UKRAINE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Karina Panchenko, Alyona Bodnar and Dmytro Derkach, Miller Law Firm
Prospects: building a culture of collective protection Ukraine has all the prerequisites to transform the insti- tution of collective actions into a practical instrument of public control and justice restoration in the com- ing years. This evolution goes far beyond procedural reform – it marks a shift in legal culture. Collective action is not merely a tool for overcoming judicial inefficiency; it is a mechanism of democra- tisation of justice, empowering citizens to influence systemic issues. It also sends a strong message to business: corporate responsibility and compliance with standards are no longer ethical aspirations but legal imperatives. Nevertheless, several challenges remain. • Risk of formalism – qualified organisations may exist only “on paper” without meaningful activity. • Financing mechanisms – in most EU countries, representative actions are funded through dedicat- ed funds or third-party funding models, whereas in Ukraine this infrastructure still needs to be devel- oped. • Professional expertise – these cases require a rare combination of civil, commercial, and administra- tive procedural knowledge, alongside strategic litigation skills to prove systemic violations. At the same time, these very challenges create oppor- tunities for the Ukrainian legal community to lead the transformation. Law firms and litigators have a cru- cial role to play from designing litigation strategies to participating in pilot cases that will establish the first judicial precedents in this emerging field. Judicial readiness and expected impact on litigation practice The introduction of representative actions will inevi- tably transform Ukraine’s established litigation land- scape. Alongside legislative reform, the judiciary must practically and procedurally prepare for the emer- gence of an entirely new category of cases. First and foremost, courts will need to develop unified approaches to procedural issues that have no equiva- lent in traditional litigation including the identification
of the claimant group, the admissibility of collective evidence, mechanisms for notifying affected indi- viduals, and the allocation of court-determined com- pensation. To ensure consistency and predictability, methodological guidelines or Supreme Court recom- mendations will be necessary, similar to those issued during past reforms in bankruptcy and administrative justice. Furthermore, new procedural realities will require special tools such as group notifications, joint expert opinions, and digital communication formats between courts and group members. These developments will drive further digitalisation of judicial processes while also raising expectations for case management in complex, multi-party litigation. For businesses, this represents a new compliance domain: collective actions will pose not only finan- cial but also reputational risks. Industries with a high degree of consumer interaction – retail, financial ser- vices, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals – should proactively integrate collective litigation risk into their corporate governance and compliance sys- tems. Prospects for collective litigation beyond consumer protection Although the current draft law is limited to consumer protection, the potential to expand collective actions into other legal sectors is evident. The most natural extension will be environmental disputes cases involv- ing industrial emissions, waste management and pub- lic health impacts. The financial services sector may follow, as repre- sentative actions could serve as an effective tool to address systemic misconduct by banks or insurance companies. With the rapid growth of the digital economy, data pro- tection and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly relevant areas where collective actions could provide a mechanism for responding to mass violations. Other promising fields include energy, telecommuni- cations, and housing and utilities, where citizens often face collective infringements of their rights.
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