CoE Project

Continued Support to the Criminal Justice Reform in Ukraine

500 lawyers from all over Ukraine took part in the two-day training events "Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine: Application through the Prism of the European Standards". During the 25 trainings in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Dnipro lawyers learned how to use European law standards for protection and representation the free secondary legal aid clients. The training series was conducted by the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation on the basis of Pravokator Legal Clubs under a grant initiative financed by the Council of Europe.

Within the framework of the training, attention was paid to the general aspects of the free legal aid, in particular its mission and values, as well as to the practical issues like the conflict of interest, the adjustment of defense strategies, etc. The application of the European Court of Human Rights case law in the lawyers’ activities was in the focus, in particular, the important aspects of application of the European Convention on Human Rights in the interpretation of the European Court. The content of the training was developed in such a way that, after its completion, lawyers who provide free legal aid could apply their knowledge to more efficiently protect and represent their clients.

A series of 25 trainings has been the logical conclusion of a long and hard work. Since 2013, within the assistance of the Council of Europe’s projects "Support / Continued Support to the Criminal Justice Reform in Ukraine", an all-Ukrainian network of lawyers-trainers was developed – practicing lawyers also capable of training other lawyers in the free legal aid system in a qualified way. Also under the support of the Council of Europe’s project, the lawyers trainers led by the experts developed a standardized training agenda on the criminal procedure in the context of the European Court’s case law. The lawyers-trainers conducted this large-scale series of trainings, based on the pre-prepared curriculum.

The Council of Europe, as the long-standing and essential partner of the free legal aid system in Ukraine inspired and built strong partnerships with independent civil society initiatives, aimed at improving the legal aid system. "We believe that the system of the free legal aid is, in a way, our baby. After all, we gave the process a start, and today, with the help of the civil society and expert organizations, in particular Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation, the strengthening of the system continues," said Ms Bozhena Malanchuk, Project Coordinator of the Council of Europe, Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law.

The initiative covered nearly 500 newly-selected lawyers of the free legal aid system from all regions of Ukraine. The trainings were conducted in the Pravokator legal clubs - new platforms established in the system of free legal aid in 2017 for the exchange of experience between lawyers who provide free legal aid, judges, prosecutors, civic experts etc. Council of Europe was one of the partners with the support of which the clubs were founded.

Lawyers have received effective instruments for the protection of the individuals entitled to free legal aid. The instruments covered the most frequent questions about all stages of the criminal procedure from detention to appeal of a decision in the highest instance court. All aspects were considered in the light of the European Court of Human Rights case law - lawyers discussed how to apply legal mechanisms to protect the rights of clients in the criminal procedure in the best way. "Free legal aid system disseminates best practices in the legal environment, teaching not only lawyers but also other parties to criminal proceedings. The main task of the 25 training sessions was to discuss the best ways of providing legal assistance in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights. Today, the Convention and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights remains a kind of exotic in the Ukrainian courts, and training sessions allow free legal aid system lawyers using the best international standards in their daily work", said Mr Mykola Sioma, Director of the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation.

The training consisted of the following key units: 1. Initial actions during the lawyer’s engagement; 2. Actions during a client's detention; 3. Appeal against decisions, actions or inactivity during pre-trial investigations; 4. Evidence in the pre-trial investigation; 5. Actions in the first instance court; 6. Specifics of participation in certain types of proceedings. The detailed programmed can be viewed here.

Within each of the blocks, innovative training methods were used; participants worked in groups, considered practical cases, performed tasks and presented their own solutions.

All the lawyers-trainers, who conducted the training, know from their own experience the details of the criminal procedure through the prism of the European Convention on Human Rights standards. Their experience has helped not only to convey theoretical information but also to explain how to use it in the everyday practice of lawyers. Training participants also presented examples from their practice.

Mr Volodymyr Kukhta, one of the trainers of the course, has been working in the field of law for more than 25 years, including 5 years in the system of the free legal aid. According to Mr. Kukhta, the participants of the training were proactive, asked a lot of questions and actively studied the specific tools for the legal aid provision. Mr. Kukhta describes his motivation to teaching: "According to the European standards, Ukrainian citizens, irrespective of their status, should have access to legal aid. The free legal aid lawyers show to the vulnerable groups of citizens that they care about their rights and that Ukraine is moving forward to Europe. "

According to the lawyers' responses, they value both the information received at the training and the exchange of experience. "Working in the regions, lawyers who provide free legal aid are not able to meet frequently and share cases from their own practice, discuss issues of concern in protecting clients' rights. Therefore, during the trainings, the participants didn’t passively listen to the trainer, but actively participated, enriching our program. Every time after the end of the training lawyers said how useful it was and how much they wanted such events to be held more often "- says Ms Kateryna Seredenko, a representative of Kyiv legal club Pravokator.

The level of organization and the benefits of training are highly appreciated by the participants. "I am very impressed with the training methodology. The games help to see and feel the situation from both the defense and the prosecution parties," says Mr Yuriy Kliots, a lawyer who took part in the training in Lviv. "All this helps to learn information easier, discuss it with the colleagues, understand how we will use it in practice. For example, I am currently working with a client’s case where there was a violation of law in the process of obtaining evidence. In accordance with the requirements of the criminal procedure law, such actions are considered unacceptable. Today we consider a very similar case and now I know for sure how to protect my client. "

A series of trainings helps the participants to achieve several important goals. On the one hand, the initiative aims at increasing the individual professional skills of the lawyers who provide free legal aid, and as a result the system becomes stronger and more professional. On the other hand, through the engagement of the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation, the training intensifies cooperation with the civil society and shows the importance of the free legal aid system as a public phenomenon. The right to the lawyer is an integral part of the right to a fair trial, which, in turn, is the cornerstone of legal reforms in Ukraine. In addition, the important aspect of training is its institutionalization, because the standardized program and materials developed by the project can be systematically used in the system of the free legal aid independently from the Council of Europe's projects. Similarly, a group of lawyer-trainers, prepared with the assistance of the Council of Europe, works without the need for external support.

"Ultimately, our actions should contribute to the provision of quality legal assistance. This is a far-reaching goal, which cannot be achieved by training alone. However, we work with our partners in a wide rage in order to make the high-quality system of free legal aid", explains Ms Malanchuk.

Reference:
The Council of Europe supports the development of free legal aid in Ukraine since 2012.
In 2013, in the framework of the project “Support to the Criminal Justice Reform in Ukraine” the Council of Europe contributed to the training of the first lawyers-trainers who became mentors for their colleagues-lawyers and helped them to provide high-quality services in the free legal aid system. The new series of trainings is a continuation of a number of training events for the professional development of free legal aid lawyers, which was implemented by virtue of the grant initiative implemented by the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation and funded by the Council of Europe within the project "Continued Support to the Criminal Justice Reform in Ukraine".

Updated on 04.03.2019