On July 13-14, 2023, the XI International Judicial and Legal Forum was held in Kyiv. The event was organized by Yurydychna Praktyka and the High Council of Justice and was held both online and offline. Oleg Baulin, Head of the Scientific Activity and International Cooperation Department of the Laboratory of Organization of Scientific, Methodological Activities, Regulatory Support, and International Cooperation of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, took part in the XI International Judicial and Legal Forum online.
The work of the International Judicial and Legal Forum was organized in the form of thematic sessions, which addressed issues of wartime justice, European integration challenges for the judiciary, protection of rights in war conditions, staffing of justice, judicial protection of business, administrative justice: development of practice during the war and other pressing issues and challenges of today.
Welcoming remarks to the participants of the event addressed:
- Hryhorii USYK, Head of the High Council of Justice
- Stanislav KRAVCHENKO, Chairman of the Supreme Court
- Denys MASLOV, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy
- Roman IHNATOV, Head of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine
- Rustam KOLESNYK, editor-in-chief of the Yurydychna Praktyka newspaper
Among the invited guests at the event were present and took part in sessional discussions:
- Bohdan MONICH, Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine
- Oleksiy SALNIKOV, Head of the SJA of Ukraine
- Oleh VASKOVSKYI, Secretary of the Judicial Chamber for consideration of bankruptcy cases of the Commercial Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court
- Olena FONOVA, Judge-Speaker of the Economic Court of Lugansk region, PhD in Law
- Oleksandr OLIINYK, Director of the Directorate of Justice and Criminal Justice of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, PhD in Law
- Serhii LYSENKO, Managing Partner of GRACERS
- Oleksandr UDOVYCHENKO, Counsel at ADER HABER
- Liudmyla SUHAK, Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration
- Inna BILOUS, Judge-Speaker of the High Anti-Corruption Court
- Oleksandr ILKOV, Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
- Oksana HRYSHCHUK, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Professor, Doctor of Law
- Anna ADAMSKA-HALLANT, Key International Expert on Judicial Reform of the EU Project “Support to Justice Sector Reforms and Digitalization in Ukraine” (PRAVO-JUSTICE II) (Poland)
- Vasyl LEMAK, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
- Volodymyr KRAVCHUK, Judge of the Administrative Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court
- Olha STUPAK, Judge of the Civil Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court
- Nataliia ANTONIUK, Judge of theSupreme Court in the Criminal Court of Cassation, Secretary of the Judicial Chamber
- Dmytro MYKHAILENKO, Judge of the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court
- Anton KORYNEVYCH, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
- Dmytro OSYPOV, Deputy Head of the Fifth Department of Procedural Management and Support of Public Prosecution of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed during the Armed Conflict, Prosecutor General’s Office
- Illia KOSTIN, officer of the Northern Territorial Legal Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, junior lieutenant of justice and others.
The participants of the session “Wartime Justice”, in particular, discussed important issues of legislative provision of justice, challenges for ensuring proper financing of the judicial system, restoration of the work of courts in the de-occupied territories: the state of financing and material support, the impact of the war on the digitalization of Ukrainian justice and the use of information technologies by participants in the process, exemption from liability for non-fulfilment of obligations through martial law and many acute issues arising in today’s conditions.
The session “European integration challenges for the judiciary” was held quite interestingly and fruitfully, where participants had the opportunity to touch upon legislation on compliance with EU law, issues of anti-corruption justice as a component of European integration processes, European legal values in the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, issues of European approaches to determining the network of courts and the workload of judges, US and EU initiatives in the field of justice and the fight against corruption in Ukraine, European integration of the Advocacy: achievements and further steps and more.
At the session “Protection of rights in war conditions”, participants considered issues of constitutional justice in war conditions, family and inheritance relations during the war: current practice of the Supreme Court, trends in pension and social disputes during the war, protection of rights during the war: positions of the ECHR, certain aspects of the application of family law norms in legal relations in the field of social protection of servicemen and members of their families, the impact of the ECHR on judicial practice in Ukraine, judicial immunity of the state: practical nuances of the responsibility of the Russian Federation (interpretation of Ukrainian courts) and many other topical problems of legal proceedings.
At the session “Judicial protection of business” participants Oleksandr Oliinyk, Director of the Directorate of Justice and Criminal Justice of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, PhD in Law, Oleh Vaskovskyi, Secretary of the Judicial Chamber for consideration of bankruptcy cases of the Commercial Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court, Olena Fonova, Judge-Speaker of the Economic Court of Luhansk region, PhD in Law., first of all, focused on the issues of moratorium and compensation for damage in war conditions: challenges and prospects, fulfilment of obligations in war conditions: (non-) rehabilitation circumstances, wartime moratoriums and ways out of the crisis, challenges for enforcement proceedings under martial law, causing damage to the business by a top manager: how to protect the owner/employer, etc.
In addition to the above-mentioned sessions, there were sessions with other topics “Criminal Justice: Trials of War”, “Administrative Justice: Development of Practice in Time of War”, and “Staffing of Justice”, where participants of the XI International Judicial and Legal Forum had the opportunity to hear urgent problems, possible ways to solve and improve existing judicial mechanisms.
It should be noted that the International Judicial and Legal Forum has been a platform for the exchange of views and experience for many years and brings together judges and leading lawyers of Ukraine in search of solutions to problematic issues regarding the administration of justice and the formation of judicial practice. MPs of Ukraine, members of the High Council of Justice, Council of Judges of Ukraine, judges of the Supreme Court, HACC judges, representatives of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation, international experts, partners of leading law firms, legal advisers had the opportunity to join the discussions.
