EU Project “Pravo-Justice” Launches Training of Trainers on Implementing Services for Vulnerable Court Users

On June 19, the fourth round of the inter-institutional training course “Training of Trainers on Implementing Services for Vulnerable Court Users” started, which is a part of the Model Courts Initiative.

When opening the course, Bohdan Monich, Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, noted that the COJ is working on understanding vulnerable groups’ needs in order to improve access to justice.

“Training professionals who can effectively and sensitively respond to vulnerable groups’ needs is crucial. The training course can become a platform for acquiring new knowledge and also a source of inspiration for improving services for vulnerable court users. This will help contribute greatly to creating a more just and inclusive society,” emphasized Bohdan Monich.

In his welcoming remarks, Oleksii Salnikov, Head of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, emphasized how important it is to introduce services for vulnerable court users and thanked the Project for arranging the training course.

“There are many war crimes victims in Ukraine today, and there are new vulnerable categories of the population now. Therefore, it is extremely important for the judiciary to be ready to help vulnerable court visitors. I know that the 96 trainers who have been trained in previous rounds are already sharing their experience with their colleagues. In my opinion, it is extremely important that this course remains relevant, which means that implementing client-centred court best practices to support vulnerable court visitors is a priority for the judiciary,” said Oleksii Salnikov.

Tamara Zakrevska, Acting Head of the Training Department of the National School of Judges, also welcomed the course participants. According to her, the National School of Judges has been actively using the course materials in its training curricula for several years now, and has also been engaging graduates as trainers.

Volodymyr Chaban, Key National Expert of the Judiciary Reform Component, EU Project “Pravo-Justice”, welcomed the new members of the community of trainers, which is growing every year.

“The full-scale aggression has affected access to justice, including for vulnerable groups. Therefore, the role of trainers is extremely important for disseminating best practices in supporting vulnerable persons in courts. The Project will continue to develop the mentoring community and support the development of services for vulnerable court visitors, considering the challenges of today,” said Volodymyr Chaban.

In her turn, Yevheniia Bondarenko, National Expert of EU Project “Pravo-Justice”, explained how the course was adjusted to new challenges.

“The new curriculum takes into account the experience of victimization in wartime. It reveals the peculiarities of the trauma-informed approach. The curriculum also takes into account various aspects of ethical work with conflict-related sexual violence victims, children and IDPs,” emphasized Yevheniia Bondarenko.

The trainers of the first seminar are Iryna Urumova, International Expert of EU Project “Pravo-Justice”, Kateryna Ilikchiieva, National Expert of the Project, and Nataliia Korol, Chief of Staff of the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal and Head of NGO “All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees”, a graduate of the previous course. The trainers discussed the concept of victimization and the need to support victims and witnesses.

It is worth reminding that the course includes 8 webinars twice a week.

The course will be attended by 39 participants, including judges, court staff, the Court Security Service, the National School of Judges of Ukraine, the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, lawyers, representatives of the free legal aid system, and NGOs.