Bilateral cooperation between Supreme Courts of Ukraine and Estonia: Ukrainian delegation visits Estonian judiciary

As part of the bilateral cooperation between the Supreme Courts of Ukraine and Estonia, Supreme Court Judges Ihor Olender (Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court), Arkadii Bushchenko (Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court), Maksym Titov (Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court) and judges of other Ukrainian courts paid a study visit to the judicial authorities of Estonia. The delegation was headed by Supreme Court Judge Yurii Chumak (Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court).

During the trip, the delegation noted the high level of support for our country: in addition to the Estonian national flag, the buildings of state and municipal institutions also displayed the national flag of Ukraine. There were also relevant installations in public places in support of Ukraine. Support was also expressed by representatives of Estonia with whom Ukrainian judges met.

One of the first was a visit to the Estonian Ministry of Justice, where judges were briefed on the use of electronic technologies in the country's justice system. In return, the Ukrainian representatives provided information on the national legal system, which was of great interest to their colleagues. The guests also met with the Chancellor of Justice, representatives of the Bar Association and the Prosecutor's Office.

During the meeting, the members of the delegation were also informed about the reforms of the Ukrainian legal system that have taken place in recent years. It was noted that the legal systems of the two countries are very close and that the legal rules (including procedural rules) governing certain social relations are similar.

While at the Harju County Court, the delegation members took part in a discussion on the procedure for considering civil and criminal cases in the court of first instance. They also discussed the issue of virtual trials. Ukrainian and Estonian judges exchanged experiences and peculiarities of the procedure in their respective countries. The parties also discussed problematic issues that arise during the consideration of cases, in particular the determination of reasonable time limits for consideration and the unity of case law.

During a meeting at the Supreme Court of Estonia with its President, Chief Justice Villu Kõve, and the judges of the Court, the parties discussed further cooperation between the courts of the EU Member States and requests for preliminary rulings. In his presentation on the administration of justice in times of war, Yurii Chumak spoke about the daily work of courts in the unoccupied and liberated territories, the state of the judiciary in general and its functioning in the current situation, and provided concrete figures on the number of cases pending before Ukrainian courts in 2023. Answering questions from the audience, the members of the Ukrainian judicial delegation spoke about the consideration of cases against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights, the possibility of confiscating Russian assets through a constitutional review of the relevant Estonian legislation, and the practice of such confiscation in Ukraine. Among other things, bilateral legal assistance (information on legislation and court practice) and the exchange of methodological materials were planned. The Estonian colleagues expressed their support for Ukraine's accession to the EU and noted that our country is doing everything possible to implement this plan. The Ukrainian delegation was also introduced to the Centre of Registers and Information Systems: E-Business Register.

The Ukrainian judges exchanged views with their colleagues from the Tartu County Court on the court procedure in civil and criminal cases in the court of first instance and also took part in the XXIII General Assembly of Estonian Judges.

On the last day of the visit, the Ukrainian representatives visited the Pärnu County Court and took part in a seminar on the Estonian judicial system.

The delegation of Ukrainian judges met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Estonia Maksym Kononenko.

At the end of the meeting, the judges thanked their Estonian colleagues and stressed that international support was invaluable to the Ukrainian people at this difficult time.

The delegation also included Hanna Fazykosh, Head of the Zakarpattia Appeal Court, Andrii Drishliuk, Deputy Head of the Odesa Appeal Court, Liubomyr Nikiforiak, Judge of the Donetsk Appeal Court, Volodymyr Yarmolenko, Head of the Malynskyi District Court of the Zhytomyr Region, and Olha Hudenko, Judge of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv, Judges of the Kyivskyi District Court of Kharkiv Svitlana Demchenko and Svitlana Muratova, Judge of the Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv Timur Korotkov, Judge of the Commercial Court of Lviv Region Taras Rym and Judge of the Yarmolynetskyi District Court of Khmelnytskyi Region Andrii Soloviov.

The Supreme Court expresses its sincere gratitude to its Estonian colleagues for organising this study visit, for the warm welcome and communication - exchange of experiences, for the opportunity to provide information on the work of the judicial system of Ukraine in the context of a full-scale war unleashed by Russia.

We look forward to continuing this cooperation.