The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the draft law "On Amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Procedure for Considering Cases by the High Anti-Corruption Court."
The project was developed by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to address one of the systemic issues in the justice system: ensuring the proper dynamics of case proceedings within the jurisdiction of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) and the rational use of its judicial resources.
This applies to two categories of proceedings: civil cases on declaring assets unjustified and their recovery into state revenue (civil forfeiture), as well as administrative cases regarding the application of the sanction provided for in Clause 1-1 of Part One of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions."
Currently, the law requires that such cases be considered in the first instance by a panel of three HACC judges, regardless of the complexity of the specific proceeding. At the same time, the HACC simultaneously administers justice in a significant volume of criminal proceedings, and forming a panel for every civil or administrative case creates an additional burden that can affect the timeliness of resolving other cases.
The draft law changes the approach to determining the composition of the court. In particular, it provides that civil forfeiture cases will, as a general rule, be considered by a single HACC judge. However, the possibility of a panel review as a procedural guarantee is preserved. The draft law specifies the categories of defendants entitled to petition for a panel review, as well as the procedure and deadline for submitting such a petition.
The procedure for considering sanction cases is also changing. The requirement for mandatory panel review is removed from the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine. This is crucial, as such cases require an immediate response from the state to protect Ukraine's national interests, security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
At the same time, HACC practice shows that some of these cases currently take months to resolve. In the first half of 2026, the average duration for considering cases on the application of the sanction provided for in Clause 1-1 of Part 1 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions" was 49 days, while cases on declaring assets unjustified and their recovery into state revenue averaged 118 days.
The legislative changes also ensure legal certainty for proceedings that are already open: cases opened before this Law enters into force will be considered under the rules that were in effect prior to its entry into force.
"The effectiveness of the anti-corruption system is measured not only by the number of detected offenses or initiated proceedings. It is vital that every case goes through all the necessary stages without procedural delays. That is why we focused our efforts on enabling the HACC to use its resources effectively: single-judge reviews where sufficient, and panel reviews when necessary to ensure procedural guarantees. This simultaneously strengthens the capacity of the anti-corruption system and aligns with Ukraine's European integration commitments," stated NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk.
The draft law was developed to implement measure No. 4 of the Roadmap on the Rule of Law, as well as the interim benchmark IBM 23.6.1 of negotiation Chapter 23 "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights" and the corresponding step of the Ukraine Plan under the Ukraine Facility. Strengthening the capacity of anti-corruption institutions and ensuring the proper dynamics of judicial consideration align with the European Commission's recommendations regarding Ukraine's EU membership, particularly concerning the effective fight against corruption and the proper dynamics of court cases and decision-making.
During the preparation of the draft law, the NACP conducted a public consultation involving representatives of civil society organisations, including the All-Ukrainian Association "AutoMaidan," Transparency International Ukraine, and the Centre for Legal Analysis and Political Risk Research. Based on the consultations, the Agency received three proposals and processed each of them. Separately, the Agency reviewed the positions of institutions directly handling the relevant categories of cases: the HACC, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), and the Prosecutor General's Office. The draft law underwent an assessment for compliance with Ukraine's international obligations, including the objectives of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The subsequent adoption of the draft law by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will be one of the steps toward strengthening the capacity of Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure and increasing the efficiency of civil and sanction confiscation mechanisms. The NACP also expects that another important legislative step by MPs will be bringing the draft Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026–2030 to a vote in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Its adoption will define the principles of the state anti-corruption policy for the next five years. The timely adoption of the Strategy is necessary to fulfil our country's international obligations, particularly under the Ukraine Facility and the Roadmap on the Rule of Law.
