payment. Ideas are expressed for improving the norms that regulate the implementation of the principles of enforcement of court decisions and other bodies in the current Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings”, based on the CEPEJ Guidelines.