The Supreme Court and the Project "Strengthening Ukraine's EU Accession in the Rule of Law" (3*E4U) agree on further areas of cooperation within the European integration process

A working meeting was held at the Supreme Court with representatives of the project "Strengthening Ukraine's EU Accession in the Rule of Law" (3*E4U), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The key topics of discussion included the outcomes of the study and professional visit of a delegation of Supreme Court judges to Germany and Austria under the programme "Building Bridges for the Rule of Law", organised with the support of this project and the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), as well as the identification of plans for further cooperation.

The participants summarised the key results of the visit, which focused on studying European approaches to the organisation of judicial proceedings, judicial communication, the application of modern mechanisms ensuring the rule of law, and effective management practices that may prove useful for the Ukrainian judiciary.

President of the Supreme Court Stanislav Kravchenko emphasised that such study and professional visits strengthen cooperation with European partners and facilitate the exchange of experience that will help enhance the institutional capacity of the national justice system.

Outlining potential areas of cooperation, the President of the Supreme Court highlighted the need to focus primarily on issues directly linked to Ukraine’s progress towards European integration. The Supreme Court is responsible for implementing 16 measures set out in the Roadmap, which cover improvements to judicial selection procedures, disciplinary processes, and cassation filters. For the effective fulfilment of these tasks, the support of international partners within the framework of advisory assistance is of great importance to the national judicial system.

Johannes Uhl, Implementation Manager of the 3*E4U project, noted Ukraine’s significant progress in carrying out the measures defined in the Roadmap, stressing the importance of coordinated steps to further align Ukraine’s legal system with EU standards. He also confirmed the project’s readiness to continue actively strengthening cooperation with the Supreme Court, particularly in the area of expert support and the organisation of exchanges of experience between Supreme Court judges and their European counterparts.

The meeting was also attended by: Vice President of the Supreme Court Oleksandr Mamalui; Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court Volodymyr Korol; Secretary of the Second Judicial Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court within the Supreme Court Nataliia Bilyk; Supreme Court Judge of the Civil Cassation Court Iryna Lytvynenko; 3E4U Dialogue Advisor Dorothea Hamacher; Legal Advisor of the 3E4U Project’s Legal and Policy Advisory Unit Nataliia Huzhvii-Tovstenko; and representative of the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) Hennadii Ryzhkov.