Effective inter-agency cooperation for the protection of children: Supreme Court judge has conducted another training session

Judge of the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court Pavlo Parkhomenko continues to take part as a trainer in training sessions under the programme “Models of Effective Inter-Agency Cooperation in Criminal Proceedings Involving Children”, organised by the Council of Europe project “Protecting the Rights of Children and Ensuring Child-Friendly Justice in Ukraine” in cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Training Centre for Prosecutors of Ukraine. Pavlo Parkhomenko is one of the co-authors of the course.

Between 29 June and 2 July 2026 a fifth training session of the year was held in Kyiv for investigators, inquiry officers, lawyers of the free legal aid system, representatives of the prosecution service, juvenile prevention units, probation bodies, penal institutions and pre-trial detention facilities, children’s services, guardianship and custodianship authorities, as well as institutions providing socio-psychological rehabilitation for children – for specialists working in Chernihiv Region.

Prior to this, several training sessions for representatives of different regions had been held in Truskavets. In particular, on 15–18 June 2026 Pavlo Parkhomenko acted as a trainer at the session for specialists from Mykolaiv Region; on 25–28 May 2026 a training session was held for representatives of Sumy Region; and on 20–23 April 2026 – for those from Odesa Region.

It should be noted that from 2 to 5 March 2026 the Supreme Court judge of the Civil Cassation Court also conducted a training session in Ivano-Frankivsk for specialists from Volyn Region (https://supreme.court.gov.ua/supreme/pres-centr/news/1993506/).

The aim of the training sessions is to develop child-centred approaches and effective algorithms for inter-agency cooperation. Over several days of instruction the participants drew up general algorithms of interaction involving all relevant actors, using a real case study — during the pre-trial investigation, at every stage of the court proceedings, and at the stage of concluding the child’s contact with the child-friendly justice system.

The role of the trainers, including judges of the Supreme Court, is decisive in this process: it is precisely thanks to their practical experience and professional expertise that the algorithms of cooperation developed during the training sessions are attuned to the real needs of children participating in criminal proceedings, rather than remaining purely theoretical recommendations.

The training sessions are intended to introduce into practice the standards of the model of effective inter-agency cooperation in the course of implementing the Pilot Project for the Implementation of International Standards of Child-Friendly Justice, pursuant to the Joint Order of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

This pilot project was launched in 2023 in six regions of Ukraine and expanded in 2024 to 12 regions. From 1 July 2025 the pilot project began to be implemented throughout the entire territory of Ukraine.

The Council of Europe project “Protecting the Rights of Children and Ensuring Child-Friendly Justice in Ukraine” is being implemented by the Council of Europe within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023–2026.