Working Group on the Draft Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Right to a Fair Trial"

On February 12, 2016, participation in the organization and conduct of a working group meeting to discuss the Draft Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Right to a Fair Trial" regarding the rights of judges holding positions in courts that ceased operations due to natural disasters, military actions, or the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), No. 3328 dated October 15, 2015 (in cooperation with Member of Parliament of Ukraine Leonid Yemets).

Participants included representatives of the Supreme Court, the Council of Judges, the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges, the Association for the Development of Judicial Self-Government, judges from courts that had suspended operations due to the ATO in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Members of Parliament Leonid Yemets, Vasyl Yanitskyi, and Ruslan Sydorovych.

During the meeting, participants discussed the situation of judges who relocated from the occupied territories, the main legal issues stemming from inadequate legislative regulation of their legal status and assignment procedures. Special attention was paid to the situation of judges whose five-year term of office had expired, and to the specific procedures for terminating judges' assignments.

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to submit the newly revised version of the Draft Law for discussion by the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, with the aim of further submission to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.