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 Round Table on “Standards of the Council of Europe concerning assessment of judges and the Rules of Procedure of the Public Integrity Council”

Ukraine: Support to the implementation of the judicial reform

Round Table on “Standards of the Council of Europe concerning assessment of judges and the Rules of Procedure of the Public Integrity Council”

On 12 June 2017, the round table “Standards of the Council of Europe concerning assessment of judges and the Rules of Procedure of the Public Integrity Council” took place in Kyiv, Ukraine. The round table was organised by the Council of Europe project “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine”.

The event was attended by the members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, members of the Public Integrity Council, representatives of the judicial and executive branches of power in Ukraine, as well as by representatives of civil society, international organisations, by journalists.

In the course of two sessions of the event, the participants discussed the following issues:

the criteria and the procedure for determining by the Public Integrity Council the admissibility of a judge (judicial candidate) in terms of professional ethics and integrity;
results of the assessment by the Public Integrity Council in the format of the negative conclusion or the information note on a judge (judicial candidate).

The key-part of the round table was dedicated to the presentation of the Opinion of the Council of Europe on compliance of the Rules of Procedure of the Public Integrity Council with the standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe. Such assessment was requested by the Public Integrity Council and conducted by Ms Diana Kovatcheva, doctor of International Law and International Relations, international expert of the Council of Europe. According to the Opinion of Ms Diana Kovatcheva, the following issues need to be taken into account:

the clarity and objectiveness of criteria for determining the eligibility of a judge (judicial candidate) in terms of professional ethics and integrity; in this respect, comments on or assessment of judicial decisions are unacceptable according to the standards of the Council of Europe;
certain risks to the judicial independence in cases when judges are assessed by practising lawyers;
a lack of clarity as regards the legal status of the Public Integrity Council.

Referring to the documents of the Council of Europe, Ms Diana Kovatcheva underlined that, in the course of the evaluation procedures of different types it is extremely important to exclude the factors that could challenge the independence of judges: “despite the laudable aim of ensuring high standards through a system of evaluation, it is notoriously difficult to reconcile the independence of the judge with a system of performance appraisal. If one must choose between the two, judicial independence is the crucial value.”[1] This is a basic rule which could be taken into consideration in the course of the work of the Public Integrity Council.

The full text of the Council of Europe Opinion can be found at the link .

During Ms Diana Kovacheva’s assessment of the Rules of Procedure of the Public Integrity Council, the Council of Europe project “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine” organised a number of consultations with members of the Public Integrity Council, members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, as well as a few public discussions dedicated to the status and functions of the Public Integrity Council.

The Council of Europe project “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine” aims at ensuring independence, fairness and effectiveness of the judiciary by supporting Ukraine in the implementation of its justice sector reform in accordance with Council of Europe standards and recommendations.

[1] See Report on the independence of the judicial system, Part I: the independence of judges Venice Commission (2010), para. 37 and the Report on Judicial Appointments (CDL-AD (2007) 028), Venice Commission, para. 42

Kyiv, Ukraine 12 June 2017