Strengthening social protection in Ukraine: Supreme Court judge takes part in the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe project

The presentation of the project “Strengthening the Social Dimension in Ukraine,” the adoption of the 2025–2026 work plan, and the discussion of partners’ priorities were the key focus of the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe project. The meeting was attended by Andrii Rybachuk, Secretary of the Judicial Chamber for the Protection of Social Rights of the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court.

In April 2025, the Council of Europe launched the project “Strengthening the Social Dimension in Ukraine”, which will last until December 2026. The aim of the project is to help the Ukrainian authorities ensure that the broader population and people from vulnerable groups, including those affected by the war, receive targeted social protection and necessary support. The project is part of the Council of Europe's action plan for Ukraine for 2023-2026 “Resilience, Recovery and Rebuilding”.

During the discussion, Andrii Rybachuk welcomed the audience and expressed his gratitude to the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine for their active participation in creating an effective social protection system in Ukraine. He noted that joint efforts to improve the lives of citizens are a significant step in building a democratic state. The speaker emphasized the significance of Ukraine's accession to the European Social Charter in 2006 by ratifying it, which, in his opinion, strengthens the foundations for sustainable democratic development in Ukraine.

The judge acknowledged the Council of Europe's consistent efforts in the field of social protection. After familiarizing himself with the project's action plan for 2025-2026, Andrii Rybachuk expressed his support and readiness to join those processes that correspond to the specifics of the Supreme Court's work and tasks.

The speaker also emphasized that there are already numerous cases of application of the European Social Charter by Ukrainian courts as the main source of law in decision-making. At the same time, the speaker noted that at the current stage it is necessary to intensify further work on popularizing the European Social Charter so that more lawyers and judges are familiar with its provisions and apply them along with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. According to Andrii Rybachuk, this will contribute to Ukraine's further movement towards European standards.

The event was organized by the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.