UNBA and NACB have begun work on the «defender's office» in iCase

The Ukrainian National Bar Association and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine have begun working-level talks on creating a separate defense attorney's office within the iCase information and telecommunications system.

The first meeting took place on February 18 with the participation of representatives of the UNBA (the Vice President of the UNBA, BCU Valentin Gvozdiy, Head of the Secretariat Vadym Krasnyk and Head of the Legal Department Yaroslav Romanenko), NACB (Senior Detectives Galina Synelnikova and Andriy Dovzhenko) and the IT team involved.

iCase is an electronic criminal proceedings system used by the Bureau in conjunction with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the High Anti-Corruption Court. Its task is to ensure a paperless investigation and communication process between participants in criminal proceedings, in particular between the investigator, prosecutor, advocate, and investigating judge. The system already generates and exchanges electronic procedural documents, including motions for search, inspection, temporary access to items and documents, and extension of the term of obligations imposed on the suspect.

The parties to the meeting expressed interest in intensifying cooperation and starting joint work on expanding the functional capabilities of iCase, as this will speed up the exchange of information and have a positive overall impact on compliance with reasonable time limits for the consideration of criminal cases.

A draft of the relevant technical requirements for the software product was submitted to the UNBA Secretariat for review, which will express its position on the functionality.

According to the available information, it is planned to build access to the system through electronic identification and two-factor authentication, the use of a qualified electronic signature, as well as verification of the status of an advocate through integration with the URAU and the use of ID.GOV.UA for initial user identification. Defense attorneys will be able to submit motions, statements, complaints, and objections in electronic form, receive notifications from the prosecution, and review the materials of the pre-trial investigation.