
On September 17–19, 2024, the EU-Ukraine bilateral session on Chapter 23 “Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights and Freedoms”, which deals with courts, prosecution, advocates, legal education, fight against corruption and fundamental rights and freedoms, is taking place in Brussels (Belgium) as part of the screening process.
The delegation of Ukraine includes Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Minister of Justice of Ukraine, representatives of the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Supreme Court, Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and other state institutions. The High Council of Justice is represented by the Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov and Head of the High Council of Justice Secretariat Mykhailo Shumylo.
In her opening remarks, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna thanked the European side for supporting the transformation of our state and the Ukrainian delegation for its thorough and careful preparation for the negotiations.
“We start today’s meeting confidently, fully prepared, with not only functioning institutions but also a legislative framework that meets international standards and norms in the field of the rule of law. We are approaching the EU accession process at the most difficult stage of our transformation. At the same time, we need to make sure that the adopted legislation is properly implemented, that the institutions are functioning and that they are effective. There are many steps along the way, and we have been taking them and will continue to do so together. The main strength of our dialogue is that the European Union has been supporting the Ukrainian people since the day when citizens came to Maidan to fight for a European future. This was done for the sake of Europe and European values, and we have travelled this whole path of transformation together. So, we have something to evaluate, something to improve, but I am convinced that we will go through this path with your support,” noted Olha Stefanishyna.
Julien Mousnier from the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of European Commission said: “The rule of law is the founding value of the European Union. It is an integral part of the very identity of the European Union as a common legal order. Independent, quality and efficient justice system is the cornerstone of the enlargement policy as part of our fundamental approach. We are very happy that we have already established a good cooperation to promote reforms in the justice system in Ukraine and we will continue supporting you, including examining draft legislation and discussing how to address challenges in line with European standards. We will strengthen our cooperation with you on all these issues in the future and support you in your efforts to uphold the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.”
Director of Ukraine Service of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Anna Jarosz-Friis noted: “You have done a tremendous amount of preparatory work - comprehensive and detailed. You need to know where you stand in terms of institutional capacity and what your plans are to get there. Nothing will happen until the rule of law area is worked out. Our work today will give us an understanding of how to move forward, what the roadmap will be, what the next steps will be. We start with the extraordinary work on the reforms that Ukraine has already undertaken, and that is visible in the material that they provided to us. This is extraordinary. Of course, there is still work to be done, but we have a very strong start.”
Representatives of the High Council of Justice participated in the discussion of “Justice” block, in particular, the following areas: legal and institutional framework – judiciary and prosecution; independence, impartiality, accountability of the judiciary and prosecution, quality of recruitment; efficiency of the judicial system and the prosecutor's office under martial law; training of judges and prosecutors; legal education reform; other institutions / components of justice sector.
Within the framework of the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one side, and the European Union, on the other, Ukraine has an obligation to screen Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU law within the framework of the negotiation process on Ukraine's accession to the EU. Chapter 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” is one of the most complex. The dynamics and duration of the negotiation process in this area directly affects the progress in other aspects of negotiations with the EU.
Dmytro Lukianov informed about changes made in the legal and institutional framework since Ukraine responded to the European Commission's questionnaire for the Opinion preparation. In particular, he noted that the most important for the institutional structure of the judiciary is the resumption of the work of two key judicial governance bodies - the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, which were formed on new principles with the participation of international experts. He emphasized that the full restoration of the HCJ and HQCJ is a prerequisite for changes in the judiciary. He also spoke about the update of legislation aimed at restoring the institutional capacity of the High Council of Justice (laws of Ukraine No. 3304-IX, No. 3378-IX, No. 3511-IX).
Dmytro Lukianov noted that selection of a new composition of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine made it possible to unblock the procedure of qualification assessment of judges and resume competitions for judges’ positions.
The main challenge, according to the Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice, is to overcome the acute staff shortage in the courts (more than 30% of judicial positions are vacant in the courts of first instance, 52% in appellate courts). The restored bodies are working to overcome this challenge. In particular, based on the results of joint work of the HQCJ and the HCJ, 399 candidates were recommended for appointment for positions of judges in the courts of first instance during the year, and 329 judges have already been appointed by Presidential Decrees.
Dmytro Lukianov spoke in detail about the legislative regulation, comprehensive measures and procedures to prevent corruption in courts and judicial governance/self-governance bodies. As an example, he mentioned specific decisions of the HCJ regarding persons who have committed corruption offenses. He emphasized that the HCJ not only proclaims, but also actually intolerates any manifestations of corruption and responds to them accordingly.
During his speech, Dmytro Lukyanov also outlined the issue of institutional optimization/avoidance of duplication of functions of judicial governance bodies, noting the audit of judicial self-governance bodies planned for 2025 and the importance of the opinion of European partners on this issue.
He noted that an important issue is to ensure the institutional continuity of the High Council of Justice work, which can be guaranteed by enshrining in the legislation the recommendation of the Consultative Council of European Judges and the Venice Commission, according to which the powers of a member of the Council are terminated only as a result of the legal election of a new member.
He also informed about plans for a new judicial reform strategy. A draft Strategy for the Development of Judiciary and Constitutional Justice for 2024-2029 has been prepared. The project provides reforming the judiciary and the judicial system; improving the functioning of the prosecution system; improving the bar system; reforming legal education; and developing constitutional justice. The document has been sent to all key institutions of the judicial system for discussion and submission of proposals.
Dmytro Lukianov also spoke about the catastrophic impact of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine on the functioning of the judicial system. In particular, as a result of the hostilities, 142 court premises, bodies and institutions of the judicial system suffered varying degrees of damage, up to complete destruction and theft of property. Representatives of the judiciary, including 54 judges and 389 court employees, also came for the country defense. Since the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, 4 judges and 15 court employees have been killed as a result of armed aggression, and 165 courts have changed their territorial jurisdiction.
In his speech, Dmytro Lukianov paid special attention to the formation of the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors of the High Council of Justice, analyzed the achievements and challenges related to this. He provided a detailed overview of the state of implementation of the GRECO Fourth Round recommendations regarding Ukraine's judiciary, as well as the state of implementation of the recommendations of the OECD Fifth Round Monitoring Report regarding the judiciary. Explained what measures are being taken to implement all recommendations.
Mykhailo Shumylo, Head of the High Council of Justice Secretariat, spoke about the peculiarities of reforming legal education in Ukraine during the meetings, namely, transparent distribution of public funds between educational institutions that train lawyers and strengthening law school admission. On updating the standards of legal education, introducing transparent admission to master's and postgraduate programs, as well as introducing independent and transparent testing for graduates of master's programs in law, the successful completion of which gives access to the legal profession, ensuring the quality of licensing, accreditation of law schools, plans to modernize law school curricula with a focus on European Union law, ethics, practical training, student and faculty exchange programs, etc.
The proposals for reforming legal education developed during the bilateral meeting will form the basis for the development of a roadmap and further action plan.
It should be noted that Ukraine's achievement of the final benchmarks, in particular, on the results of the implementation of Chapter 23, will create conditions for the successful completion of negotiations and Ukraine's full membership in the EU.
The European Commission is represented by Marc Jorna – presiding, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; Anna Jarosz-Friis – Director of Ukraine Service, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; Julien Mousnier – staff member of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.
Reference
Screening is the first stage of the negotiation process, during which the European Commission, together with the candidate country, analyzes the compliance of the candidate country's national legislation with EU legislation. Bilateral screening meetings are an important source of information for the European Commission on the candidate country's readiness for EU membership.
The screening takes place under 33 negotiating chapters, which are grouped into 6 thematic blocks. It is during the screening that Ukraine's obligations on the way to EU membership are determined, which are then recorded in the European Commission's screening reports. This document will finally clarify the level of compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law and the scope of further work. The screening reports also identify priorities for key reforms and steps to be taken.