On April 24, 2023, the presentation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) and the first meeting of the Steering Committee took place.
The proposed actions in the Action Plan are aimed at supporting reconstruction and economic recovery in Ukraine in order to strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian state institutions, the rule of law and protection of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
As Claus Neukirch, Director of the Directorate of Programme Coordination of the Council of Europe informed, the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine was approved by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on December 14, 2022. The document was prepared in close cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities in response to the desire and determination of the government and people of Ukraine to participate in the restoration of the country. The proposed actions were also developed to implement the steps outlined in the European Commission's conclusions regarding Ukraine's status as a candidate for EU membership.
The Action Plan envisages a four-year program focused on priority areas such as human rights, rule of law, and democracy. The Action Plan is a dynamic document that will be updated according to the situation in the country to adapt priorities to new needs, explained Mr. Neukirch.
The performing of the tasks of this document will be jointly evaluated by the Council of Europe and the government authorities of Ukraine. For this purpose, a Steering Committee has been established, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other national stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Action Plan, as well as representatives of the Council of Europe.
Joining the discussion of the basic directions of the Action Plan, the Chairman of the High Council of Justice, Hryhorii Usyk noted that the adoption of this document confirms that Ukraine has demonstrated its commitment to the European principles and standards not just in words, but through the daily work of every Ukrainian who feels part of the great European community.
He noted that in the process of reforming the judicial system, Ukraine has already taken a significant step towards laying the foundation for the justice system based on the principles of the rule of law to strengthen judicial independence and accountability.
Ukraine implements the standards of the Council of Europe into national legislation, which contributes to increasing the level of public trust in the judicial governance bodies. An example of such changes is the introduction of new standards, including the verification of compliance with criteria of integrity and professional ethics for members of the higher bodies of judicial governance. This involves the involvement of the Ethics Council in forming a new composition of the High Council of Justice and the work of the Selection Commission for the selection of the members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine.
Hryhorii Usyk informed about the priorities in the work of the HCJ. In particular, he pointed out that the process of forming the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ) is now in its final stages. From May 2 to May 12, the interviews with candidates for the position of HQCJ members will be held. The restoration of the work of this body with a new composition will allow overcoming the personnel crisis. After filling a third of the vacant judge positions it will be possible to update the judicial system at both the first instance and appellate levels, which are working under enormous pressure due to the lack of judges. Another urgent task is to restore the disciplinary function, without which the work of the HCJ is not complete. The HCJ is cooperating with the relevant parliamentary committee to resolve this issue.
The Chairman of the HCJ drew attention to the key issues that the HCJ is open to cooperate with the Council of Europe on: development and implementation of measures to ensure the authority of justice and the independence of judges; improvement of procedures for disciplinary liability of judges, including the formation of a disciplinary inspectorate institution; digitalization of justice; institutional support for the HCJ (training of employees based on the best European practices).
During the event the Council of Europe experts briefly informed about the measures planned for the implementation of the Action Plan. The Ukrainian representatives of beneficiary institutions, in particular the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of the executive branch, law enforcement agencies, the media, and civil society organizations took part in the discussions.