On April 17, the Council of Europe HELP course "Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers" was launched in the Kozyn Center, organised by the Council of Europe Project “HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) for Ukraine, including during wartime” in cooperation with the National School of Judges, the Prosecutor`s Training Center of Ukraine and the Higher School of Advocacy of the Ukrainian National Bar Association.

76 participants including judges, prosecutors and lawyers from different regions of Ukraine attended the launch event and will be enrolled in the tutored course.

The international standards provide guidance on ethical conduct and on the core principles of the work of judges, prosecutors and lawyers. Independence, impartiality and integrity are the cornerstones of the rule of law in a democracy and guarantee the protection of the human rights.

The HELP course "Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers" covers in interactive way the key concepts and principles, the international and European including the Council of Europe and EU framework  as well as relevant case law of ECHR and the Court of Justice of the European Union. It aims to deepen the knowledge and understanding of professional tools and at the developing reflective skills, based on practical examples to address ethical dilemmas in the performance of professional duties.

The participants were welcomed by Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine; Lidiya Izovitova, President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association and the Bar Council of Ukraine; Tamara Zakrevska, Deputy Head of the Department for Training Trainers (trainers) of the National School of Judges of Ukraine.

The HELP online course includes the main international standards for each profession (e.g. the Bangalore Principles) as well as, at the level of the Council of Europe, the standards and guidelines referenced in the  European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the Venice Commission relevant opinions and the relevant opinions  and Rule of Law Checklist, and the opinions issued by the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) and the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE), as well as the relevant case law of the ECtHR. At EU level, it contains relevant EU framework, including Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the case law of  CJEU, as well as links to EU initiatives to strengthen the rule of law, such as reports on the rule of law in the EU and the Rule of Law Mechanism.

The course aims to help legal professionals understand the purpose and importance of ethics in administering justice for the benefit of the people, allowing them to identify key concepts and understand shared values, ethical principles, and virtues.

The course "Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers"  has been developed in 2020-21 by the Council of Europe HELP Programme under the EU-CoE “HELP in the EU II” project, in cooperation with several Council of Europe entities/services such as the Secretariats of the Venice Commission, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and the Consultative Councils of European Judges and Prosecutors (CCJE and CCPE) as well as the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.

The HELP course "Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers", has been adapted to the Ukrainian national legal system and context by HELP tutors and experienced experts:  Valeriya Babko, judge of Desnyanskyi District Court of Kyiv, trainer of the National School of Judges; Inna Berdnik, Consultant of Analytical Department of training prosecutors  of the Prosecutor`s Training Center of Ukraine; Oleksandr Zhytnyi, Member of Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of prosecutors; and Ganna Lazarchuk, lawyer, member of the Bar Council of Rivne Region.

During the launch, Galyna Yurovska, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, held an interactive session on the importance of ethical principles in the work of judges. Anatoliy Yezhov, Chair of the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine, and Viktor Vovniuk, Head of the Secretariat of the Higher Qualification and Disciplinary Bar Commission delivered presentations on ethics and responsibility in the work of prosecutors and lawyers.

The HELP course on "Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers" is available in self-learning format on the HELP Platform. New users to the HELP platform will have to create an account before accessing this course or any of the over 52 online courses developed by the Council of Europe HELP Programme and available in self-learning format.  Currently, 12748 Ukrainian lawyers have accounts on the HELP eLearning Platform, putting Ukraine on the third place according to the number of users among the 46 Council of Europe member states. Currently, 33 HELP courses are available in Ukrainian on the CoE HELP eLearning Platform, and the full catalogue of HELP courses is available  here.