The rule of law at the heart of judicial training: a Council of Europe judicial project, in partnership with an OSCE project and the National School of Judges of Ukraine, has supported a series of training sessions for judges on the application of the principle of the rule of law and the prohibition of discrimination.

The rule of law, as a fundamental principle of the administration of justice, not only remains as relevant as ever in times of war, but ensuring it requires enhanced joint efforts to uphold democracy and counter threats.

That is why projects run by the Council of Europe and the OSCE supported a series of events in 2026 dedicated to discussing the specifics of applying the rule of law and the prohibition of discrimination. On 11–12 May, 18–19 May, 30–31 July and 7–8 September, specialised training sessions were held in Kyiv, Lviv and towns in the Zakarpattia region for judges of the administrative and general courts, led by the following trainers:

• Olesya RADISHEVSKA – judge of the Administrative Court of Cassation;
• Mykola MAZUR – judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court;
• Iryna VOROBYOVA – judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, Candidate of Legal Sciences;
• Natalia SAKARA – judge of the Civil Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor;
• Tetyana FULEY - Head of the Department of Research and Scientific and Methodological Support for Judicial Education at the National School of Judges of Ukraine, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine
• Rostyslav MOSKAL – Judge of the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal
• Serhiy SHYNKORENKO – Judge of the Horodok District Court, Khmelnytskyi Region
• Tetiana TSUVINA – Head of the Department of Civil Procedure, Arbitration and Private International Law at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Doctor of Laws, Professor, Member of the Scientific and Advisory Council to the Supreme Court.

During the training sessions, participants had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the concept of the prohibition of discrimination and the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights on discrimination, as well as the concept and components (elements) of the rule of law, as defined in:

• the Report of the European Commission ‘For Democracy through Law’ (Venice Commission), adopted at its 86th plenary session (Venice, 25–26 March 2011),
• the Checklist of Criteria for the Rule of Law (Measuring the Rule of Law), adopted by the Venice Commission at its 106th plenary session (Venice, 11–12 March 2016),
• the Updated Checklist of Criteria for the Rule of Law, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 145th plenary session (Venice, 12–13 December 2025),
• the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The trainings were supported by the Council of Europe Project "Support to Ukraine in the Implementation of Council of Europe Standards on the Judiciary" jointly with the OSCE Support to Ukraine Programme within the framework of the project "Guaranteeing Respect for Human Rights in the Administration of Justice, Phase II" and the Council of Europe Project.

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