Fair, transparent and accountable criminal justice system in Ukraine: Supreme Court and CILC to cooperate on new project

The principles of transparency and accountability are not new to the Ukrainian legal system, which is quite progressive in this respect. At the same time, the criterion of fairness is a much more complex issue. It can be difficult to ensure that a judgment is perceived as fair by both parties to the process, and in times of war, this issue becomes even more sensitive.

This was stated by the President of the Supreme Court, Stanislav Kravchenko, during an online meeting with representatives of the Centre for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) dedicated to the launch of the "Fair, Transparent and Accountable Criminal Justice System in Ukraine" project.

Stanislav Kravchenko assured that the Supreme Court deeply appreciates the cooperation with CILC and other partners aimed at developing and improving the judicial system of Ukraine and shares the values and goals of the project, namely ensuring the functioning of a transparent judicial system, improving the effectiveness of the probation system and bringing to justice those who have committed war crimes and other crimes.

Among the issues relevant to the judiciary, the SC President highlighted the need to expand the scope of the mediation institute, the jury institute, the institute of agreements, and, at the stage of enforcement of court decisions, the institute of probation. All this together, according to Stanislav Kravchenko, forms a reliable tool that will help increase public confidence in the judiciary.

The meeting also focused on the reform of the judicial system and national legislation in line with European standards, the need to ensure uniform disciplinary practice and the definition of clear and understandable criteria for judicial integrity and ethical rules.

CILC project manager Hans van den Berg said that the main areas of work for the project would include finding ways to reduce the burden on the judiciary, implementing a probation system and developing a draft integrity policy for the courts through joint working groups.

He also stressed that the CILC is interested in establishing an open dialogue between Ukrainian and Dutch experts and judges, which will help to identify priority areas for assistance to Ukraine.