Meeting of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with the Special Adviser of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe

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Meeting of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with the Special Adviser of the Secretary General of the Council ofEurope

 

 On May 22, 2014 the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Yurii Baulin met the Special Adviser of the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Mr. Jeroen Schokkenbroek. The meeting was attended by judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Stanislav Shevchuk, representatives of the Court’s Secretariat and Legal Adviser of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Bozhena Malanchuk.

During the meeting the constitutional reform in Ukraine, effectiveness of the national judicial system, the protection of human rights and interaction of the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine with the Council of Europe authorities were discussed.

Noting the long-term co-operation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with the Council of Europe Chairman Baulin stressed that co-operation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe is considered to be a means of approaching towards the European standards of democracy, rule of law and the protection of human and civil rights.

In addition, the Court’s Chairman stressed that in its daily work the Constitutional Court of Ukraine pays great attention to the protection of human rights, actively applying the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

Yurii Baulin informed his interlocutors that at the XVI Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts on "Co-operation between the Constitutional Courts in Europe – Current Situation and Perspectives", the importance of the interaction between constitutional courts and the European courts in Strasbourg and Luxembourg was emphasised. In this regard, the Court’s Chairman expressed the hope that the Council of Europe will facilitate, in particular, organisation of study visits for judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to the European Court of Human Rights, as well as conducting scientific forums, round table discussions with judges and experts of the Strasbourg Court.

Jeroen Schokkenbroek said that the supreme and constitutional courts are important allies of the Council of Europe, and stressed the great importance of such courts for the protection of human rights at the national level. He also noted that the proposals for further co-operation between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Council of Europe were very timely and will be forwarded to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe to be included in the future Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine. He also inquired about further changes in the work and composition of the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine.

In conclusion, the guests thanked for an informative meeting and a warm welcome. Yurii Baulinexpressed his hope for further fruitful co-operation and successful implementation of all joint intentions. He presented the guests with a collection of materials of Yalta International Conference “The Protection of Human and Citizens’ Rights by Bodies of the Constitutional Jurisdiction in the Current Context” (2013)