Meet the information digest of EU Project Pravo-Justice, where we talk about the events which took place within the period from Digest – Top News of EU Project Pravo-Justice from 3 August to 2 September 2024.

Support of the European integration process in the field of justice

• On 10 August, the mock sessions were launched officially with the participation of the representatives of Ukrainian public authorities on the negotiation Chapter 23 ‘Judiciary, rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.’ This is an important element in the framework of preparation for the bilateral meetings with the European Commission, which will take place from 17 to 19 September in Brussels.

Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice joined the first mock session. She assured the audience of the continued support for the Project and called on everybody to make the most of the three rounds of mock bilateral meetings in order to get prepared in the best way possible. She also emphasised that the Project, as a leading programme of the EU in the rule of law sector, has a key role in coordinating efforts during the preparation for the negotiation process regarding Chapters 23 and 24.

• The first round of mock bilateral meetings with the European Commission took place on Judiciary Chapter 23. During the session, the representatives of the justice system could practice, analyse, and listen to the recommendations regarding the oral presentations they will make in Brussels.

For its part, EU Project Pravo-Justice, as a co-organiser of the meeting, involved a group of international and national experts who are experienced in preparing for and participating in the negotiation process.

• Supported by EU Project Pravo-Justice, the coalition of public organisations led by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives prepared for the first time ever, the Shadow Report for Chapter 23 ‘Justice and Fundamental Rights’ of the European Commission’s Report on Ukraine in 2023.

The document, submitted to the European Commission, contains an assessment of the progress of reforms in the justice sector and covers the period from June 2023 to August 2024.

The experts who contributed to the Shadow Report also provided some 350 recommendations that would help address the urgent problems of the current stage of reform in the specified areas.

Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice, believes that the Shadow Report is an important step towards transparency of reforms in the spheres of justice, fight against corruption, and protection of human rights in Ukraine.

“Not only does it reflect the progress and challenges faced by Ukraine on the way of European integration, but it also offers strategic and practical recommendations for effectively overcoming them. We highly appreciate the efforts of our partners from the civil society, who promptly prepared this thorough analysis and recommendations. EU Project Pravo-Justice will continue supporting the civil society in monitoring reforms and preparing the next shadow reports, which is an important component of Ukraine’s European integration path,” said Oksana Tsymbrivska.

Download the Shadow Report via the link.

Enforcement of court decisions and protection of property rights

• On 13 August, EU Project Pravo-Justice supported an all-Ukrainian online roundtable event ‘Valuation of Assets and Their Role in the Economy’. The event participants discussed the topic of asset valuation and the important role it plays for businesses in obtaining compensation.

“Valuation is becoming increasingly important today. The amount of state revenue from the sale of state-owned assets, the amount of taxes paid to the budget, and the amount of compensation that citizens and businesses can potentially receive for losses caused by the armed aggression against Ukraine depend on it,” said Iryna Zharonkina, Enforcement and Protection of Property Rights Component Lead of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

She also noted that valuators and regulation of valuation activities should play a key role in building a reliable asset valuation system.

Improved system of alternative sanctions

• On August 12-15, at the initiative of the Department of Criminal Sanctions of the Ministry of Justice and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, a workshop on public-private partnership was held, which also became a platform for the Third meeting of the Working Group on Resocialisation of Convicts.

Experts from EU Project Pravo-Justice also joined the event. In particular, Olena Kochura, Key Expert on Penitentiary Reform and Probation, noted that the important steps to increase the effectiveness of the re-socialisation of convicts included introducing amendments to the existing legislation and the development of new legislative initiatives in that area, taking into account best European practices.

• On August 28-29 EU Project Pravo-Justice also supported the Forum “Effective Work of Psychologists: Important Element of the Penitentiary Reform.” The event was attended by more than 100 psychologists from penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres from all regions of Ukraine.

As noted by Erlend Falch, Deputy Head of Mission for the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, despite full-scale military aggression by Russia, Ukraine manages to continue its daily work on building up a modern penitentiary system, implementing best international standards, including the recommendations of the Council of Europe.

In her turn, Iryna Zharonkina, Enforcement and Protection of Property Rights Component Lead of EU Project Pravo-Justice, emphasised the importance of continuing the reform of the penitentiary system in the context of Ukraine’s European integration aspirations.

Raising awareness of the EU law among law students

• Georgia hosted the Summer School on the rule of law, justice and human rights for law students from Georgia and Ukraine. The event was organised by the School of Law of Ilya State University with the support of EU Project Pravo-Justice (Ukraine) and USAID Rule of Law Program (Georgia). It took place from July 29 to August 3 in Tbilisi and Tsinandali.

This year, five Ukrainian students, selected by EU Project Pravo-Justice based on the results of an open competition, took part in the Summer School.

PPO reform and accountability for international crimes

• EU Project Pravo-Justice initiated the discussion of the Standards for the investigation of the crime of deportation. The event was attended by the authors of the document – lawyers, academia, and practitioners, as well as by the experts of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory (ACA) Group. As a result, the participants identified some key areas for improvement in the investigation of such serious crimes.

“Investigating crimes of deportation is an extremely difficult task that requires a holistic approach and deep knowledge of international humanitarian law. Our cooperation with both national and international experts is an important step to ensure justice and accountability for committing these crimes,” said Anna Stakhanova, Key Expert on Fight against International Crimes, EU Project Pravo-Justice.

Training for Judges on the International Legal Dimension of the Crime of Aggression was held with the support of EU Project Pravo-Justice and the National School of Judges of Ukraine. The purpose of the event was to build the judges’ professional knowledge of international criminal law on the crime of aggression and the history of the definition and evolution of this crime.

Kevin Jon Heller, Special Adviser to ICC Prosecutor, who joined the training, noted that Ukrainian judges now face a challenging and largely unprecedented task – to consider cases of aggression during the ongoing armed conflict.