If a person appeals a court decision, his appeal or cassation complaint must be written in the Ukrainian language. And such a requirement is in no way an obstacle to access to justice and does not restrict the rights of the participants in the proceedings on the basis of language, because they are guaranteed the right to use their native language or the language they speak, and if necessary, the services of an interpreter in the court process.
This is stated in the resolution of the joint chamber of the Criminal Court of Cassation as part of the Supreme Court, which considered the cassation appeal of the defense attorney of a Turkish citizen. Thus, the foreigner filed an appeal to the appeals court against the decision of the local court to extend the preventive measure in the form of detention. In this complaint, the foreigner indicated in Ukrainian the name of the court to which it is submitted, his identity, and stated that the contested court decision is the aforementioned resolution. Another text of the complaint was written in a foreign language.
The Court of Appeal returned this appeal. The OP of the Supreme Court of Ukraine agreed with this decision, noting that the appeals court correctly returned the complaint, written in a non-Ukrainian language, to the person who submitted it, since a systematic analysis of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine gives grounds for the conclusion that such a complaint cannot be dismissed.
In addition, as noted by the court of cassation, the procedural legislation does not provide for the involvement of a translator for the translation of the procedural documents handed over for their consideration, which are written in a non-state language, to the investigating judge, the court. In addition, until the complaint is accepted for consideration, the investigating judge and the court are deprived of the opportunity to make procedural decisions, including regarding the involvement of an interpreter.
Under such circumstances, the documents, based on the results of the inspection and/or review of which the judicial control at the stage of pre-trial investigation, the review of an appeal or the opening of appeal (cassation) proceedings is decided, must be set out in the Ukrainian language (translated into the Ukrainian language).
You can read more about the resolution of September 19, 2022 in case No. 521/12324/18 (proceedings No. 51-5817kmo21) and the formed conclusion of the OP of the Supreme Court of Justice on the application of the rule of law at the link https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review /106426687 .