Establishment of a legal fact: The Civil Code of Ukraine refers to an advocate

Special proceedings to confirm the existence or absence of legal facts are not considered minor; accordingly, only an advocate may represent a party in such proceedings.

This was the conclusion reached by the Civil Court of Cassation in Case No. 730/1248/25. The ruling dated March 25, 2026 was published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

A person acting on behalf of a minor filed a petition with the court to establish the fact of family relations and paternity. To confirm their authority, the representative attached a power of attorney to the application. However, the court of first instance, in its ruling, returned the application, justifying its position by stating that it had been filed by an unauthorized person who had no right to sign such an application.

The appellate court agreed with this position, noting that the case did not fall into the category of minor cases and that only an advocate could represent the interests of a minor in court.

The Civil Court of Cassation noted that in court, representation on behalf of the applicant in all categories of cases, except for minor cases and labor disputes, may be carried out exclusively by an advocate or a legal representative.

And for the purposes of the Civil Procedure Code, minor cases are:

1) cases in which the value of the claim does not exceed thirty times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons;

2) cases of minor complexity recognized by the court as minor, except for cases subject to consideration only under the rules of general civil procedure, and cases in which the value of the claim exceeds eighty times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons;

3) cases concerning the collection of child support, the increase or decrease of its amount, the termination of child support collection, the payment of additional child-related expenses, the indexation of child support, and a change in the method of its collection, provided such claims are not related to the establishment or contestation of paternity (maternity);

4) cases concerning the dissolution of marriage;

5) cases concerning the protection of consumer rights, in which the value of the claim does not exceed sixty times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons.

That is, cases under separate proceedings, which are intended for the consideration of cases regarding the confirmation of the existence or absence of relevant legal facts, do not fall into the category of minor cases.

At the same time, the judges noted that the power of attorney provided by the representative does not indicate that the person is an advocate and is authorized to practice law. Such documents were not attached to the appeal; they are also absent from the case file, and this information is not recorded in the URAU.

In light of the foregoing, the conclusions of the appellate court are correct in that the circumstances described preclude the applicant from being represented in the appellate court by a person acting on the basis of a power of attorney who does not have the status of an advocate.

This material was prepared by secretary of the UNBA Committee on civil law and procedure Valeria Shkvarko.