12/09/2025
On 12 September 2025, a coordination meeting at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine brought together Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court Oleksandr Petryshyn, Judges of the Court Oleksandr Vodiannikov, Viktor Kychun, Oleh Pervomaiskyi, Olga Sovgyria, Galyna Yurovska, and representatives of international organisations and foundations implementing international technical assistance projects in Ukraine.
The event was attended by representatives of key international organisations – the joint European Union and Council of Europe Programme “Partnership for Good Governance” (Phase III), the Council of Europe (projects within the Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction”), the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine, the EU Project “Pravo-Justice”, the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
In his opening remarks, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Petryshyn emphasised the importance of systematic interaction with international partners. The judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine assessed that the previous years of cooperation confirmed the effectiveness of joint initiatives aimed at strengthening the professional capacity of the Court, developing constitutional justice, and implementing European standards in its activities.
During the event, team leads and managers of international projects outlined areas of their activity and possible forms of cooperation with the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
In particular, Siuzanna Mnatsakanian, Project Manager, “Support for the Development of Constitutional Justice in Ukraine” (EU and Council of Europe Programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, Phase III), presented the project's priorities and opportunities for attracting expert support for the Court.
The Council of Europe presented its initiatives through Iryna Kushnir, Project Manager, “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”; Iryna Ostapa, Project Manager, “Strengthening the social dimension in Ukraine”; Oleksandr Kotenko, Project Officer of the Council of Europe Project “Further strengthening judicial and non-judicial remedies for the human rights protection of the war-affected people in Ukraine”.
Nataliia Stupnytska, Head of the Democratization, Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights Component of the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine, and Olga Kravchenko, Project Manager, “Assisting the Supreme Court and higher courts in implementing judicial reform and ensuring access to justice in times of war”, presented the activities within the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine.
The presentations were joined by Volodymyr Chaban, Judiciary Component Lead of the Judicial Reform Component of the EU Project “Pravo-Justice”; Gennadiy Ryzhkov, Legal Advisor at the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ); Artem Shaipov, Head of Legal and Political Consultations on EU Compliance in the Field of the Rule of Law at GIZ; Natalia Guzhviy-Tovstenko, Legal Advisor for the Project “Strengthening Ukraine's Compliance with EU Standards in the Field of the Rule of Law”, GIZ; Dmytro Melnyk, Senior Assistant for the Project “Supporting National Stakeholders through Improved Access to Constitutional Justice”, OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine, as well as other representatives of international organisations.
During the meeting, international partners discussed projects aimed at supporting the judiciary, protecting the rights of war victims, ensuring gender equality, digitalising justice processes, developing communication and interaction with the public, and further aligning Ukraine's legal system with EU and Council of Europe standards.
The participants agreed on the priorities for international cooperation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine for 2025–2026, identified the expected results and potential formats for interaction. Among the key areas were training sessions, scientific and practical conferences, internship programmes for Court employees, and other forms of technical support.
The event was an important step in strengthening coordination between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and international partners, which will contribute to the effective implementation of joint initiatives in the field of the rule of law, human rights protection and the development of constitutional justice in Ukraine.
