The obstacles established by the Criminal Procedure Code to access to court and the violation of the right to be heard in court for a person on such an important issue as the extension of detention prevent the realization of the right to defense guaranteed by Part 2 of Article 63 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court drew attention to this in a case concerning guarantees of judicial control over the observance of the rights of persons held in custody (decision of 07/18/2025 No. 8-r(II)/2024).
This case challenged Part 6 of Article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which “in case of expiration of the term of the court decision on detention and the impossibility of the court considering the issue of extending the term of detention in the manner prescribed by this Code, the preventive measure in the form of detention is considered extended until the court decides on the relevant issue, but not more than two months”.
The CC noted that the regulation by the legislator of the procedure for resolving the issue of extending the detention of a person as a preventive measure in a way that does not involve the participation of the court (judge) results in a violation of the constitutional right of everyone to judicial protection (Part 1 of Article 55 of the Constitution) in connection with the right to freedom and personal inviolability (Part 1 of Article 29) and the right of the accused to defense (Part 2 of Article 63).
The CC also stated that in the context of the subject matter of the case, human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the mentioned articles of the Constitution cannot be restricted in conditions of martial law. And the principles of the rule of law, separation of powers, respect for human rights and freedoms remain the foundations of the democratic constitutional order of Ukraine.
Guided by these and other considerations, the CC recognized Part 6 of Article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code as not complying with the Constitution.
The full text of the CC decision can be viewed at this link.
It is worth reminding that according to Articles 63, 131-2 of the Constitution, a suspect, accused, or defendant has the right to defense. Only a lawyer provides defense against criminal charges.