On November 1-2, 2011 the conference «Creation and functioning of the centers of administrative services in Ukraine», was organized and held by the Centre for political and legal reforms jointly with Ivano-Frankivsk city council, Centre For Municipal Governmental Studies and German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), with financial support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FFN).

The purpose of the arrangement was: 1) to exchange experience between the representatives of cities on establishing and functioning of the centers of administrative services in Ukraine; 2) joining efforts to solve shared problems of establishing and functioning of the centers of administrative services, including the increasing influence on national policy.

In 2010, Ukraine implemented only 8 out of 70 analyzed reform priorities, outlined in the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda (AA), the key document regulating EU-Ukraine relations. Trends during the reporting period showed that progress in the reforms agenda is too slow, and a clear regress exists in a number of fields. These are the major conclusions of the third interim monitoring report, prepared by a civil society’s monitoring of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda and presented on March 17^th, 2011 at a press conference in Kyiv.

3^rd monitoring report (overview of the progress made in 2010)

2^nd monitiring report (July-October, 2010)

1^st monitoring report (March-June 2010)

The Roadmap was approved at the National Reforrms Concillium (March 5-6, 2010). Prepared based on the Results of Regional Discussion of the Research "Modrnisation of Ukraine: Reforms Priorities Define".

This study is based on the assumption that Ukraine has already passed over its fundamental development stage – establishment of the independent state, initial formation of democratic institutions and market economy. At the same time, at the background of the transformations that occurred in other countries (including in Central and Eastern Europe, former Soviet Republics), the political and economic system developed in Ukraine appears to have low efficiency. This primarily concerns creation of proper conditions for the dynamic development of the society on the basis of democratic principles and getting over the backwardness (in particular in the area of technology) as compared to the developed countries of the word.

Download the Roadmap

The round table “Actual problems of the lawmaking process on the presidential elections eve” took place at the Ukrinform office on November, 12. Representatives of the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms Ihor Koliushko, Viktor Tymoschuk, Roman Kuybida and Olexandr Banchuk assessed the state of the lawmaking process in the field of constitutional and judicial reforms, reform of public administration and criminal justice. Experts concluded that nowadays the question of reforms in Ukraine isn’t entered even on the agenda for majority of political powers. Presidential elections issues put to the back burner reforms provision in the public sector.    

The International Conference "Transformation of Judicial Systems in Transition Countries", organized by the INDEM Foundation (Russia) and the VERA Institute of Justice (USA), was held in New York (USA) on November 13-15, 2008. Experts from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Chile and other countries participated in the conference. Ms. Tanya Ruda, expert of the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms, presented a report on judiciary in Ukraine. You may download the report here.

Fight for Power

Today, when politics has become considerably polarized, Ukraine is in the condition of sharp fight for power with attempts to maximally utilize all political, economic and legal influence levers.

No wonder arrant fight of political forces roars around local state administrations, as the latter are key executive power bodies on regional level and constitute a strong administrative resource throughout the regions of Ukraine. Under the conditions of preliminary constitutional and legal governance, due to the rights given to the President of Ukraine to dismiss the Prime-Minister and cancel legislative acts issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, authorities of the government in the executive power sector were often formal, including as to local state administrations. It was also one of the factors that provided reasons for local state governments to transform into an administrative resource of the President of Ukraine, as well as into election headquarters on the eve of any elections.

Content

1. Access to Justice

2. Judicial System

2.1. System of general courts

2.2. Court Logistics and Support

3. Administration of Justice

3.1. Criminal Justice

3.2. Civil Justice

3.3. Administrative Justice

4. Status of Judges 

1. Access to Justice

In any nation the criteria of accessibility of justice are as follows:

- absence of groundless barriers for court access and prompt judicial remedies;

- popular awareness of the judicial system, its activation and practices;

- availability of the optimal system of court expenses and sophisticated mechanisms of legal assistance to the poor;

- enforceability of judicial rulings.

In the years of independence Ukraine saw major changes in terms of granting access to the judiciary. The competence of courts was extended onto all possibly emerging legal relations. Yet, the extension of courts’ competence, the development of social relations and complications with their regulation entailed an overloading of the judicial system. 

On December 8, 2004 the Supreme Rada of Ukraine passed both: Law, which minimizes possible falsifications of public will during revoting of the second round of Presidential election on December 26, and Law of Ukraine “On amending of the Constitution of Ukraine” (draft law №4180).

Greeting this tactic victory of the Ukrainian opposition, which cleaned the way to legitimate victory of Viktor Yushchenko on Presidential election in Ukraine, we have to state, that such victory is of a high price. We as Ukrainian citizens and lawyers are worried of:

the attitude to the Constitution of Ukraine to be the object of political wrangle;

danger for the Ukrainian parliamentary, called by changes of the Constitution, that deals with establishing an imperative mandate of MPs, excluding rules on law regulation of the Supreme Rada activity and increasing authorities term of the Supreme Rada, local and regional radas up to five years;