Date of publication: 4 August 2025
Oleksandr Denysenko, Attorney, Counsel
Source: Yurydychna Gazeta
With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, many families were forced to move to safer areas both within Ukraine and abroad. Relocation often meant family separation, as men joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine or were unable to leave Ukraine with their families. This led to a sharp increase in the divorce rate.
According to information from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, in 2024, 19.3% fewer marriages were registered than in 2023, while the number of divorces increased by 42.2%. In such circumstances, spouses wishing to divorce faced several problematic issues regarding how to correctly determine the court that has jurisdiction to hear a divorce case.
Which court has jurisdiction if the spouses have moved to different regions or abroad?
Let’s deal with this issue. The general rule for determining the territorial jurisdiction of courts is contained in Part 1 of Article 27 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CPC), according to which claims against an individual are brought before the court at the place of his or her residence or stay registered following the procedure established by law, unless otherwise stipulated by law.
This rule means that you should file for divorce in the court where the defendant is registered or staying. If, after moving, the husband or wife who is the defendant in the lawsuit filed by the other spouse has applied to the Administrative Services Center and registered their new place of residence or stay, the lawsuit should be filed with the local court at the defendant’s new place of residence. If such re-registration has not taken place, then for state authorities, such a person still resides at the old address, and the claim should be filed with the appropriate court at the old place of residence.
In the vast majority of cases where one spouse moves abroad, the other spouse does not deregister from their previous place of residence due to permanent relocation, and therefore any claim against such a spouse should be filed with the court at their last place of registration in Ukraine.
According to Part 2 of Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure, claims for divorce may be filed at the registered place of residence or stay of the plaintiff, also if he or she has minor children or if he or she is unable to move to the place of residence of the defendant due to health or other valid reasons. By agreement of the spouses, the case may be heard at the place of residence or stay of either of them.
As can be seen from the content of Part 2 of Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it contains exceptions to the general rule provided for in Part 1 of Article 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the filing of a claim with the court at the place of residence or stay of the defendant. These exceptions are:
- The spouse filing the lawsuit has minor or underage children who are dependent on him or her.
- The plaintiff has valid reasons that make it impossible or significantly difficult to attend court hearings at the place of residence or stay of the defendant.
Thus, it is necessary to pay attention that the existence of the above exceptions must be documented; otherwise, the court will refer the case to another court with jurisdiction in accordance with Article 31 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
It should also be noted that with the introduction in Ukraine of the possibility for parties to participate in court hearings via videoconference, the relevance of applying the aforementioned Part 2 of Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure has significantly decreased, since the parties to the case can participate in court hearings without leaving their homes.
Another exception to the general rule of territorial jurisdiction provided for in Part 2 of Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure is when spouses have agreed between themselves on the court in which it is more convenient for them to consider the case, whether at the location of the plaintiff or the defendant.
If the spouses wish not only to divorce but also have a dispute regarding the division of the joint property, such a claim may be filed either together with the divorce claim or separately. Usually, the subject of the division of spouses’ property is real estate acquired during the marriage, so when filing such a claim, the rules of exclusive jurisdiction should be followed.
Following Part 1 of Article 30 of the Code of Civil Procedure, claims arising from immovable property shall be brought at the location of the property or its main part. If related claims are brought simultaneously in respect of several immovable properties, the dispute shall be considered at the location of the property with the highest value.
It follows that when filing a claim for the division of immovable property, regardless of whether such a claim is filed together with a claim for divorce or separately, you should apply to the court that has jurisdiction over the location of the property, and if such property is located in different areas (cities), the claim should be filed with the court that has jurisdiction over the location of the most expensive real estate object.
How to prove joint property ownership without documents?
When considering the issue of document loss relating to joint property, this issue should be divided into two parts: the one that relates to property subject to state registration and the other that relates to property not subject to such registration.
Thus, if documents certifying ownership of an apartment, house, land plot, car, or other property subject to state registration have been lost, it is possible to prove ownership of such property by applying to the relevant registries and/or state bodies that maintain such registries. Given the digitalization of property rights registers and the opening of public access to them, proving in court the fact and date of the emergence of property rights in one of the spouses should not be too difficult. In practice, it takes up to an hour for Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm to obtain all information from public registries regarding an individual.
Concerning property such as furniture, household appliances, jewelry, works of art, and other valuables that are not subject to state registration, it will be much more difficult to prove the fact and time of acquisition of such property by one of the spouses during the marriage. People do not usually keep receipts and invoices confirming the purchase of such property, and in the case of family relocation, this is even less likely.
Therefore, in such cases, when one spouse does not acknowledge the fact or time of acquisition of such property, other means of proof should be used to confirm such facts in court. These may include testimony from witnesses – relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances – who can confirm in court that the property was acquired by one of the spouses during the marriage and with family funds, and therefore belongs to the joint property of the spouses and should be divided equally.
