An issue of improving internal and external communication of the judicial system was discussed at the international conference “Judicial communication: one voice as a tool for building trust” held in Lviv.
The event was organized by the HCJ together with the communication agency Good to know, EU Project “Право-Justice”, USAID Program “Justice for All” within the Project “Strengthening of communication competences of the judicial system of Ukraine by developing an effective internal communication system and sustainable communication tools”, financed by the Lithuanian development cooperation fund.
In his welcoming speech, the Chairman of the High Council of Justice Hryhorii Usyk noted that it is highly important to convey information to society from the original source. The judiciary consistently changes its approaches to increase effective ways of communication with society. As he believes that society should understand the tasks, problems and challenges facing the judiciary.
Hryhorii Usyk expressed an opinion about an important meaning of communication for increasing the trust in the judiciary by working with youth through educational activities.
He also emphasized that it is easy to highlight events in the negative spectrum and it is extremely difficult to change it.
HCJ member Oleksandr Sasevych drew attention that any information about judges of courts of any instance or representatives of judicial bodies directly affects the level of trust in the entire judiciary, including governance bodies such as the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the High Council of Justice that form judicial corps. Thus, the problem of one becomes the problem of all and ultimately affects the authority of justice.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko is convinced that judges need to communicate more actively with the public, but at the same time, judges should remember that they are perceived by what they say, so judicial restraint is extremely important. According to him, judges have not only an ethical but also a legal obligation to defend the independence of the judiciary.
Member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Liudmyla Volkova noted that as of today the activity of courts as well as judicial bodies and institutions is extremely open and transparent. The next challenge is to organize the work in a way that protects and respects an individual’s dignity and the professional reputation of judges.
Co-founder of “Good to know” agency (Lithuania) Reda Moliene presented the results of the Project “Communication development in judicial system of Ukraine” and noted the high level of communication development in Ukraine. At the same time, she drew attention to the fact that it is difficult to ensure a unified approach to communications, so efforts should be made to achieve this goal.
Reda Moliene said: “There is a general understanding that communication is a very important tool for the judiciary to strengthen judicial independence and public trust in court decisions”.
Team Leader of the EU Project “Право-Justice” Oksana Tsymbrivska noted that the Project has been working hard to improve judicial communication and ensure access to justice for years. She emphasized that effective, quality and unified communication of the judiciary is a prerequisite for building public trust in judicial institutions.
The legal advisor of the USAID Program “Justice for All” Uliana Pashynna emphasized that it is exactly the courts that need to communicate important information about their activities.
The Head of the press office of the HCJ Volodymyr Hurzhy noted that the society mostly learns about the work of courts from rumors and news, which are based on high-profile and scandalous cases, so he believes that active communication should come from the court. And the press office will always provide appropriate methodological and practical assistance.
The speaker also provided examples of successful communication that contributed to a positive perception of the judiciary by external audiences, including international and national media coverage of the work of courts in frontline areas, interviews with judges who were part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and had been captured, as well as the Mriia volunteer formation, in which Ukrainian judges help maintain air defense in Kyiv, etc.
During the conference judges-speakers, heads and representatives of judicial authorities, responsible for communication and seeking to increase its efficiency to improve the image of the judiciary, had the opportunity to achieve new knowledge on the rules of preparation of information materials and their publication, and, most urgently, to talk face-to-face with representatives of leading TV channels, news agencies, including investigators and other media, to hear their professional position and arguments about approaches to presenting journalistic publications or videos. Media representatives informed judges about the specifics of preparing information materials to attract the largest possible audience and increase the number of views, in particular, they spoke about the modest level of public interest in the work of the courts and the increased attention to certain high-profile cases.
One of the main results of the event was that in the course of dialogues and sometimes rather heated discussions, the parties representing the third and fourth branches of government were able to realize that there was no antagonism between them. Media representatives expressed interest in developing cooperation and constructive communication. And judges demonstrated that they listen to the public's opinions, want to be heard, and realize that the media is the link that can facilitate communication between the courts and society.
The coordination of internal cooperation between courts on information exchange was also discussed at the event. Also “The guidelines on judicial communication issues” was presented which contains recommendations for effective internal cooperation and professional communication with the media and the public, and which is intended to assist court staff responsible for communication.
