The Legal Framework for the Functioning of Courts of Ukraine under Extraordinary Legal Regimes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/app2025.04.042Keywords:
court, justice, judiciary, legal framework, state of emergency, martial law, legal regime, access to justiceAbstract
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the organization and functioning of Ukrainian courts under extraordinary legal regimes. The study covers the normative aspects of court operations during martial law, including the introduction of remote justice, changes in territorial jurisdiction, and the ensuring of participants’ safety.
The purpose of the article is to define the legal framework for the functioning of courts during extraordinary legal regimes, to identify its structural elements and hierarchy, and to determine the legal mechanisms that ensure the continuity and legality of judicial authority in extraordinary conditions.
The research methodology combines systemic, comparative-legal, and formal-legal analysis aimed at identifying the content, structure, and mechanisms of operation of the legal framework of the judiciary under extraordinary legal regimes. This approach provides comprehensive coverage of all levels of normative regulation.
The concept of «legal framework» is clarified and distinguished from related terms. It is established that the legal framework is the normative foundation; legal regulation is the process of the norms’ influence on social relations; and legal support is the mechanism for organizing and maintaining the implementation of legal provisions. It is proposed to define the legal framework for the functioning of courts under extraordinary legal regimes as a hierarchical set of legal acts of varying legal force that determine their organization, powers, and procedures to ensure the continuity, stability, and legality of justice even under extraordinary conditions.
Among the key features of the legal framework of courts under extraordinary conditions are: a multi-level structure (constitutional, international, legislative, subordinate, and local levels), procedural flexibility (adaptation of procedural norms to remote participation, changes in jurisdiction, and electronic document management), and a balance between access to justice and security ensured through an individual approach to each court’s operational mode. It is emphasized that the issue of the legal framework for the functioning of courts under emergency legal regimes requires further development through the formation of a unified concept of the legal support of justice.
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