In May 2018, a discussion was held with members of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding the proposed action plan for the Government to implement general measures indicated in the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case “Burmych and Others v. Ukraine”

It is currently the key ECtHR decision aimed at addressing the systemic problem of non-enforcement of the verdicts of domestic courts, which has become immense in scope and threatens the rule of law in Ukraine.

UHHRU expert Maksym Shcherbatyuk, while recognizing the Government’s efforts aimed at addressing this problem and the positive steps proposed in the action plan, nevertheless points out a number of problems the plan has that could affect the launch and implementation of the enforcement mechanism in Ukraine.

In particular, the action plan should clearly state the need for lifting bans that impede enforcement of court decisions where public enterprises and the Government itself are defendants. Moreover, the compensation mechanism offered by the Government raises many questions as to the sufficiency of the proposed compensations for protracted non-enforcement of judgments; the consideration for special circumstances; and the procedural aspects of the application of such liability of the state. In addition, the deadline for using the enforcement mechanism proposed by the Government could restrict the people’s access to it significantly. There is also the issue of budget funding required for the launch and efficient work of this mechanism.

All of this together with the absent mechanism for anticipating legislation not covered by budget, as well as the lack of trust in the Government in this area, could undo all efforts aimed at creating a working enforcement mechanism.

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