3. Judicial system in Ukraine.

Judicial proceedings shall be performed by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and courts of general jurisdiction. The people shall directly participate in the administration of justice through people's assessors and jurors. Court decisions shall be adopted by the courts in the name of Ukraine and shall be mandatory for execution throughout the entire territory of Ukraine.

In Ukraine, the system of courts of general jurisdiction shall be formed in accordance with the territorial principle and the principle of specialisation. The Supreme Court of Ukraine shall be the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction. The respective high courts shall be the highest judicial bodies of specialised courts. Courts of appeal and local courts shall operate in accordance with law. Establishment of extraordinary and special courts shall not be permitted.

Ukrainian courts enjoy legal, financial and constitutional freedom guaranteed by measures adopted in Ukrainian law in 2010. Although there are still problems with the performance of the system, it is considered to have been much improved since the last juddicial reform introduced in 2002. The Supreme Court is regarded as being an independent and impartial body, and has on several occasions ruled against the Ukrainian government.

The judicial system of Ukraine consists of four levels of courts of general jurisdiction, as follows:[14]

Ukraine has no jury system; most cases are heard by either a single judge or two judges accompanied by assessors.[15] Ukraine has about 8,000 judges.[15] Independent lawyers and human rights activists have complained Ukrainian judges regularly come under pressure to hand down a certain verdict.[15]

Local Courts

• Local "general" courts (combining criminal and civil jurisdiction) consisting of:

  0. district, urban district and town courts;

  1. city courts in Kiev and Sevastopol.

• Local specialized courts (either commercial or administrative jurisdiction) consisting of:

  0. regional courts;

  1. commercial and administrative courts of the capital of Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

  2. city courts in Kiev and Sevastopol.

Appellate courts

• Appellate courts (combining criminal and civil jurisdiction), consisting of:

  0. regional appellate courts;

  1. appellate court of the capital of Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

  2. appellate courts of the cities of Kiev and Sevastopol.

• Appellate specialized courts (either commercial or administrative jurisdiction) consisting of:

  0. commercial appellate courts;

  1. administrative appellate courts.

High courts with specialized jurisdiction

• The High Specialized Court on Civil and Criminal Cases, covering civil and criminal cases;

• The High Administrative Court of Ukraine, covering administrative cases;

• The High Commercial Court of Ukraine, covering economic and commercial cases.

The Supreme Court of Ukraine

Supreme Court is the highest court within the system of courts of general jurisdiction, conducting the review re unequal application of the rules of substantive law by the cassation courts and subject to cases when international judicial institution the jurisdiction of which is recognized by Ukraine has established the violation of international obligations by Ukraine.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a special body with authority to assess whether legislative acts of the Parliament, President, Cabinet or Crimean Parliament are in line with the Constitution of Ukraine. This Court also gives commentaries to certain norms of the Constitution or laws of Ukraine (superior acts of Parliament).