EU Project Pravo-Justice together with Partners Launched the Web-based Platform for Courts “Model Courts: Good Practices Platform”

EU Project Pravo-Justice together with the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine and the CSO “All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees” launched the public web platform “Model Courts: Good Practices Platform”.

The tool was presented on May 17 at the round table “Platform of Good Practices of Court Administration: Developing the Online Platform” within the implementation of Phase III of the Model Courts Initiative.

When opening the event, Alban Biaussa, Head of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Sector, EU Delegation to Ukraine, emphasized the continued support of Ukraine’s judicial system.

“Work experience in the field of court administration alongside client-oriented practices is very important for the institutional development of the judiciary. The development of an interactive platform, to which all stakeholders have access, will help in the application of modern practices in Ukrainian courts, which, in turn, will contribute to increasing the public’s trust in the judicial system," said Alban Biaussa.

Olena Kibenko, Justice of the Supreme Court, emphasized that the launch of the online platform was an important step forward towards improving the work of Ukrainian courts.

"While working on the Supreme Court development strategy, we faced difficulties with finding materials and information for setting up effective processes. Therefore, the opening of a site where best practices of court management would be gathered would greatly simplify the search and use of the necessary experience,” said Olena Kibenko.

Oleksii Salnikov, Head of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, praised the EU Project Pravo-Justice and the CSO “All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees” for supporting the idea of the Platform development.

“Creating the web platform “Model Courts: Good Practices Platform” is a very relevant project that meets the aspirations of the courts and the judicial system as a whole. The tool will enable courts and justice sector institutions to quickly exchange, in real time, experience and information about best practices and implemented model solutions in various areas of court administration,” said Oleksii Salnikov.

In her turn, Olena Zhuravska, secretary of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, noted the importance of implementing the Model Courts Initiative for the development of the Ukrainian judiciary using best practices of European countries.

“I am confident that the online resource “Model Courts: Good Practices Platform” will help the courts of Ukraine improve their operation and increase the quality of delivery of court services,” said Olena Zhuravska.

Viktor Moroz, acting head of the Court Security Service noted that the Service is interested in the use of best practices in the field of court security and will learn from the experience of colleagues collected on the online platform.

Mykhailo Shumylo, Head of the Legal Department of the Secretariat of the High Council of Justice, noted that the online platform was designed to standardize the services provided in court and should become a place for discussion.

"The court is not only a place where justice is administered, but also where a number of services is provided to citizens. Therefore, everyone should feel comfortable in the court – judges, court staff, court visitors. The Model Courts Initiative and the web platform will help to standardize and improve the quality of service delivery in courts in compliance with European standards,” emphasized Mykhailo Shumylo.

Oksana Shamrai, Head of the Department of Scientific and Methodological Support for the Activities of Courts and Judicial Governance Bodies, National School of Judges of Ukraine, expressed appreciation for the initiatives aimed at more the client-oriented courts, as well as for training events that contribute to better delivery of court services.

“It is very positive that one had that idea of accumulating in one place all the best practices and developments of courts, the experience of foreign colleagues, adapted to Ukrainian reality”, noted Oksana Shamrai.

Anna Adamska-Gallant, International Key Expert, Judiciary Component of the EU Project Pravo-Justice, underlined that since 2018, experts of the Model Courts Initiative had been working on the unification of client service delivery and court administration standards based on modern practices of European countries.

"We are glad that with the help of the Initiative we managed to create a community of courts that are already successfully implementing model solutions and best practices. The new online tool will contribute to the formation of a community of professionals who are interested in the effective development of court administration, exchange of practical experience and new ideas,” said Anna Adamska-Gallant.

Natalia Korol, Chief of Staff, Vinnytsia Court of Appeal, Head of the CSO “All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees”, emphasized that today, court employees had solid knowledge and skills.

“It remains to share these developments and proven practices that have made themselves known not only in Ukraine. It is good news that we are getting a tool to help preserve institutional memory. It is important that the AUACE CSO will be responsible not only for filling the Platform, but also for its expansion and improvement," Natalia Korol said.

Representatives of the USAID Justice for All Program – Uliana Pashina, legal advisor, and Tomas Verteletskyi, monitoring and evaluation expert, took part in the discussion of developments in the field of court administration; alongside Iryna Kushnir, manager of the Council of Europe project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”; director Oleksandr Baranov, Coordinating Center for the Provision of Legal Assistance; and Bohdan Kryklyvenko, Chief of Staff of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

Svitlana Maistruk, National Expert of the Project, was the one to present the Platform “Model Courts: Good Practices Platform”. “This is an informational and educational resource for all courts which takes into account their needs. The web resource combines the deliverablesa of international projects, which had been developed to ensure a greater focus on court users when administering justice in Ukraine,” noted the Expert.

According to her, the Platform will provide an opportunity for courts to share best practices of court administration in such areas as client-orientation, court administration as such, court security, work with vulnerable categories of court user; communication, and HR management. To do this, one need to write to the email address: model.courts@pravojustice.eu.