Ukrainian judges and lawyers commenced to study European labour law standards and mechanisms for their protection through a Council of Europe training course.

HELP tutored training course “Labour rights as human Rights and introduction to the European Social Charter” was launched on 31 January 2025.

This is a two-month long tutored training course in which a total of 18 judges and 21 lawyers are participating.

The course will cover key concepts regarding labour rights, the European (Council of Europe and EU) and Ukrainian labour rights protection systems, as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Committee of Social Rights. Its goal is to raise awareness of labour rights and the mechanisms for their protection in Ukraine among legal professionals.

“Ukraine’s social and labour sectors are undergoing a profound transformation as the country moves toward EU accession. The Council of Europe supports Ukrainian authorities in advancing national legislation and plays an active role in social and labour reforms. Therefore, Charter standards, Council of Europe expertise, and the case law of its monitoring body—the European Committee of Social Rights—are more relevant than ever, especially in the training of legal professionals,” stated Mr Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.

The course has been adapted to the Ukrainian legal system and context and will be taught by:

• Ms Valentyna Malinovska, judge of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv,
• Ms Victoriia Polishchuk, Head of the Labor Law Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) and Head of the Centre for Labor Law and Social Security of the UNBA Higher School of Advocacy,
• Ms Alla Fedorova, member of the European Committee of Social Rights.

During the launch event, its participants learnt more about the course topics, including categories of labour disputes under martial law, the application of international labour standards in Ukrainian judicial practice, and the role of the European Social Charter (revised) in protecting labour rights in Ukraine.

Additionally, they were introduced to the Council of Europe HELP platform and the tutoring course page, where they will complete the training with the support of tutors. Participants also gained insight into the Council of Europe projects that organised the training*.

*The training is being organised by the Council of Europe projects: “HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) for Ukraine including during wartime”, “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine” in partnership with the National school of judges of Ukraine and the Higher School of Advocacy of UNBA.

The HELP courses “Labour rights as human rights” and “Introduction to the European Social Charter” can be also completed as self-study courses on the HELP Platform by every interested legal professional. New users have to create an account to access these courses or any of the 59 online courses developed by the Council of Europe, all available in a self-study format.