Ukraine: Support to the implementation of the judicial reform

Project title

Support to the judicial reform in Ukraine

project duration

The project duration is 31 months: 1 June 2018 to 30 December 2020.

Project budget

Euro 1,110,000 (reduced to Euro 860,000)

Project partners

Supreme Court, Ukrainian National Bar Association, High Council of Justice, High Qualification Commission of Judges, Office of the President of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice.

Key issues to be addressed

the reform of the judiciary in terms of the practice derived from the adopted legislation (2016-2020), including uniformity of judicial practice and functioning of the new courts and judicial institutions.
changes in the system of the bar including the introduction of the obligatory representation in courts by advocates and strengthening of the system of the free legal aid.

Brief description of project

The project is being implemented in Ukraine in co-operation with Ukrainian counterparts – the Judicial Reform Council, the Supreme Court, the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the Council of Judges of Ukraine, and others. The project is managed by the Justice and Legal Co-Operation Department of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law.

Project objectives

To support Ukraine in the completion of the judicial reform and in the implementation of the newly-adopted legislation with the aim of ensuring functioning and organisation of judiciary, bar and free legal aid system under newly established legislation are in compliance with the Council of Europe standards.

Project components

1 – Support to the legislative development

Aim of the component: to provide advice to the Ukrainian authorities in developing legislation on functioning of the judiciary and bar, including through the provision of expertise/assessments/opinions/recommendations

2 – Support to the development of functioning of courts and judicial institutions under the reformed legislation

Aim of the component: to support the development of functioning of courts and judicial institutions, namely, the High Council of Justice, under new legislation so as new court practice, practice of the High Council of Justice within the new powers, issues of publicity with regard to judges, practice of management of the judicial dossier are in line with the CoE standards

3 – Support to the development of bar in Ukraine

Aim of the component: to support development of the new legal institute of the obligatory representation in courts by advocates and of the free legal aid system on civil and administrative cases so as respective procedural aspects and quality of legal advices are in line with the CoE standards and the best European practise

Expected results

The amended legislation in Ukraine allows the judiciary and the bar in their practice to adhere to Council of Europe standards .
Functioning of courts and judicial institutions under the reformed legislation framework follows the standards of the Council of Europe and the relevant European practices.
The involvement of the bar in litigation in terms of procedure and practice comply with the Council of Europe standards.

Project News

Back International conference of lawyers on information technologies in the practice of lawyers

Ukraine: Support to the implementation of the judicial reform

On 12 September 2020 the Council of Europe project "Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine" organised an online conference with participation of more than 60 lawyers from 15 European countries. The conference was organised jointly with the Council of Europe, the European Association of Lawyers, the Odessa Bar Council and the Gdańsk Bar Association.

Representatives of the communities of lawyers from Switzerland to Kazakhstan extensively discussed the ethical use concerning information technologies in the legal profession.

Opening the meeting, Lilit Daneghian, Head of Justice Sector Reform Unit of the Justice and Legal Co-operation Department, Council of Europe, stated that the benefits of the new technologies enhance the ability of lawyers to analyse the data efficiently, to generate relevant statistics, to analyse legislation and case-law and to participate in online court proceedings. On the other hand, the new technologies may pose a risk to the professional secrecy, communication with clients, and personal data protection. The new realities are challenging and it’s important to address and discuss those issues and minimise the risks, also by installing the respective new procedures for the work of lawyers in line with the Council of Europe standards.

Please see the presentation the the different of the speakers and participants from 15 countries shared their experience of using the new information technologies in the legal profession (the different tabulations at top of the page will direct you to the areas you wish to consult).

The video recording of the conference can be seen here.

Video conference 12 September 2020