Reducing the Amount of Maintenance: Problematic Issues Related to Minor Lawsuits (Judicial Practice in Ukraine)

Abstract

The article is devoted to problematic issues of judicial practice in Ukraine, related to the consideration of civil cases on reducing the amount of maintenance in the context of defining this category of cases as minor. Attention is drawn to the fact that according to the current Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the cases of recovery of maintenance, increasing its amount, payment of additional costs for the child, collection of penalties for late payment, indexation of maintenance, changing the method of collecting the maintenance payments are considered minor unless they are related to establishment or contestation of paternity (maternity) (paragraph 3 of Part 6 of Article 19 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). However, in this norm, there is no legislative instruction to refer reduction of maintenance to the category of minor lawsuits, which, taking into account the number of such cases that can be reviewed in cassation, is viewed as a legislator’s fault.