The main partners and beneficiaries Ukrainian Parliament, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (MoJ); Supreme Court (SC), Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (GPO), National School of Justice (NSJ), National Academy of Prosecutors of Ukraine (NAPU). Other partners: Council of Public Prosecutors (CPP), Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors of Ukraine (QDCP), Office of the President of Ukraine; Ministry of Interior/National Police, State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), Coordination Center for the Legal Aid Provision (CCLAP), National Bar Association (NBA), and human rights NGOs.

The main aim is to ensure effective functioning of the criminal justice system in Ukraine aligned with European human rights standards with a large focus on practical implementation of reforms in the criminal justice area, specifically with regard to the following components:

Criminal justice legislation and practice comply with the CoE standards and best practices (outcome/objective 1);

Consolidation of independence, effectiveness and transparency of the public prosecution service (outcome/objective 2).

The following results are expected:

To ensure legislation and/or internal regulations in place address CoE recommendations enabling the effective implementation of regulatory framework;

To consolidate professional and operational capacities of criminal justice actors to enable the implementation of legislation in line with CoE standards and best practices;

To promote institutional independence of the prosecution service and individual procedural autonomy of prosecutors;

To facilitate institutional and operational efficiency and professionalism of the prosecution service, with focus on its new self-governance and qualification/disciplinary bodies;

To enhance awareness of prosecutorial community and public on the PPS reforms developments.

Project information

  • Duration: 30 months (Phase I: July 2019 – December 2020; Phase II: January - December 2021)
  • Place/ country: Ukraine
  • Budget: Phase I: 1 000 000 €; Total estimated: 2 000 000 €
  • Funding: Action Plan level funding

Project documentation

Publications / Expert opinions / reviews

Project Quarterly digest
PROJECT NEWS

Back Council of Europe provided expert comments to Draft Law ‘On Support for Criminal Proceedings and Enforcement of Punishments, Which Are Precluded as a Result of Armed Aggression, Temporary Occupation of the Territory of Ukraine’

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The Council of Europe continues supporting the Ukrainian authorities in addressing rule of law and human rights challenges in the context of the ongoing war resulting from the military aggression by the Russian Federation. Upon request from the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Europe prepared expert comments to the Draft Law “On Support for Criminal Proceedings and Enforcement of Punishments, Which Are Precluded as a Result of Armed Aggression, Temporary Occupation of the Territory of Ukraine”, which will serve, among other things, to execute the of the Kurochenko and Zolutukhin v. Ukraine judgment from the European Court of Human Rights, in the current context.

The draft law was developed to address certain challenges arising in the criminal justice due to the temporary occupation of the parts of Ukrainian territory by the Russian Federation. In general, the Draft Law was positively assessed taking into account that it contains provisions that are seeking to respond to significant difficulties for criminal proceedings resulting from the temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine and that its provisions could be relevant for circumstances both before and after 24 February 2022.

At the same time, there are some shortcomings to be addressed. Particularly, it is stressed that the provisions dealing with the suspension and closure of cases should not be inconsistent with the inapplicability of statutes of limitation to offences engaging the prohibition of ill-treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is also emphasized that consideration should be given to adopting other measures to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of offences connected with the aggression and temporary occupation of Ukraine since 24 February 2022.

The full text of the expert comments can be downloaded here.

The expert comments were prepared within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in Ukraine”, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.

KYIV, UKRAINE 27 MAY 2022
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