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President of the Supreme Court Stanislav Kravchenko expressed gratitude to the representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for their visit and unwavering support for Ukraine during these extremely difficult times. He emphasized that the Supreme Court highly values the systematic and substantive cooperation with ODIHR as an important area of international engagement aimed at strengthening the rule of law and enhancing the capacity of the judicial system, especially under the conditions of ongoing armed aggression.
Separately, the President highlighted ODIHR’s consistent and practical support, as well as the effective coordination with the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine, which ensures a comprehensive approach to joint efforts.
According to Stanislav Kravchenko, in 2025 the cooperation between the Supreme Court and ODIHR took on a distinctly applied dimension. In particular, a number of joint activities were implemented: a training on monitoring court proceedings using ODIHR’s methodology, a series of thematic seminars on the application of international criminal and humanitarian law, and an expert consultation on issues of the independence of administrative justice. Dialogue on the electoral process also remained an important component of the interaction.
At the same time, the President stressed that one of the key priorities of the judicial system today is to ensure effective judicial oversight within the investigation of war crimes and the substantive examination of relevant cases. This concerns an unprecedented volume of cases in terms of scale and complexity, which requires adherence to the highest international standards. In this context, expert support from ODIHR is one of the significant areas for further cooperation.
On this occasion, Stanislav Kravchenko thanked ODIHR for the provided opinion on the new version of the Code of Judicial Ethics.
ODIHR Director Maria Telalian highlighted the resilience and effectiveness of the Ukrainian justice system in wartime and expressed her gratitude for the long-standing productive cooperation with the Ukrainian judiciary as a whole and the Supreme Court in particular. She emphasised that the effective investigation of violations of international humanitarian law and bringing those responsible to justice is one of the ODIHR’s key priorities. It is in this area that the Office stands ready to provide Ukraine with the necessary expert support.
Maria Telalian recalled that last year ODIHR organized a series of seminars for judges with the participation of international experts in international criminal and humanitarian law, as well as representatives of the International Criminal Court. According to her, such interaction forms the foundation of support that helps strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s judicial system when dealing with complex war-related cases.
She also announced that the series of relevant training events will continue: another seminar is already scheduled for May with the participation of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers to deepen their expert knowledge in this field.
In addition, the ODIHR Director announced the presentation of a practical handbook on the adjudication of war crimes, prepared in cooperation with judges, including those from the Supreme Court. According to her, this handbook is an example of how constructive interaction leads to the creation of practical tools that assist judges in their daily work.
The meeting was also attended by the President of the Criminal Cassation Court within the Supreme Court Oleksandr Marchuk, Supreme Court Judge in the Commercial Cassation Court Yehor Krasnov, Acting Head of the Supreme Court Administration Rasim Babanly, Senior Political Adviser and Head of the ODIHR Director’s Office Sultana (Tania) Faliero, Special Adviser Jacopo Leone, Deputy Head of the Election Department Ulvi Akhundlu, and Deputy Head of the Human Rights Department Andrew Gardner.
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