International Development Law Organization

Ukraine

English

Ukraine has embarked on a wide-ranging process of reform. Much of the region’s future stability depends on success in this 45-million strong country. The momentum is there to overcome a legacy of bureaucratic stagnation, arbitrariness and corruption. But efforts to complete the transition to a modern, prosperous state must contend with a crippling economic crisis and the persistence of conflict in the east of the country. As of 2015, IDLO is working at both the national and regional level to facilitate justice sector reform and promote integrity.

We particularly focus on criminal justice reforms, which are critical to strengthening of the rule of law and democratic institutions in Ukraine. Our work is aligned with Ukraine’s own laws and policies – chiefly the National Justice Sector Reform Strategy, the amended Law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Deregulation Strategy – as well as with Ukraine’s international obligations on combatting corruption.  

UKRAINE: Expertise and Mechanisms to Pursue Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine Strengthened and Contextualised

This sub-project aims to advance a whole-of-society approach to accountability for international crimes in Ukraine by strengthening the capacities of Ukrainian justice sector stakeholders, legal practitioners, policymakers, and societal actors in line with international and European standards. It combines targeted legal capacity development, policy support, and international cooperation to address both immediate accountability needs and longer-term institutional resilience.

UKRAINE: Justice & Accountability for Ukraine: Strengthening the Role of Survivor- and Civil Society Organisation-led Initiatives (Phase II)

This sub-project aims to advance a whole-of-society approach to accountability for international crimes in Ukraine. In order to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian civil society organizations (CSOs) and survivor movements in their pursuit of international accountability, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) is supporting the enhancement of their leadership capacities and facilitating their engagement with international justice mechanisms.

UKRAINE: Fair, Transparent, and Accountable Criminal Justice System in Ukraine II

This sub-project aims to advance a whole-of-society approach to accountability for international crimes in Ukraine. In order to strengthen judicial cooperation on international criminal law matters, including through increased awareness and implementation of instruments of mutual legal assistance (MLA), the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) is conducting a series of awareness-raising and knowledge-sharing activities for Dutch and Ukrainian members of the Judiciary on MLA procedures, including the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention and other EU instruments.

UKRAINE: Strengthening Public Control in Judicial Selection and Assessment

This sub-project aims to preserve and strengthen integrity in Ukraine’s Judiciary. In order to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the Public Integrity Council’s (PIC) operations in the country, the civil society organization DEJURE Foundation is providing technical and logistical assistance on the recruitment and onboarding of experts by the PIC, and on the provision of a dedicated office space and IT infrastructure for the experts to ensure continuity, accuracy and speediness in its daily work.

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Key Initiatives

  • Despite reform efforts undertaken by the Government of Ukraine after the Maidan Revolution in 2014, Ukrainian citizens continue to regard criminal justice stakeholders with deep distrust. In 2019, the presidential and snap parliamentary elections resulted in a shift of the political environment, creating an opportunity to meaningfully advance anti-corruption reforms.
  • As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Evaluation Brief (summarised evaluation report): “Evaluation of the project "Supporting Justice Sector and Anti-Corruption Reforms in Ukraine - Phase 1”. The evaluation has been conducted by independent evaluation experts, supervised by IDLO’s Evaluation Unit.
  • Despite the positive momentum from Ukraine’s justice sector reforms, there has been a lack of court judgments in top corruption cases, underscoring the need for greater institutional efficiency, transparency and independence in the process of prosecution. As corruption cases often involve complex financial schemes with elements of money-laundering, there is a strong need to delegate them to a specialized court. In response to these needs, the High Anti-Corruption Court was formally established on April 11th, 2019.
  • Through its decentralization and anti-corruption efforts, the Government of Ukraine is attempting to improve and extend the application of e-governance, or digital, tools in public administration based on international best practices. Over 100 existing registries and databases managed by various state institutions lack interoperability and do not allow for smooth exchanges of data between each other.
  • As in many transition countries, non-enforcement of court decisions in Ukraine remains a key problem which affects not only investor confidence but also the functioning of the whole judiciary. Among particular concerns are lengthy delays, lack of effective measures to prevent and punish debtors who hide assets and evade court orders, few efficient mechanisms for bailiffs to obtain relevant information on debtors’ assets, and vague legislation which creates room for corruption.
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