Law Digest

Timely Public Procurement

The Act of Ukraine On Сhanges to Article 39 of the Act of Ukraine On Public Procurement of 9 April 2015, No.311-VIII ensures that appropriate local state administrations established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, have adequate opportunities for timely procurement of works (goods and services) for constructing engineering structures to strengthen defense in a special period due to emergence of special economic and social circumstances, which make it impossible for customers to comply with tender procedures. The Act shall be valid until 1 August 2015.

Foreigners staying in Ukraine

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, No.163 of 31 March 2015 introduced changes to the Order of Extension of Stay and Extension or Reduction of Temporary Stay of  Foreigners and Stateless Persons in Ukraine. Starting from now, foreigners and stateless persons, who legally entered Ukraine, can stay temporarily in the country: during the period granted by a visa (for the foreigners who need a visa to enter Ukraine); not more than total of 90 days within 180 days (for aliens who are nationals of visa-free countries), unless a different period of stay is not stipulated by the international agreement of Ukraine (in particular, agreements on visa-free travel of citizens); for the term of the visa, but no more than total of 90 days within 180 days (for the visas issued before 11 September 2011). Thus, foreigners and stateless persons who do not need a visa to enter Ukraine may stay in Ukraine up to 90 days within any 180 day period.

E-court

The Order of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine On Implementation of the Project of Electronic Exchange of Documents between Courts and Parties of Court Proceedings of 20 January 2015, No.3 establishes the provisional rules of electronic exchange of documents between courts and parties to court proceedings.

The Provisional rules of electronic exchange of documents between courts and parties of court proceedings determine the procedure of sending procedural documents in an electronic form, namely, judicial decisions, summonses, subpoenas, and notifications. Sending documents in this form is carried out in addition to the existing procedure of sending the documents and it does not substitute the latter.

Documents can be sent to participants of court proceedings (hereinafter — users) by courts electronically only after registration in the system of electronic document exchange that can be accessed on the official web-site of the judicial branch of Ukraine, and upon a written application is filed with a court requesting receipt of electronic copies of judicial decisions, summonses, subpoenas, and notifications by e-mail.

In order to register in the system, the user is required to fill in a registration form. The registration information is added to the site’s database and courts can use the information to send the mentioned documents to users. After execution and signing of procedural documents, courts will send electronic copies of the procedural document with the electronic signature by e-mail to mailboxes of parties of court proceedings if the latter have been registered in the system as users.

It is prohibited to send electronic copies of documents to persons who are not registered in the system’s database, except for cases determined by procedural legislation. Electronic messages are registered in the relevant electronic registers.

Regulation of the energy system in the ATO area

The Act On changes to the Act of Ukraine On Energy System and Features of Regulation in the Energy Sector in the Territory of the Antiterrorist Operation of 7 April 2015, No.284-VIII amended part 4, Article 23 of the On Energy System  Act of Ukraine as follows: the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall establish special features of regulation of legal, economic and organizational relations related to sale of electricity from the wholesale electricity market of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied territory and in the territory where temporarily the public authorities do not exercise or exercise a limited scope of their powers, and also relations related to generation, transporting, distribution, supply, purchase, sale and use of electricity in the temporarily occupied territory and in the territory where temporarily the public authorities do not exercise or exercise a limited scope of their powers. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall make the list of settlements in the territory where temporarily the public authorities do not exercise or exercise a limited scope of their powers.