The Chairman and judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine took part in the presentation
of the third publication of the materials of Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE)
10/26/2020
The current online event was organised by the Council of Europe project “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine“. During today's round table, the third official publication of the materials of the Consultative Council of European Judges, which is a useful and informative guide to European standards and European practice for all Ukrainian lawyers, was presented.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine was represented by the Court Chairman Oelksandr Tupytskyi, judges Viktor Horodovenko, Oleh Pervomaiskyi, Halyna Yurovska and the Head of the Court’s Secretariat Viktor Beschastnyi.
Ms Lilit Daneghian-Bossler, Head of the Justice Sector Reform Unit of the Justice and Legal Cooperation Department of the Council of Europe, Oleksandr Tupytskyi, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and Vsevolod Kniaziev, Secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, welcomed the participants.
In his speech the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine welcomed the participants on behalf of all judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and expressed his sincere gratitude to the representatives of the Council of Europe for organising this event and the opportunity to participate in it. It was with great pleasure that he noted that for many years judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko had been a member of the Consultative Council of European Judges representing Ukraine in this respected institution.
Oleksandr Tupytskyi stressed that the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges are extremely useful, as they include not only the peculiarities of existing national judicial systems and best European practice, but also proposals to improve the status of judges and citizens' access to justice. “Without exaggeration, they are very important and authoritative legal sources that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine applies in resolving cases related to the activities of courts and judges,” the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine added. He said that only this year, guided by the above-mentioned and other standards of the Council of Europe, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine had adopted four decisions concerning the functioning and structure of the judiciary in Ukraine.
Given this, Oleksandr Tupytskyi expressed hope that the third official publication of the materials of the Consultative Council of European Judges will help to continue the positive trend of implementing Council of Europe standards in the administration of justice. In conclusion, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine wished the participants fruitful work and interesting discussions.
The third official publication of the materials of the Consultative Council of European Judges was presented by the President of the Consultative Council of European Judges Nina Betetto and Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, member of the Consultative Council of European Judges Viktor Horodovenko.
In this regard, Viktor Horodovenko noted that he has the great honour to represent Ukraine in the Consultative Council of European Judges, which contributes to ensuring the independence, impartiality and professionalism of judges in a democratic society.
He stressed that in 2010 for the first time a full collection of translation of the opinions of the CCJE into Ukrainian was presented. According to him, the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges, which are published in the collection, address important issues related to the status of judges and the performance of their duties. In particular, they include specific references to the implementation of common standards of judicial independence, judicial training, professional ethics, the quality of judicial decisions, the relationship between judges and prosecutors, the role of judges in execution of judgments, justice and information technology, the specialisation of judges, relations between judges and lawyers, evaluation of the activities of judges, the quality of justice in general and respect for the independence of judges. The judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine stressed that these opinions are an important tool for Ukrainian judges in the administration of justice, as evidenced by the 31,120 court decisions in which the CCEC's opinions have been applied.
The judge dwelt upon specific opinions concerning the activities of courts and judges in particular. “Ukraine can be proud of the direct application of the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges,” said Viktor Horodovenko.
Participants of the round table, including judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court, appellate and local courts, representatives of the High Council of Justice, the Council of Judges of Ukraine, the National School of Judges of Ukraine, the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, legislative and executive branches, lawyers, prosecutors, non-governmental organisations, mass media and experts of the Council of Europe discussed the main provisions of the materials of the Consultative Council of European Judges in the light of judicial reform in Ukraine, standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe in the field of justice and their implementation in Ukraine.
