Ukraine leaves the Convention on Legal Support and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases of 22.01.1993

Ukraine leaves the Convention on Legal Support and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases of 22.01.1993 (hereinafter – the Convention). The respective changes appear in the president’s draft law № 0163 adopted on 01.12.2022.

What does it mean?

The founder and CEO of “Incolanse” Law Firm, PhD in Law and lawyer Olha Drachevska gives an explanation. The first part of article 13 of the Convention establishes that documents produced or approved in one of the Convention Partie’s territory by an institution or by a specially authorized person acting within the limits of the competencies according to an established form and bearing an official seal the other parties of the Convention must accept without any special certification.

The Convention includes 11 states, RF and Belarus Republic among them.

It is essential that the validity of the Protocol of the Convention shall stop in the relations with the RF and the Belarus Republic only.

Considering the above, after Ukraine denunciates the Convention of 1993, it becomes invalid for relations with the RF and Belarus Republic regards any documents issued and (or) certified in the said states, irrespective of their date of issue or certification.

After Ukraine leaves the Convention of 1993, legal support shall exist on the grounds of other bilateral and multilateral international agreements.