Author
Pursuant to Article 289 of the Code of Administrative Judicial Procedure, limited alternatives to detention are provided by legislation, namely surety or bail. Compared to EU practice, these alternatives are clearly insufficient. Also, unlike EU legislation, Ukrainian legislation does not provide the priority of choosing a less coercive measure of influence on a person ahead of detention.
When applying alternative measures, the court shall explain in writing to the foreigner or stateless person the obligations imposed on them:
- to report to the designated official at a frequency established by the court;
- not to leave the settlement in which the foreigner or stateless person temporarily resides without the permission of the designated official;
- immediately notify the designated official of any change of residence.[1]
A surety may be provided by an enterprise, institution or organisation and consists in the provision by authorised persons of the certain entity, whom the court considers to be particularly trustworthy, of a written undertaking that they oblige to ensure that the foreigner fulfils the obligations imposed on them, and undertake to bring them to the court or body that filed the claim.[2]
The posting of bail means that a foreigner, stateless person or other individual or legal entity deposits certain funds. The amount of the bail is determined by the court, taking into account the property and family status of the foreigner, within the range of fifty to one hundred units of minimum subsistence level for able-bodied persons (around €3,000 to 6,000)[3], and is posted within five business days from the date of the court’s decision to post the bail.
The alternatives for detention are not used that frequently, nevertheless, courts order surety of bail to foreigners. For instance, in 2018, Mukachevo City District Court ordered bail in the amount ₴176,200 (around €4,000) to an asylum seeker from Tajikistan.[4] Further, in case No. 932/11362/23, the Babushkinskyi District Court of Dnipropetrovsk granted the request to release a Moroccan citizen from detention and placed him under the personal guarantee of the “European Medical University” LLC.[5]
[1] Article 289(4) Code of Administrative Judicial Procedure.
[2] Article 289(5) Code of Administrative Judicial Procedure.
[3] On 1 January 2023, the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons was ₴2,684 (around €60).
[4] Mukachevo City District Court, case no. 303/6985/18, 19 November 2018, available in Ukrainian here.
[5] Committee of Ministers, 1507th meeting (September 2024) (DH) – Action plan (02/07/2024) – Communication from Ukraine concerning the group of cases of Kebe and Others v. Ukraine, 11 July 2024, DH-DD(2024)779, available here.