As part of the Project “Continued support to the criminal justice reform in Ukraine,” the consultations on the Draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Amending the Constitution of Ukraine (as to Justice” (with regard to the improvement of the performance of the Qualifications and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors) took place on 21 and 22 February 2018 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The activity was aimed at discussing the main points of the Draft Law in the light of the Council of Europe standards and the ways to improve it in order to achieve full compatibility with the said standards.

On 19 February 2018, the Directorate General Human rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe submitted to the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee for Law-enforcement its preliminary opinion on the above draft law prepared on the basis of the expertise of the Council of Europe consultants, Mr James Hamilton, Mr Jeremy McBride and Mr Erik Svanidze. This preliminary opinion, prepared upon request of the Parliamentary Committee, reviews the compliance of the proposed amendments with European standards, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights and case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It also takes into consideration the Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine by the Venice Commission and the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe (2013).

During the consultations the experts met with the representatives of the Parliamentary Committee for Law-enforcement, Qualifications and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors, Council of Prosecutors, General Prosecutor’s Office, National Academy of Prosecutors, civil society organisations and international organisations working in the relevant area.

The Opinion is being currently finalized upon the results of the expert consultations.