Problems on determining the jurisdiction of claims when appealing against state authorities and local self-government decisions in the land disputes field: genesis, features and notion
Authors: Kolomiitseva Diana 
Published: March 2020

The issues of jurisdiction in disputes over appeals against decisions of state authorities and local self-government is one of the reasons for the ineffective implementation of these constitutional norms. The ascertainment of the issue of jurisdiction in a case in this category may be considered by courts of all three tiers and result in the closure of the proceedings in the case. Given that the issue of subject-matter jurisdiction in appealing against decisions of state authorities and local self-government in the field of land relations is poorly researched as a separate category of disputes, this article covers this issue.

The author identifies three key stages in the formation and development of this group of disputes, which influenced the procedure for determining the subject-matter jurisdiction of disputes over appealing against decisions of state authorities and local self-government in the field of land relations. The first stage is the period of the formation of procedural legislation, allowing to appeal against the decisions and inaction of state authorities. The second stage is the stage of active formation of the practice of litigation over the choice of jurisdiction when appealing against decisions of state authorities and local self-government in the field of land relations. The third stage is the stage of deepening the law enforcement practice of litigation concerning the choice of jurisdiction when appealing against decisions of state authorities and local self-government in the field of land relations.

The conducted research suggests that each of these stages has its own features, characterizing this group of disputes as a separate category of disputes has the following features:

is formed from a derivative object related to the protection of the subjective land right or the realization of land legal personality;

is always subject to judicial consideration within the stated claims, related to the protection of the subjective land right or the realization of land legal personality;

creates independent legal consequences in the form of admission of the case to be considered in substance or revision of the made court decision or court decisions in the case, cancellation of the made court decision or court decisions in the case, and the closure of the proceedings in the case;

has general and specific rules of application. General rules of application are stipulated by the requirements of the current procedural legislation, and specific rules have been formed by the case law in the judicial review of land disputes;

the cases of this group at the stage of cassation are considered by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, whose decisions are final and are not subject to appeal.

Thus, disputes concerning the determination of jurisdiction when appealing against decisions of state authorities and local self-government in the field of land relations are a derivative category of disputes, which has its history of formation, forms an independent subject of judicial consideration and is based on the application of general and specific rules determined by, accordingly, the legislation and judicial practice.