The ruling of the first instance court to close proceedings in a case, if issued in connection with the approval of a settlement agreement, is subject to cassation appeal after its review on appeal - SC GC

If the cassation appeal challenges the decision of the court of first instance to terminate the proceedings in the case in connection with the approval of the settlement agreement, such cassation appeal, after its review on appeal, is a cassation appeal against the decision to terminate the proceedings in the case in terms of its conclusions on the existence of grounds for termination of the proceedings in the case in accordance with paragraph 5 of part 1 of Article 255 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine in connection with the approval of the settlement agreement, which, accordingly, is subject to cassation appeal.

This was emphasized by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

In the case at hand, the plaintiff filed a claim for compensation for material and non-pecuniary damage caused by a road accident.

During the proceedings, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. The court of first instance, with which the court of appeal agreed, approved the settlement agreement and closed the proceedings.

In this case, which was referred to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, the court had to decide on a cassation review of the court's ruling in terms of approving the settlement agreement and in terms of closing the proceedings.

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court noted that the court by its ruling closes the proceedings in a case if the parties have entered into a settlement agreement and it is approved by the court (para. 5, part 1, Article 255 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine). The ruling to close the proceedings may be challenged in both appeal and cassation proceedings.

A settlement agreement is a legal document created by the parties to the proceedings and approved by the court in order to resolve a dispute by mutual agreement.

The general effect of a settlement agreement is that the parties accept the terms and conditions that are acceptable to them. Termination of the court proceedings and closure of the case, within the meaning of part 4 of Article 207 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, is the only alternative result of the court's approval of the settlement agreement.

By its nature, the procedure for terminating the proceedings by entering into a settlement agreement consists of several sequential actions taken by the parties and the court in a certain sequence, including procedural decisions to approve the settlement agreement and to close the proceedings.

The closure of proceedings is a procedural action that ends the trial, and the legislator does not impose any restrictions on the possibility of appealing against a decision to close proceedings in cassation depending on the grounds for closing the proceedings.

Therefore, the decision of the court of first instance to close the proceedings, if issued in connection with the approval of the settlement agreement, is subject to cassation appeal after its review on appeal.

Considering the cassation appeal on the merits, the SC GC dismissed it, as the complainant failed to provide adequate arguments, and the decisions of the courts of previous instances were made in compliance with the procedural law.

Resolution of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of 27 November 2024 in case No. 185/8179/22 (proceedings No. 14-84цс24) - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/123553003.

This and other legal opinions of the Supreme Court are available in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.