Civil procedure reform in the context of european integration of Ukraine

The chapter is devoted to the problems of civil procedure reform in the context of European integration of Ukraine.
The author examines the methodological principles of civil procedure reform and notes that thorough work on evaluating civil procedure, identifying the reasons for its unsatisfactory state, and determining the most optimal ways to correct shortcomings and increase the effectiveness of civil procedural activity should be based on a solid foundation of scientific knowledge about methods and techniques of studying legal phenomenon. Without the definition of proper methods and techniques of knowledge of civil procedure, their systematic use, qualitative updating of civil procedural legislation is impossible. The researcher substantiates the need to introduce uniform methodological approaches as the basis of justice reform in civil cases.
The principles of civil procedure are analyzed as key characteristics of the model of civil procedural activity. The scientist critically evaluates the current legislative decision regarding the proposed system of civil procedure principles; proves that the Europeanization of domestic civil procedure will be of decisive importance for the formation of a new system of its principles. A new system of civil procedure principles will be built around the rule of law. In this case, we are talking about several aspects of understanding the rule of law: normative, which reflects the peculiarities of the sources of civil procedural law and its system; institutional, which provides mechanisms for the interaction of participants in the legal process and the court, in particular, effective means of legal protection, judicial powers, procedural guarantees; instrumental, related to the creation of a fair judicial procedure, which covers the determination of the limits of the initiative and competitiveness of the parties, the criteria of lawful and conscientious procedural behavior; social, which is important in ensuring the accessibility of the court, the enforceability of the court decisions, and the publicity of the trial.
The researcher substantiates the directions of reforming preparatory court procedures. He notes that theoretical and applied studies of the stage of preparation of civil cases for trial should be aimed at substantiating the qualitative originality of the civil procedural activity being carried out and procedural means of increasing its effectiveness. This will contribute to clarification or other determination by the legislator of the content of individual preparatory actions, their separation, and in a broader sense – proper law enforcement. The author examines some problematic aspects of preparatory court procedures that reflect the author’s ideas regarding the concentration of court evidence and the reconciliation of the parties as a possible direction for reforming the national civil procedure system.