Here is a detailed analysis of the court decision, prepared for you:
1. **Subject of the Dispute:** Challenging the actions of the courts of first and appellate instances regarding the return of a statement of claim for the recovery of underpaid judicial remuneration due to the plaintiff’s alleged failure to meet the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit.
2. **Court Arguments:**
* The Supreme Court emphasized that judicial remuneration is, by its nature, salary; therefore, the provisions of labor legislation (Art. 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine) apply to disputes regarding its payment.
* The Court noted that following the amendments introduced by Law No. 2352-IX (effective July 19, 2022), the time limit for filing a lawsuit in labor disputes is limited to three months; however, these changes do not have retroactive effect in time for legal relations that arose earlier.
* It is crucial that the commencement of the limitation period is linked not to an abstract date, but to the moment when the employee actually learned or should have learned about the violation of their rights through receipt of a payslip or other document regarding the accrual of payments.
* The lower courts failed to ascertain whether the employer fulfilled its obligation under Art. 110 of the Labor Code of Ukraine to provide the employee with detailed information regarding the components of the salary, which is critically important for determining the commencement of the limitation period.
* The Supreme Court emphasized that courts do not have the right to automatically return a lawsuit without establishing the factual circumstances of the plaintiff’s familiarization with documents confirming the payment amounts.
* **Legal Precedent:** The Court relied on the legal position of the Judicial Chamber of the Administrative Cassation Court dated March 21, 2025 (Case No. 460/21394/23), which establishes a uniform approach to the application of Art. 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine in terms of time, departing from the simplified approach of the lower courts to the calculation of time limits.
3. **Court Decision:** The Supreme Court granted the cassation appeal, set aside the ruling of the court of first instance and the decision of the appellate court, and remanded the case to the court of first instance for continuation of the merits review.
