Supreme Court Decision on Using Viber Screenshots as Proof
A landmark ruling from Ukraine's Supreme Court now permits screenshots of Viber chats to serve as evidence that an employee was notified of an order, provided the participants and message content can be clearly identified. This case involved a manager at JSC Ukrzaliznytsia who was dismissed in 2024. The court's decision considered not only the Viber screenshot but also payroll statements and the plaintiff's conduct.
The plaintiff worked as a manager and head of the internal security department at JSC Ukrzaliznytsia under a fixed-term employment contract. Following the start of the full-scale war, the employer issued an order for downtime and, in April 2022, an order to suspend the employment contract. When the contract term expired in 2024, the employee was terminated. Notably, no salary had been accrued since April 2022.
The employee filed a lawsuit in 2024. On April 19, 2022, a message regarding the suspension of the employment contract was sent to his personal phone number via Viber. The plaintiff replied to this notification with:
'Привет. Ок.'The phone number that sent the message matched the one the plaintiff provided in his lawsuit.
The court also noted that information about the contract suspension appeared in the payroll statements, which were sent monthly to the plaintiff's personal email address. Ultimately, the Supreme Court issued a ruling confirming that electronic communication tools can be used as evidence in labor disputes, citing Ukraine's Law on Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Flow.
Implications of the Ruling for Legal Practice
This Supreme Court decision carries significant weight for legal practice in Ukraine, as it demonstrates how modern technology can be integrated into the judicial process. The use of electronic correspondence, in particular, could greatly simplify the burden of proof in employment disputes, offering parties new avenues to protect their rights.
Given the growing reliance on digital communications, this ruling may set a precedent for other cases involving labor relations and electronic evidence.