The Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine 2004 [hereinafter – CPCU 2004] has a special chapter containing the procedure for cases with the participation of foreign nationals. Moreover, the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Private Law’ 2005 [hereinafter – Law 2005] also provides a similar legal regulation.

If one of the spouses is not a Ukrainian national, the case is deemed to have the so-called foreign element (if one of the parties is a foreign national, stateless person, or Ukrainian national living abroad).

The provisions of Article 76 of the Law 2005 provide the legal basis for establishing Ukrainian jurisdiction by the courts. As such, the Ukrainian courts can consider the cases with a foreign element if:

• the parties explicitly stated the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian courts in the agreement.
• the respondent has his or her place of residence, immovable or movable property in the territory of Ukraine.
• the action or event that became the legal basis for the claim happened in Ukraine (for instance, a marriage contract concluded, or the marriage was registered in Ukraine).

It should be stressed that Ukraine announces its exclusive jurisdiction in all cases, including property division proceedings, where the real estate that became subject to the dispute is located on Ukraine’s territory.

The CPCU 2004 specifically provides a separate procedure for establishing jurisdiction in cases between Ukrainian citizens residing abroad, including divorce cases between Ukrainian citizens and a foreigner or stateless person residing abroad.

Under article 29 of the CPCU 2004, the judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine establishes jurisdiction in such cases. A separate petition to the Supreme Court requesting to establish the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian courts, including a specific local court that should consider such a divorce claim, must be filed.

In Ukraine it is not common to stay the divorce proceedings in favour of proceedings in another country.

However, CPCU 2004 allows dismissing such proceedings in Ukraine if the proceedings in another country were initiated earlier and the respective evidence can be provided. Procedurally, the Ukrainian court would leave such a divorce case without consideration, providing that another court, including foreign ones, is considering the same case between the same parties on the same grounds.

Effectively, it means that the Ukrainian court should establish the following main criteria to leave the claim without consideration:

• Is the foreign divorce case between the same parties?
• Is the foreign divorce case based on the same legal grounds?
• Is the foreign divorce case initiated earlier than the same case in Ukraine?

It is important to note that Ukrainian courts distinguish between the separation of the spouses and the dissolution of the marriage. Therefore, the subject of both cases should be the same and relate specifically to the divorce or dissolution of the marriage between the spouses.

In such a situation, paying additional attention to certifying foreign documents is necessary. If there is an agreement on legal assistance between the two countries, then there is most likely no need for additional certification. However, if such an agreement is absent, one needs either to apostille or legalise the respective foreign document so the court in Ukraine may consider it and decide whether to dismiss the divorce case.

Family law issues regarding the application of foreign laws by the Ukrainian court are governed by the Law 2005.

This law generally stipulates that citizenship determines an individual’s personal law. In cases where a person holds multiple citizenships, their personal law is ascertained based on the closest connection to a particular country, such as their primary residence. At the same time, the legal implications of marriage are dictated by the joint personal law of the spouses, which also can be established based on their last joint place of residence.

The court can clarify the details of substantive foreign law by sending a request to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or directly contacting a foreign court or judicial authority under international treaties, such as the HCCH Convention on the service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters 1965.

The law allows spouses with different personal laws to select the applicable law mutually. If a court determines that foreign law is to be applied, or if the spouses agree on its application, the court will do this based on the official doctrine and interpretations.

Ukrainian courts can make civil and/or family rulings involving foreign citizens based on foreign laws. Nevertheless, in practice, these national courts often resort to applying Ukrainian legislation only.

In Ukraine, alleging a fault to have a divorce is unnecessary.

Two official authorities in Ukraine can divorce the spouses.

If the spouses do not have underaged children (below 18) or the children reach adulthood, the marriage registered in Ukraine can be dissolved by the civil status acts authority. The procedure requires filing a divorce petition signed by both spouses to the authority, which will dissolve a marriage in one month. In such cases, the divorce certificate is issued to the former spouses.

If the spouses have underaged children and both are willing to have a divorce, they need to conclude an agreement on custody, visitation and child support and file it along with the joint petition to the court. The usual duration of such a procedure is 3-5 months, depending on the judge’s workload.
The court decides on the dissolution of the marriage if it is established that such joint petition corresponds to the actual will of the wife and husband and that their personal and property rights, as well as the rights of their children, will not be violated after the dissolution of the marriage.

The divorce decision becomes valid after the expiration of the 30-day period from the date of its announcement.

If one of the spouses is unwilling to divorce, the other spouse can file a divorce claim against him or her. This can be done even if spouses have minor children (excluding cases when the child is younger than one year).

The court can decide to consider the divorce cases without the physical presence of the spouses.

The court establishes the actual relationship between the spouses and the true reasons for the divorce claim, taking into consideration the existence of a minor child, a child with a disability and other circumstances of the spouses’ lives.

The court decides to dissolve the marriage if it is established that further preservation of the marriage would be contrary to the significant interests of at least one of the spouses and their children.

If the marriage was dissolved by the court, the divorce certificate is not issued to the parties. In such cases, the court’s decision confirms the divorce.

The general rules for serving the divorce petition and summon on the respondent are contained in the CPCU 2004.

The service is usually done by the regular state post office (‘Ukrposhta’). The respondent should be served with a copy of the ruling on the opening of the divorce proceeding, a copy of the divorce petition, and a summon mentioning the time, date, and place of the consideration of the divorce case. The court documents are duly served if the addressee receives them from the post office or postman against written acknowledgement, which will then be sent back to the court.

If the court decides to consider a divorce case without the physical presence of the spouses when opening it, then the summon is not served upon the parties; nevertheless, a petition along with the ruling should be served.

If the phone number and/or email of the parties mentioned in the divorce petition is available, the court may summon the party by SMS or Viber or send all respective documentation by email. However, such service may be challenged in the courts of higher instances if the party did not explicitly agree to it before the court’s act.

The parties whose registered place of residence or place of stay, location or place of work in Ukraine is unknown may be summoned by the court by placing an announcement on the official website of the respective court.

If the party resides abroad, the court documents should be served using an international treaty, such as the HCCH Convention on the service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters 1965.

Foreign marriages and divorces are generally valid in Ukraine when the respective marriage certificate or divorce decision/order is apostilled or legalised through the consular procedure in the Embassy of Ukraine abroad. The respective provisions of the mutual recognition of the marriage or divorce documents can also be mentioned in the legal assistance agreements between Ukraine and a foreign country.

Any foreign document should be translated into Ukrainian and certified by the local notary. The translation can be attached to the original or notarial copy.

As of now, Ukrainian jurisdiction is yet to recognise same-sex marriages officially. Such marriages are impossible in Ukraine, and foreign ones are not recognised accordingly.

The matrimonial property relations of the spouses are governed mainly by the provisions of the FCU 2002, which provides that the property acquired by the spouses during the marriage belongs to the wife and husband on the right of joint common property, even though one of them did not have independent earnings (income) for a valid reason (study, housekeeping, childcare, illness, etc.). It is considered that every item acquired during the marriage, except for things for individual use, is the object of the right of joint common property of the spouses.

The provisions mentioned above indicate the presumption of joint common ownership of the spouses to the property they acquired within the marriage.

Such a presumption effectively means the existence of a certain fact that does not require proof but may be denied and refuted in court. In other words, until refuted, it is considered to exist by default.

The courts establish such belonging based on three main criteria: the time of the acquisition, the source of the acquisition, and the general purpose of the acquisition.

Therefore, if a certain property object was acquired during a marriage using joint funds or labour for the purpose, for example, of meeting family needs, then such property object falls under the definition of the joint common property of the spouses unless otherwise provided by the agreement between the spouses.

The presumption applies to the whole set of the respective assets acquired by the spouses during a marriage, and for the Ukrainian court, it does not matter who is listed or registered as the titled owner of the property unless one of the spouses successfully refutes the presumption.

The court has the authority:

• to award the other spouse a lump sum as compensation instead of their share in the joint common property, including a house, apartment and land. However, the court may exercise this power only with the other spouse’s consent.
• to recognise that some or all assets of personal private property are joint common property or that some or all assets of joint common property are personal private property if the appropriate circumstances are proven.

The value of the spousal property is determined by agreement between them or based on its actual value at the time of the court proceeding.

Under the general rule, when the spouses’ joint property is divided, the wife’s and husband’s shares in the assets are equal unless otherwise specified in an agreement.

The court can deviate from equality of shares if one party does not care about the family’s financial maintenance, conceals, destroys, or damages joint property, or spends property contrary to the family’s interests.

A spouse’s share may be increased if children or disabled adult children live with him/her.

The maintenance orders are not common in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, under the FCU 2002, divorce does not release spouses from maintenance obligations that originated during marriage.

The demand for maintenance can be included along with the marriage dissolution claim or in a separate proceeding. It can be awarded both for a fixed term or on an open-ended basis.

After the divorce, a person may receive the maintenance:

• if he or she becomes disabled before or within one year from the divorce date and requires financial support while the other spouse can afford to provide such.
• if he or she becomes disabled after one year from the date of divorce, provided that such disability was the result of unlawful behaviour of the other spouse during the marriage.
• after reaching this retirement age, if he or she has no more than five years left before reaching the statutory retirement age at the time of divorce, if they have been married for at least ten years.

The FCU 2002 stipulates other cases when one of the spouses has a right to maintenance after the divorce, such as the inability to obtain education, work, or hold a relevant position due to raising a child, running a household, caring for family members, illness, or other circumstances of significant importance or if a child has physical or mental disabilities, then the wife with whom the child lives has the right to maintenance from her husband until the child reaches the age of six.

Maintenance can be awarded as a share of the other spouse’s earnings (income) or a fixed sum. The court can increase or decrease these sums to reflect other relevant circumstances.

Pension orders are not a common practice in Ukraine. Current family law does not allow for the pension to be divided between spouses.

During the proceedings, the court may make injunction relief orders, or in other words, the court may take special measures to secure a claim. Such measures can restrict the party from certain actions, such as leasing the disputed property (for example, a disputed apartment or house), or the court can temporarily arrest the property if there is a reasonable risk of its alienation.

The court usually considers the issue of legal costs when it renders a decision in a case.

The procedural rules also provide that the court could decide on the legal costs if the winning party filed a petition within five days of the decision’s pronouncement. The party should file evidence confirming the legal costs payment and their factual amount. The opposite party can file respective objections against the recovery of legal costs.

Ukrainian law does not connect divorce with the division of spousal property. The court can divide the property during and after the marriage.

Providing that Ukraine announced its exclusive jurisdiction regarding disputed real estate located on its territory, such property can be divided only by the local court.

Therefore, if the foreign court dissolved the parties’ marriage, it is not an obstacle for the Ukrainian court to consider the spousal property division case between them.

CPCU 2004 directly addresses the main grounds that provide for the procedure of enforcing financial orders in Ukraine. These grounds may be defined either by the terms of bilateral/multilateral treaties between the countries concerned or by the application of the principle of reciprocity, which is to be applied if there is no such bilateral/multilateral treaty between Ukraine and the respective foreign state.

The general interpretation of the principle of reciprocity under Ukrainian law means that if Ukrainian court orders are enforced in a particular foreign country, the court orders of that foreign country will be enforced in Ukraine. The CPCU 2004 expressly provides that, to apply this principle, it shall be presumed that reciprocity exists unless it is proved otherwise.

Further, the principle is also described in the Law 2005; namely, if the application of the law of the foreign country is dependent on the principle of reciprocity, it is deemed to exist unless otherwise proven.

CPCU 2004 defines two separate enforcement procedures based on the content of the foreign court decision. These are forcible and non-forcible procedures.

The non-forcible enforcement procedure may include the following categories of cases:

1. on recognising rights (corporate rights, property rights etc.).
2. on proclaiming one’s bankruptcy.
3. on declaring invalid certain acts.
4. on recognising, appealing or repudiation of paternity.
5. on dissolution of marriage.
6. on establishing facts that have judicial meaning.
7. on adoption.
8. on recognising a person as missing or dead.

Both procedures generally have similar procedural steps, such as applying to the court, providing all necessary documents, and obtaining the court decision. However, the main difference between the two procedures is that the list of necessary documents is narrower in the non-forcible enforcement procedure.

Upon receiving the financial order, the applicant has three years from when it comes into force to apply to a Ukrainian court. However, this term does not apply to periodical payments, which may be enforced and collected during the whole sanction period, such as alimony payments.

The applicant shall apply to the court by the respondent’s place of residence or location. Otherwise, if the respondent’s place of residence or location is unknown, the question of the possibility of enforcing the financial order in Ukraine will be determined by the location of the respondent’s assets concerned.

The petition for recognition and forcible enforcement of the foreign financial order if the international treaty does not stipulate a list of documents that must be attached to the application, or in the absence of such treaty under the CPCU 2004 should be accompanied by the following documents:

1. A copy of the certified decision of a foreign court.
2. An official document about the fact that the decision of a foreign court has attained legal force (if not mentioned in the decision).
3. A document certifying that the party affected by the decision of a foreign court which did not participate in the legal process was informed correctly about the date, time and place of examination of the case.
4. A document determining in which area or from when the decision of a foreign court is subject to enforcement (if already enforced).
5. A document certifying the authority of the representative (if a representative submits the petition).
6. A translation of the listed foreign documents into Ukrainian.

Upon receiving the petition, the court within 5 days informs the debtor (respondent) in writing and grants with 30-days period for the latter to file any objections.

After the debtor files or does not file any objections, the court orders and informs the parties on the date, time and place of the court hearing.

The petition is decided by a sole judge, in result of which the latter can decide to grant the recognition and forcible enforcement or refuse to satisfy the petition.

The respective ruling of the court can be further challenged to the appeal court. If there is no appeal filed against it, then the court ruling is valid after expiration of the 15-day term since the date of its pronouncement by the court.

Based on the court ruling (which came into force) allowing the recognition and enforcement of the financial order, the court issues an executive list, which is a necessary document to start the actual enforcement proceedings with the State enforcement service of Ukraine or the private enforcer/executioner.

As explained above, FCU 2002 establishes a ‘joint common property’ regime as the default position for spouses.

At the same time, ‘private personal property’ constitutes assets acquired before the marriage, by gift/succession or with personal money. If private personal property produces fruits, breeds or generates income during the marriage, that income will be considered part of such private personal property.

However, if the value of one spouse’s private personal property has increased due to the efforts or contribution of the other spouse, then the court may recognise such property as joint common property, entitling the contributing spouse to a share.

The spouses can vary the default regime in an agreement, re-designating present and future private personal property and common joint property.

Overall, there are three ways to own an asset by the spouses:

1. Joint common property – when they jointly own a certain piece of property without establishing a specific portion of it owned by each of them. However, their shares are considered equal in default.
2. Joint partial property – when they jointly own a certain piece of property by establishing a specific portion of it owned by each of them.
3. Private personal property – when only one of the spouses is the legal owner of a certain asset.

The spouses are free to choose any applicable regime for all the property or only a part of it.

First, it should be noted that Ukrainian legislation operates the term of a ‘marriage contract’ rather than a pre-nuptial or nuptial agreement.

A marriage contract may be concluded between engaged persons (who applied for the registration but still are not married) and married couples.

Foreign marriage contracts (pre-nuptial and nuptial agreements) are considered valid in Ukraine if they are valid in the jurisdiction where they were concluded and do not contradict Ukrainian laws.

The marriage contract’s core characteristic is the possibility of abolishing a joint common property regime for the spouses.

The parties to the marriage contract can decide on their property issues within the marriage and select the governing jurisdiction and law.

The marriage contract cannot regulate the personal relations of the spouses and between them and their children. It cannot narrow the scope of the child’s rights as per FCU 2002 and cannot put one of the spouses in an extremely disadvantageous financial position.

To conclude a marriage contract, both parties must appear before a notary public official and sign the agreement. Legal advice or full and frank disclosure of assets or liabilities is not required. The notary provides the parties with an explanation of the relevant provisions of the applicable civil and family legislation.

The parent with whom the child resides has the right to apply for alimony. Child support can be established either by entering into an agreement or in court.

The FCU 2002 provides a possibility to conclude an agreement to terminate the right to alimony by way of a transfer of immovable property in the child’s name or in the name of both the child and a parent with whom he or she resides.

All agreements relating to child support or termination of such rights should be certified by a notary.

After concluding such an agreement, the parent residing with the child should solely maintain the child. Nevertheless, such an agreement does not dismiss the obligation to participate in any additional expenses for the child for the parent who lives separately.

If child support is established in court, it can be either a fixed sum or a certain part of the total net income, for instance, ¼ of all payer’s income for one child.

The FCU 2002 provides a minimum guaranteed amount of alimony, which is no less than 50% of the child’s so-called minimum living rate. Such rates differ based on the child’s age. In 2024, the minimum living rate for children up to six years of age is UAH 2563, while for children aged six to 18, it is UAH 3196.

The judge, among others, considers the following circumstances when determining the amount of a child’s support:

1. the health and financial position of a child.
2. the health and financial position of the paying parent.
3. the existence of the movable and immovable property.
4. proved expenses of the paying parent.

The alimony is generally established until the child’s adulthood, which is 18 years.

The FCU provides a possibility to collect so-called additional expenses for the child in the court proceeding.

These expenses should be proven and caused by special circumstances, such as developing the child’s abilities, chronic disease, injury, unique medical condition, etc. The judge determines the specific amount of participation in such expenses.

Current family legislation in Ukraine does not provide for any other orders related to financial support of the child.

Ukrainian law allows for the recognition of unmarried couple relationships as cohabitation and the establishment of the fact of a man and woman living as one family without registration of the marriage. However, such a fact should be proven in court.

Article 74 of the FCU 2002 provides that if a woman and man lived as a family but were not married (including to any other person), the property they acquired during their cohabitation belongs to them as joint common property unless otherwise stipulated by the written contract. The provisions of the FCU 2002 regulating the spousal property of married couples apply to the property acquired by the cohabitating couple.

This means such property belongs to the cohabitating couple as joint common property. The fact of cohabitation can be established if it is proven, for example, in case they had joint householding, lived in one place, had similar responsibilities as the married couple overall, only without marriage registration, and so on.

The specifics of the financial claims and how such claims are determined, including the guiding principles of the courts, are detailed above and are essentially the same as for married couples if the court establishes the fact of cohabitation.

Cohabitees can also enter into a written agreement, similar to the marriage contract detailed above, to regulate property issues during their joint residing. The parties should appear before the notary to conclude such an agreement.

The marriage’s breakdown does not limit the scope of parental rights. Essentially, there is no difference in whether the parents are/were married to each other or not in Ukraine.

It is important to know that local family law does not include a term of ‘custody’ or ‘parental responsibility’ regarding parent-child relations. Instead, it refers to parental rights, which are considered equal as stipulated by the FCU 2002.

Ukrainian courts have exclusive jurisdiction over relationships between children and parents where both parents reside permanently in Ukraine.

Moreover, Ukrainian courts actively apply the HCCH Convention on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement, and cooperation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children 1996, in particular articles 3, 5, and 7 of the mentioned convention, to decide, if necessary, on the issues of jurisdiction.

The Ukrainian courts can make the following orders regarding the children (among others):

1. order for participation in the child’s upbringing (visitation or access order) for the parent living separately from the child.
2. order for establishing the place of residence of the child with one of the parents (physical custody).

Recently, the Supreme Court adopted an extremely important order/decision regarding shared custody for the children, granting both parents equal time with the children. Such arrangements are not currently provided by the law but were initiated by the highest judicial authority in Ukraine.

The court takes into account both parents’ attitude to the performance of their parental duties, the child’s personal attachment to each of them, the child’s age, health status, and other circumstances of significant importance when resolving a dispute over the place of residence of a minor child or regarding the participation of one of the parents in the upbringing of a child.

Ultimately, Ukrainian courts, when resolving such disputes between parents, are guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, which is part of the local family law legislation framework. In particular, the child’s best interests are their primary consideration.

Moreover, Ukrainian courts also consider the case law of the ECHR, which bears similar importance to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 for duly resolving the disputes between the parents.

The FCU 2002 provides that the parents jointly determine the place of residence of a child under ten. If a child reaches the age of ten, then such a place of residence is determined by mutual consent of the parents and the child. Upon reaching the age of fourteen, the child solely decides with whom of the parents he or she wants to reside.

The child’s voice can be heard either by the judge during the court proceeding with the possible involvement of the psychologist or based on the special expertise which can be prepared by the approved and authorised judicial expert upon the results of his or her communications with the child and the parents.

The judge may consider the voice of a child who has not reached the age of ten if such a child has already attained a degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of his or her views. This is a matter of assessment, including an internal conviction and view of the judge, and is established in every respective case separately.

The judge may also disregard the child’s view if he or she establishes that it harms the child’s best interests.

If parents reside in different cities within the country, then the dispute regarding internal relocation is decided by the court during the proceedings to establish the child’s place of residence with one of the parents (please answer question 21 hereof).

Under the general rule, citizens of Ukraine who have not reached the age of 16 can only travel outside of Ukraine with the consent of both parents (adoptive parents) or guardians and accompanied by them or persons authorised by them. If the child is accompanied only by one of the parents at the border or another person, then the crossing of the border is only possible with the notarised consent of the other parent or both parents, indicating the state of destination and the corresponding length of stay abroad.

Nevertheless, now, because of the war in Ukraine, there is no need temporarily for the period of martial law to be in force to obtain the notarised consent of one of the parents for another parent to cross the border of Ukraine with a child.

Before the war, if one of the parents wanted to relocate the child outside Ukraine’s jurisdiction, he or she could apply to the court with a claim to grant the relocation without the other parent’s consent. Again, the case law in such a category of disputes treated the child’s best interests as a primary consideration when deciding whether to grant such permission. It is necessary to prove that the relocation is much more beneficial for the child than his or her stay in Ukraine. Otherwise, the Ukrainian courts considered that the relocation abroad severely breaches the legitimate rights and interests of the left-behind parent.

Therefore, as of now, the child can be relocated abroad without the parent’s permission.

However, such temporary safety measures during martial law do not limit the application of the HCCH Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction 1980, which can be used to return the child to Ukraine.

Foreign court orders for contact/custody of children are not automatically recognised or enforced in Ukraine. The specific procedure is detailed and explained above in the answer to question 12.

If the foreign country is a member of the HCCH Convention on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement, and cooperation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children 1996, its provisions can be used as a legal basis for the recognition and/or enforcement of such foreign order in Ukraine.

When the Ukrainian court grants recognition and/or enforcement of the foreign court, it adopts a respective ruling confirming the validity and legal power of such order in Ukraine. Thus, essentially, the system of mirror orders is not necessary.

Where a bilateral or multilateral treaty, such as the abovementioned convention, is not possible, the Ukrainian court would apply the principle of reciprocity, as explained in the answer to question 12.

Foreign court orders for contact/custody of children are not automatically recognised or enforced in Ukraine. The specific procedure is detailed and explained above in the answer to question 12.

If the foreign country is a member of the HCCH Convention on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement, and cooperation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children 1996, its provisions can be used as a legal basis for the recognition and/or enforcement of such foreign order in Ukraine.

When the Ukrainian court grants recognition and/or enforcement of the foreign court, it adopts a respective ruling confirming the validity and legal power of such order in Ukraine. Thus, essentially, the system of mirror orders is not necessary.

Where a bilateral or multilateral treaty, such as the abovementioned convention, is not possible, the Ukrainian court would apply the principle of reciprocity, as explained in the answer to question 12.

The Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) has two forms in Ukraine: mediation and arbitration.

The options to apply arbitration while resolving family disputes are very limited and uncommon in Ukraine. The parties can only refer to arbitration disputes that arise from a marriage agreement if the involved parties are Ukrainian residents and the dispute does not concern immovable property.

Mediation was officially introduced in Ukraine in November 2021, when the Law of Ukraine ‘On Mediation’ was lastly adopted. The law defines the legal basis and procedure for conducting mediation as an out-of-court procedure for resolving a conflict (dispute), the principles of mediation, the status of a mediator, training requirements, etc. Mediation may be conducted before applying to a court or during the enforcement of a court decision, and it does not affect the limitation period. Mediation cannot be conducted in disputes if it affects or may affect the rights and legitimate interests of the non-participating third parties.

Mediation is not widely used in Ukraine. However, the authorities promote it as a reliable instrument for the parties to resolve their disputes peacefully and effectively, which is very beneficial for cases involving children.