The Problem of Non-Execution of Judgments in Ukraine is Not Solved by the Efforts of Only One Branch of Government: Consolidation is Needed

This thesis was expressed by the Secretary of the Judicial Chamber on Bankruptcy Cases of the Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court Volodymyr Pohrebniak during the V Conference on Enforcement Proceedings, which took place on September 15, 2021. 

Volodymyr Pohrebniak made a presentation on "How to Increase the Level of Execution of Judgments in Ukraine." The speaker noted that the outlined problem had not been solved for a long time, so to understand its causes, it was necessary to take into account the historical and cultural background of the formation of the enforcement proceedings.

"In the early stages of the formation of enforcement proceedings related to feudal ideology, the dominance of the claimant over the debtor is typical. And only the evolutionary reception of natural right by world legal systems, reflected later in the Constitution of Ukraine, balanced the rights of the debtor in relation to the claimant. However, the historical heritage of modern Ukrainian society should not be assessed as one that was formed mainly during the Soviet Union. Although, in my opinion, it was the Soviet period that had the greatest influence on the formation of those historical, mental and cultural narratives that we are now "anchored in" and which hinder the solution of this problem. Obviously, the time frame for analyzing the reasons for the inefficiency of the judicial enforcement system should be much broader. This would make it possible to comprehend certain features of the national mentality, culture and identity,” the judge of the Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court is convinced.

In addition, Volodymyr Pohrebniak spoke about legislative initiatives to introduce the institution of mediation and highlighted the intermediate results of the reform of enforcement proceedings, namely: the introduction of a unified register of debtors; improving the current electronic interaction with other government agencies; ensuring the proper execution of court decisions on the recovery of alimony and wages; introduction of the institute of private enforcement officers, etc.

Also, according to the speaker, among the obvious positive indicators of increasing the level of execution of judgments in Ukraine is the implementation of private enforcement proceedings.