Electronic document management, which started to develop before the war, has become common practice after the full-scale invasion – electronic documents are already accepted by courts, lawyers, interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine, share their experience.

"Any process requires stages, and the formation of the practice of electronic document management is no exception. Shifts were gradual and fragmented. For example, the procedural reform of 2017 recognized electronic evidence, but a complete and clear understanding of the correct type of such evidence was still far away. The regulatory framework was not obvious for the vast majority, there was no sustainable practice," senior lawyer at the Vasyl Kysil and Partners law firm Vitaliy Meliankov said.

According to him, the intensive development of electronic documents began after the full-scale invasion, when "all the impractical requirements began to look completely unattractive in the context of the noise of the printer accompanied by explosions outside the window."

Meliankov said the law of Ukraine On the organization of labor relations during martial law allowed for electronic document flow between the employee and the employer by agreement of the parties. In addition, the procedure for working with electronic documents and preparing them for transfer to the archive has been changed.

In particular, the procedure for creating paper copies can now be determined by the company's business instructions. "That is, a paper copy is created only upon request, and it should not be stored simply because it is required by law," the lawyer said.

At the same time, Meliankov said, according to this procedure, institutions are required to create documents of permanent and long-term (more than ten years) storage in two forms: paper and electronic. However, the creation of temporary storage documents (up to ten years inclusive) in paper form is not mandatory, and the use of the same document in electronic and paper form in the business administration of an institution is not allowed.

Meliankov said electronic documents should be stored for as long as paper ones, but in the context of business, there are practically no documents that need to be stored in paper form. Thus, entries in work books, employment contracts and occupational safety records can exist in electronic form.

The lawyer said currently the current judicial practice regarding non-storage of documents in paper form boils down to the fact that in the case of electronic document management, the company must regulate it with its instructions. In particular, in one of the court cases, the legality of the dismissal procedure was confirmed, which was accompanied only by documents in electronic form, given that the company had properly implemented electronic document management.

"Courts have been accepting electronic documents for a long time. There are cases when the court recognizes contracts signed with a simple electronic signature. E-document flow ensures transparency and clarity. For example, a qualified electronic signature contains a time stamp, so it is impossible to sign a document retroactively. Thus, quality control work and meeting deadlines in the context of the transition to electronic circulation of documents will be an absolute requirement," Meliankov said.

For his part, member of the Ukrainian Bar Association, managing partner of the ARES Law Firm Roman Chumak said "legislation is forced to adapt to the realities of modern life, and currently issues of e-document flow are regulated by a large number of laws and regulations, the main one is the law On electronic documents and electronic document flow."

"The said law provides that the legal force of an electronic document cannot be denied just because it is presented in this form. The practice of electronic document management is clearly regulated by law, and electronic documents have the same legal force as paper ones," he said.

Chumak said in the case of electronic document management, paper archives (copies of electronic documents) should be stored only if storing electronic documents for a long time is impossible.

"Typically, documents (both electronic and paper) are stored for three to five years. Some types of documents, such as wages, are subject to long-term storage – up to 75 years," he said.

At the same time, Chumak said judicial practice regarding e-document flow is focused on the question of what can be considered electronic documents.

In particular, according to the lawyer, the current position of the Supreme Court is that the original of such a document is its electronic copy with all the required details, including the electronic signature of the author.

However, according to the lawyer, currently the issues of document management in paper or electronic form are regulated by current legislation and, therefore, are not controversial – electronic documents are actually equivalent to paper ones.

In addition, Chumak said most Ukrainian courts, provided that they know the email addresses of the participants in the case, send them electronic copies of court decisions, confirmed by an electronic digital signature, and court decisions in electronic form are currently used in parallel with paper ones.

"In general, the practice of electronic document management undoubtedly has a number of advantages compared to paper document management: it speeds up communication between counterparties, eliminates the cost of paper and printing, greatly facilitating the storage of archives," Chumak said.