Representatives of the Supreme Court took part in discussions within the TAIEX Mission on the expert assessment of the activities of the National School of Judges of Ukraine and the Training Centre for Prosecutors of Ukraine

The Secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, Vitalii Urkevych, and Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, Nadiia Stefaniv, participated in an online meeting with experts from the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine and the EU project Pravo-Justice. The meeting focused on the training of judges at the National School of Judges of Ukraine (NSJU), prosecutors at the Training Centre for Prosecutors of Ukraine, and the reform of judicial education. The discussion took place within the framework of the TAIEX (Technical Assistance Information Exchange) mission - a European Commission instrument for external assistance aimed at information exchange to strengthen institutional capacity needed for aligning national legislation with the legal standards of the European Union.

Engaging in dialogue with experts from EU Member States is a central component of the expert evaluation mission, which aims to provide the European Commission and Ukraine with a comprehensive assessment of the judicial training system, identify gaps and needs, and develop practical recommendations to help guide reforms in line with Ukraine’s EU accession requirements.

The judges of the Supreme Court discussed with international experts the specifics of cooperation with the NSJU and the Training Centre for Prosecutors of Ukraine, teaching methodologies, ways to enhance participant motivation, and approaches to identifying priority training topics.

In particular, Vitalii Urkevych shared his own experience in teaching and studying at the NSJU and highlighted the specifics of conducting lectures in an online format. He emphasized the need for maintaining high-quality feedback from NSJU trainees and ensuring interactivity in the training process for judges and their assistants.

Nadiia Stefaniv spoke about her involvement in developing training courses and interactive lectures for the NSJU in the field of criminal justice. She also stressed the value of introducing feedback questionnaires for instructors and taking learners’ needs into account when selecting topics for training courses. The judge also noted her cooperation with the Training Centre for Prosecutors of Ukraine and the practical orientation of the training programmes for prosecutors.

The meeting contributed to an important dialogue on the future of judicial education in the context of European integration.