«Remote justice will ensure better access to justice, no matter what conditions we are in», emphasized the member of the High Council of Justice Roman Maselko during presentation by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) group of experts of the preliminary analysis of draft laws on amendments to the Code of Administrative Proceedings of Ukraine, the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Economic Procedure Code of Ukraine (on the conduct of proceedings under martial law or state of emergency).
He noted that the need of the moving to remote proceedings finds support not only within the country, but is also synchronized at the international level. This approach meets international standards and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The HCJ’s member pointed out that remote proceedings allow citizens to access justice, despite the difficult circumstances of today, and its application is possible in all forms of legal proceedings, including criminal.
«For my part, I will actively support the possibility of changes regarding the remote justice, as well as its development and profound. Until quite recently, I participated in many proceedings as a lawyer and I can frankly say that I was enthusiastic about the opportunity to participate in online court hearings. Consideration of cases in online format not only provided the opportunity to continue the administration of justice, but also simplified many procedures for participating in such processes, so I unequivocally support the introduction of the remote justice», he said.
At the same time, the HCJ’s member made constructive proposals to supplement the draft laws.
«Amendments do not reflect the procedure for signing an oath by a witness. It is necessary to clearly define in the procedural codes how one takes the oath, because intentionally making a false statement is subject to criminal liability», noted Roman Maselko.
Commenting on the problem of access to case materials, which is key (problem) in the conditions of martial law, he noted: «There may be cases when judges do not have access to case materials at all, because those were left in the premises from which the court moved. It is advisable to provide for rules that would make it possible to avoid blocking the administration of justice for this reason. For example, it is necessary to provide for the possibility, by the parties’ mutual consent, to send all materials in electronic form or to fill those out through the electronic court, so that judges can see the documents, even when there is currently no access to paper media of the case».
The HCJ’s member also spoke in favor of clearer regulation of the issue of written or oral proceedings during the appeal and cassation consideration under martial law.
After the meeting, based on the discussion and comments, the final version of the expert analysis of draft laws will be prepared.
The event was jointly organized by the Council of Europe Project «Support for judicial institutions and processes to strengthen access to justice in Ukraine» in cooperation with the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice.