From Concept to Reality: UJICS as the Next Stage in the Development of E-Justice in Ukraine

Abstract

The study focuses on analyzing the current stage of e-justice development in Ukraine, particularly in the context of transitioning from the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (UJITS) to a new conceptual model, the Unified Judicial Information and Communication System (UJICS). The relevance of the research is determined by the need to modernize Ukraine’s judicial system in accordance with European standards of digital justice, as well as to overcome existing organizational, technical, and regulatory shortcomings in its functioning. The article emphasizes that e-justice is not only a technological phenomenon but also a tool for ensuring the procedural rights of parties and providing accessible, transparent, and efficient judicial proceedings. The purpose of this article is to examine the evolution of e-justice in Ukraine, analyze the legal nature, technical, and organizational features of the UJICS Concept, and identify the prospects and risks associated with its implementation. The methodological framework combines dialectical, systemic-structural, comparative-legal, historical-legal, and formal-logical methods, which enable a comprehensive assessment of the development of e-justice. The research findings indicate that UJITS has become the foundation of digital justice in Ukraine, ensuring the basic digitalization of judicial processes; however, its architecture remains fragmented and technologically limited. Meanwhile, the UJICS Concept is proposed as a centralized, integrated ecosystem designed to unify all judicial processes, introduce artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and modern cybersecurity tools. At the same time, key risks have been identified - insufficient funding, technical challenges, regulatory uncertainty, and the impact of martial law. It is concluded that the successful implementation of the UJICS Concept requires stable financing, involvement of international partners, legislative modernization, and strengthening of cybersecurity. Under current economic and political conditions, the UJITS continues to serve as the practical foundation of e-justice, while the UJICS remains a strategic goal for the further digital transformation of Ukraine’s judiciary.