The Council of Europe, in collaboration with the Co-ordination Centre for Legal Aid, organised a training-of-trainers course for attorneys and lawyers within the free secondary legal aid system on 18–19 September 2026 in Lviv. The training focused on the effective interpretation and application of the provisions of national criminal proceedings legislation in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), the use of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (the European Court), and compliance with quality standards for the provision of free secondary legal aid.
Twenty-two representatives of the free legal aid system from the Northern, Southern, South-Eastern, Eastern and Western inter-regional centres took part in the training. The participants provide legal representation for individuals in criminal proceedings and monitor the quality of free legal aid provision.
During the training, participants deepened their knowledge and practical skills regarding the application of criminal procedure legislation, taking into account the principles of the Convention and the case law of the European Court; they enhanced their competence in the field of effective client defence; and they examined approaches to ensuring quality standards in the provision of free legal aid in criminal proceedings.
The programme for the first day was devoted to an overview of Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the Convention, the strategies and tactics of a defence attorney during arrest and court proceedings, and the safeguarding of procedural guarantees. On the second day, participants focused on issues of proof, the admissibility and validity of evidence, the use of electronic evidence in court proceedings, and the specific features of conducting a defence in criminal proceedings in absentia.
The training was led by Council of Europe national advisers – Supreme Court judges Oleksandra Yanovska and Nataliia Marchuk.
The event was organised by the Council of Europe as part of the project “Fostering Human Rights in the Criminal Justice System in Ukraine – Phase II”, which is being implemented under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023–2026.
