The legislative provision exempting plaintiffs from court fees in claims against the aggressor state does not apply to cases involving claims against business entities, even if they are related to, replace or supplement the aggressor state

The legislative provision on exempting a plaintiff from paying court fees applies only to plaintiffs in cases involving lawsuits brought directly against the aggressor state.

The Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court arrived at this conclusion.

According to the circumstances of the case, the Company filed a lawsuit in the commercial court against PJSC "Gazprom", LLC "Gazprom Capital", and the International Company LLC "Gazprom International Limited" for the recovery of funds for damage caused to property, in accordance with the court decision in case No. 911/2396/22, jointly and severally from the Russian Federation and the aforementioned companies.

The court of first instance left the lawsuit without consideration, a decision with which the appellate commercial court agreed, because the plaintiff failed to remedy the deficiencies of the statement of claim within the prescribed period and did not submit evidence of payment of the court fee in the amount determined by the court, citing grounds for exemption from its payment.

The Supreme Court left the decisions of the lower courts without changes, leaving the lawsuit without consideration, pointing out the appellant's own erroneous interpretation of Paragraph 22 of Part 1 of Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine "On Court Fees".

According to the content of the specified norm, plaintiffs are exempt from paying court fees during the consideration of a case in all judicial instances in cases involving lawsuits against the aggressor state, the Russian Federation, for compensation for material and/or moral damage caused in connection with the temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine, armed aggression, or armed conflict that led to forced displacement from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, death, injury, captivity, unlawful deprivation of liberty or abduction, as well as violation of the right of ownership to movable and/or immovable property.

The Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court noted that the exemption from paying court fees under this provision applies only to plaintiffs in cases involving lawsuits brought directly against the aggressor state. The specified provision is directly applicable; its scope does not extend to cases where the defendants are business entities, even if they are associated with the aggressor state, substitute, or supplement it.

Therefore, if the plaintiff defines business entities as defendants rather than the aggressor state itself, this does not indicate the existence of grounds for exemption from paying the court fee, as the provisions of the specified norm do not provide for such a condition.

Resolution of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated 11 November 2025 in case No. 911/591/25 – https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/131807246.

This and other legal conclusions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court – https://lpd.court.gov.ua.