Supreme Court and European Public Law Organization launch strategic partnership to strengthen the rule of law

President of the Supreme Court Stanislav Kravchenko held an official meeting with representatives of the Office of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) in Ukraine.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the launch of active operations of the EPLO Representative Office in Ukraine and outlined key areas of cooperation in the field of justice and judicial reform.

Head of the Office Yurii Voloshyn reported that the organization, founded by professional judges and lawyers, aims to establish the principles of the rule of law, protect human rights, and promote sustainable development.

EPLO representatives presented to the Supreme Court a number of international technical assistance and expert support programmes managed by the Organization, particularly in the following areas:

• judicial reform utilizing the international experience of the Organization;
• professional development of judges and court staff;
• involvement of international experts in advisory and analytical work;
• development of administrative justice and the implementation of modern approaches in the field of administrative procedure.

Stanislav Kravchenko emphasized the particular importance of international support for the Ukrainian judicial system under martial law, outlining the key challenges currently facing justice in Ukraine.

Specifically, this concerns the excessive workload on the judicial system: last year, 5.8 million proceedings were pending before courts of all instances and jurisdictions, while the system is experiencing an acute staffing shortage due to the prolonged absence of judicial appointments.

The parties also discussed the digitalization of justice, in particular the need to find a balance between the use of remote forms of judicial proceedings and artificial intelligence tools and compliance with fundamental standards of a fair trial.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to coordinate efforts to achieve the most practical result of their cooperation.

Yurii Voloshyn confirmed EPLO's readiness to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine in strengthening the rule of law and to facilitate the implementation of the state's European integration aspirations.

The meeting was also attended by Tetiana Zlatkivska, Assistant to the Head of the EPLO Office in Ukraine, and Daria Kibets, Administrative Director of the EPLO Office in Ukraine.