The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andrii Kostin, visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg from 14 to 17 October. The Council of Europe's support to the public prosecution service of Ukraine in the context of the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine was at the core of the discussions.
Prosecutor General Kostin first met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić. He then had bilateral exchanges with the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, the President of the Venice Commission, Claire Bazy Malaurie, the Chair of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Damien Cottier, and the Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Christos Giakoumopoulos. A meeting was also held with the judge of the European Court of Human Rights elected in respect of Ukraine, Mykola Gnatovskyy.
Mr Kostin met with representatives of different entities of the Directorate General for Human Rights and Rule of Law, including the Department for the Implementation of Human Rights Standards, Justice and Legal Co-operation, the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the Information Society Department, the Secretariats of Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE). The discussions focused on cooperation in the field of human rights and criminal justice in the context of the ongoing war, the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, and the current priorities of the reform of the prosecution service in Ukraine.
The visit concluded with exchanges with representatives of the Council of Europe Advisory Expert Group to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, launched in spring 2022 as part of the Council of Europe's immediate assistance to Ukraine.
The visit was organised within the framework of the Project “Human rights compliant criminal justice system in Ukraine” which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.
