Conference on Principles of Law was Held at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy with the Support of EU Project Pravo-Justice

On 21-22 June, the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy hosted International Scientific and Practical Conference “Principles of Law: Universal and Domestic in the Context of Contemporary Globalization and Eurointegration Processes National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy organised the event with the support of EU Project Pravo-Justice and USAID Justice for All Activity. Representatives of Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Spain, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia and the USA participated in the conference.

The discussion focused on the prospects of amending the Constitution of Ukraine and Ukrainian legislation related to Ukraine’s future accession to the EU.

According to Oleksandr Ilkov, Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the topic of principles of law is especially important for Ukraine today.

"The rule of law, human rights and universal values are what Ukraine is defending on the battlefield today. Ten years ago, Ukraine chose the only route for its further development – integration into the European Union, and one of the key stages of this process is to align Ukrainian legislation with EU law," he said.

Oleksandr Ilkov also noted that aligning national legislation with EU law does not mean losing national identity. On the contrary, it enriches the legal system with new ideas and approaches.

"Our European integration reforms aim to build a state governed by the rule of law, where the principles of the rule of law, the right to freedoms, equality of everyone without exception before the law, respect for human honour and dignity, justice, and democratic development will not only be enshrined in legislation, but will also be guaranteed," he emphasised.

Therefore, according to Serhii Kvit, Rector of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, this conference is essential for developing legal education in Ukraine and for the European integration of Ukraine.

Virgilijus Valančius, Support to EU Integration Process in the Justice Sector Component Lead, stressed that the European Commission will closely monitor the progress of legal education reform in Ukraine.

"Let us be fair, it will be impossible to achieve the rule of law as one of the EU’s fundamental values without qualified lawyers," he emphasised.

He noted that on 25 June, the EU will formally launch membership negotiations with Ukraine. Therefore, EU Project Pravo-Justice will further strengthen its support to Ukrainian partners on this path.

Furthermore, he focused on how the general principles of EU law are formed and the role of the Court of Justice of the EU in this process.

"There is no definition of principles in primary or secondary EU law. The general principles of EU law are usually implemented in the legal framework through case law by the Court of Justice," he said.

Virgilijus Valančius also noted that it is the Court of Justice of the European Union that is trying to somehow streamline this area. The principles that have evolved from declarative provisions in the origins of EU primary law to more tangible manifestations through jurisprudence include equal treatment, solidarity, and non-regression.

"The principle of non-retrogression is pivotal for any EU candidate country given that a Member State can have access to EU budgetary funding only if they comply with the principle of the rule of law. Therefore, the standards related to the rule of law agreed between Ukraine and the EU in the course of the accession negotiations cannot be undermined without serious financial consequences," he said.

Viacheslav Tolkovanov, Key Expert on EU Integration of EU Project Pravo-Justice, said that it is necessary to implement the principles of good governance in the context of the European standards in this area. According to him, the concept of good governance is based on five principles proposed by the European Commission, namely openness, participation, responsibility, efficiency and coherence.

"The implementation of good governance principles reinforces and complements EU law principles such as proportionality and subsidiarity. The European Union is constantly changing. Its competences are gradually expanding, and the number of Member States is increasing. Therefore, today, the legitimacy of the European Union’s actions depends on the degree of involvement and participation of stakeholders," said Viacheslav Tolkovanov, noting that the EU, when defining the basic principles of "good governance", took into account the principles of the European Administrative Space shared by all Member States.

Moreover, in the context of implementing the concept of good governance and its principles, the Key Expert on European Integration of EU Project Pravo-Justice put forward several recommendations, including:

• adopting a national strategy for good governance;
• improving national legislation (in line with European principles of good governance);
• training and awareness-raising activities;
• creating new information services and a comprehensive information system on good governance, etc.

Andrii Boiko, EU Project Pravo-Justice national expert, spoke about implementing the basic principles of higher education in Ukraine in the context of legal education reform.

Analysing the implementation of the principle of accessibility of higher education via speciality 081 ‘Law’, he drew attention to the fact that it is unacceptable to provide education in this speciality in higher military educational institutions and higher education institutions with specific learning conditions as this violates Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”.

"It is unacceptable to establish restrictions and privileges on the right to higher education determined by the specific conditions for obtaining higher education in these higher education institutions when it comes to higher education in the speciality 081 ‘Law’," said Andrii Boiko.

Moreover, Andrii Boiko pointed out that the right (Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”) of authorities with mandate over higher military educational institutions, higher education institutions with specific conditions of study, military educational departments of higher education institutions to establish special requirements for the activities and mandate of governance bodies and public self-government in the respective institutions violates the general standards for the exercise of the principle of autonomy of higher education institutions and academic freedom of students. Therefore, it cannot apply to higher education institutions that provide education for specialists majoring in 081 ‘Law’.

In his presentation, he also outlined the necessary changes that need to be implemented to achieve tangible quality changes in legal education.