Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in Ukraine
Project Objective
Project aims at ensuring effective functioning of the criminal justice system in Ukraine aligned with European human rights standards.
The attainment of the Project objective shall contribute to strengthening democratic processes in Ukraine through the development of a criminal justice system which is:
- fair, efficient and respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms
- effective in the fight against criminality
- free of corruption and accountable at both institutional and individual levels
- trusted by the society.
Expected results
- Further harmonisation of the criminal procedure legislation and practice of its implementation in line with Council of Europe standards and best practices
- Consolidation of independence, effectiveness and transparency of the public prosecution service
Project Partners
Beneficiary institutions: Ukrainian Parliament, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Supreme Court, Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Council of Public Prosecutors, Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors of Ukraine; National School of Judges; Prosecutors’ Training Centre
Other partners: Office of the President of Ukraine; Ministry of Interior/National Police; State Bureau of Investigations; Coordination Centre for the Legal Aid Provision; National Bar Association; human rights NGOs
Duration and budget
€1 million for the first phase of the project,1 July 2019 to 31 December 2020 (18 months).
€ 1.1 million for the second phase, 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022 (24 months).
Funding ensured within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.
Project approach and activities
The Project follows the Council of Europe’s working methods, based on standard setting, monitoring and cooperation.
The Project’s comprehensive approach includes a wide range of activities, including needs-assessments, research and base-line studies; policy and legislative advice (legal opinions, expert consultations); development of internal guiding and methodological documents and self-assessment instruments for the operational implementation of the new legal framework; professional capacity development activities, including development of curricula, training modules (incl. e-courses), through workshops, conferences, experience-exchange meetings, study visits; awareness raising activities; inter-agency interactions (working group meetings; public discussions/platforms; cascade peer-to-peer exchanges at regional and/or local levels); pilot/s.
Expert opinions / reviews / publications
2022
- Expert Opinion of the Council of Europe expert advisory group to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on the Draft Law of Ukraine No 7330 “On amending Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine regarding Improvement of the Activities of Joint Investigative Teams” on the basis of comments by Mr. Jeremy McBride and reviewed by Ms. Nona Tsotsoria
- Information Note of the Council of Europe Expert Advisory Group to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on the Public Outreach in War Crimes Proceedings: Compliance with Articles 6, 8 and 3 of ECHR prepared by Mr. Jeremy McBride and reviewed by Ms. Nona Tsotsoria
- Information Note of the Council of Europe Expert Advisory Group to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on the “Trials In Absentia in War Crimes Proceedings: Compliance with Article 6 of ECHR”, prepared by Ms. Nona Tsotsoria and reviewed by Mr. Jeremy McBride
- Information Note of the Council of Europe Expert Advisory Group to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on the “Application of the Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights in Time of War”, prepared by Mr. Jeremy McBride and reviewed by Ms. Nona Tsotsoria
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Research report: Application of Pre-Trial Detention and House Arrest in Ukraine
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“Expert analysis of the disciplinary practice of the Body in charge of disciplinary proceedings in the prosecutor’s offices, for the 9 months of its work (2021-2022), prepared by Mr Volodymyr Petrakovskyi and reviewed by Dr. Lorena Bachmaier (the report is available only in Ukrainian)
2021
- Expert comments to the Draft Law No. 5336 “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine Concerning Criminal Liability for Torture” on the basis of the expertise by Mr. Jeremy McBride, international consultant of the Council of Europe
- Expert comments to the Draft Law No. 5157 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine concerning priority measures to reform the bodies of the Prosecutor’s Office” with regard to certain aspects of the transitional provisions” and the Draft Law No. 5158 “On amending certain laws of Ukraine on improving the selection and training of prosecutors” on the basis of the expertise by Prof. Dr. Lorena Bachmaier and Mr. James Hamilton, international consultants of the Council of Europe
- Comparative study on the workload of Public Prosecutors in selected Council of Europe Member States, prepared on the basis of expertise by Lorena Bachmaier, Grażyna Stanek, James Hamilton, Gaja Štovičej and Catherine Carrie;
- An assessment of the introduction of the criminal misdemeanours in Ukraine, prepared by Yevhen Krapyvin.
- Investigation into alleged ill-treatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in Ukraine
2020
- Expert assessment of selected provisions of the draft law no. 4049 amending Code of Administrative Offences, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in view of implementation of the ECtHR judgments on the basis of the expertise by Lilian Apostol, international consultant of the Council of Europe;
- Expert assessment of certain provisions of the Draft Laws of Ukraine No. 4048 and No. 4049 with regards to the amendments of the Criminal Code, Criminal Executive Code and Criminal Procedure Code initiated for the purpose of the execution of the ECtHR judgement Petukhov (No. 2) v. Ukraine on the basis of the expertise by George Tugushi, international consultant of the Council of Europe;
- Expert assessment of the Draft law 3009a “On amendments to the Criminal procedural code of Ukraine at the part of securing the implementation of the functions of the prosecutor's office” on the basis of expertise by Prof. Dr. Lorena Bachmaier and Mr. James Hamilton;
- An assessment of the Draft Law #2411 “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine” dated 11 November 2019 for the purpose of aligning the Code with Opinion DGI(2018)07 of the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe dated 09 October 2018”;
- Comparative study on effective remedies to secure criminal proceedings within a reasonable time;
- Review of the Council of Europe standards related to the liability of judges regarding unlawful judicial decisions, by Judge Ðuro Sessa, who is the ex-President of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), a member of the CCJE Bureau and the President of the Supreme Court of Croatia;
- Comparative paper on criminal responsibility of judges for unjust decisions prepared by Francesco Clementucci (France, Italy and Spain) and Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou (England and Wales, Moldova and Poland);
2019
The Council of Europe allocated a grant for promoting non-coercive interview standards in the criminal justice system in Ukraine
The Council of Europe contributed to the promotion of non-coercive investigative interview standards in the criminal justice system in Ukraine through allocation of a grant to the NGO JustGroup. The grant, which was implemented in November-December 2022, aimed at supporting change in the...
Council of Europe delivers office IT equipment to the War Crimes Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
On 22 December 2022, the Council of Europe (CoE) handed over office IT equipment to the War Crimes Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (OPG). The equipment was procured within the framework of the CoE project on “Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in...
Guide on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights is available in Ukrainian
Guide on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights is now available in Ukrainian. The Guide is part of the series of Case-Law Guides published by the European Court of Human Rights to inform legal practitioners about the fundamental judgments and decisions delivered by the European...
HELP course on Procedural Safeguards in Criminal Proceedings and Victims' Rights is available in Ukrainian
The course was developed by the Council of Europe HELP Programme with the EU support, using the HELP methodology and combines both the fundamental procedural rights of accused and suspected persons in criminal proceedings (focusing on EU Directive topics, notably the presumption of innocence) and...
Criminal justice legislation
and practice of implementation
- CoE recommendations are taken into consideration to criminal procedure and related legislation
- Capacities of criminal justice actors are consolidated in line with CoE standards and best European practice
Public prosecution service reform
(PPS)
PPS independence is promoted
- Institutional external
- Procedural individual
Efficiency and professionalism is facilitated:
- Public prosecution service
- Disciplinary & self-governance bodies
- Training institution
Awareness on the PPS reforms developments is enhanced
Relation to the judgments
of the European Court of Human Rights
- Chanyev/Ignatov: lawfulness of pre-trial detention;
- Merit: length of criminal proceedings;
- Khaylo: effectiveness of criminal investigations;
- Balitskiy, Yeremenko: fairness of proceedings: right not to incriminate oneself; use of confessions obtained under duress at trial;
- Lutsenko / Tymoshenko vs. Ukraine: protection against abuse of power.
Natia Japaridze
Project Manager
Bozhena Malanchuk
Project Coordinator
Tel: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 2
Tetyana Sokolan
Senior Project Officer / Local Legal Adviser
Tel: +38 044 425 0262 (ext. 167)
Taras Leshkovych
Senior Project Officer / Local Legal Adviser
Tel: +38 044 425 0262
Oleh Ustymenko
Project Assistant
Tel: +38 044 425 0262
E-mail: HRCCJ.UA(at)coe.int