Report of Savva Kuzmenko, Council of Europe HELP program Coordinator from UNBA, on the activities in 2022
By the Order of the UNBA, the BCU Head, Lidiya Pavlivna Izovitova, dated December 29, 2021, No. 204, Director of the Higher School of Advocacy of UNBA Savva Kuzmenko was appointed as Council of Europe HELP program Coordinator from UNBA.
In 2022, the Coordinator's activities contributed to the expansion of the partnership between the educational platforms of the Higher School of Advocacy of UNBA and the HELP Council of Europe, a number of initiatives and activities aimed at continuing the successful implementation of the Council of Europe HELP projects with the participation of the legal community.
Let present the Report of Savva Kuzmenko, Council of Europe HELP program Coordinator from UNBA, on the activities in 2022, which include the following:
- key results of cooperation between the educational platforms of the Higher School of Advocacy of UNBA and the HELP Council of Europe and promotion of the online educational space on the HELP platform;
- the results of the Coordinator's participation at the annual HELP 2022 Conference held in Strasbourg, France, 30 June – 1 July 2022;
- information on the training for trainers of the HELP platform (ToTs), Strasbourg (France), 28 November 2022;
- events in order to improve the qualifications of advocates in the Higher School of Advocacy of UNBA on the application of ECHR standards and appealing to the ECtHR under martial law;
- trainers' comments and participants' feedback about the online course "Basic principles of human rights protection in the field of biomedicine";
- events and activities, informational support for courses and events of the Council of Europe HELP program in the legal community;
- thematic manuals, reviews, compilations of ECtHR practice on the platform of the Higher School of Advocacy.
More about initiatives and activities of Council of Europe HELP program Coordinator from UNBA in 2022 at the link.
Popular news
Legislation
Advocates have warned that the draft Labor Code would curtail workers' protections
Certain provisions of the draft Labor Code of Ukraine regarding collective labor disputes undermine labor protections and do not comply with constitutional and international standards.
Educational events
The right of minors to marry: how judicial oversight works
The issue of granting minors the right to marry lies at the intersection of family law, child protection, and judicial discretion. The UNBA Committee on family law dedicated a webinar held on March 30 to this very topic.
Self-government
BCU: The HCJ’s decisions undermine the constitutional guarantees of the independence of the advocacy profession
The Bar Council of Ukraine has concluded that, in its recent decisions, the High Council of Justice has, without legal grounds, called into question the right of bar self-governing bodies to protect the guarantees of legal practice and has, in effect, attempted to grant one of its members — who retains the status of an advocate — special immunity from the Rules of professional conduct and disciplinary responsibility.
Interaction
The UNBA and the National Guard have agreed to cooperate on legal protection for military personnel
Servicemembers of the National Guard, their family members, and veterans are to receive additional legal tools to protect their rights, while the National Guard’s legal services will receive methodological and expert support.
Interaction
Protecting the rights of service members: The UNBA and the Military Ombudsman have agreed on cooperation
Servicemembers, reservists, conscripts during training exercises, members of local community volunteer units, and other individuals covered by the Law «On the Military Ombudsman» should have better access to professional legal assistance.
Discussion
New Labor Code: advocates highlight the strengths and risks of the draft
The draft Labor Code contains a number of progressive provisions aimed at modernizing labor legislation: digitizing procedures, expanding forms of employment, and increasing transparency in wage payments. At the same time, certain systemic issues require further refinement.
Rule of Law Roadmap
Reform without data and advocacy: what the Ministry of Justice’s launch has revealed
The Ministry of Justice hosted the first meeting of the working group on bar reform. But instead of professional preparation of legislative changes, we saw exactly what Armada Network Director Dale Armstrong had spoken about the day before in Kyiv: not reform, but a struggle for control over the agenda through a narrow circle of “stakeholders” who create an echo chamber of influence for themselves.
Rule of Law Roadmap
Advocacy, European integration and the limits of intervention: an American report presented in Kyiv
Following its presentation in Brussels, the report «The Ukrainian advocacy in the context of the rule of law and European integration» made its way to Kyiv. It highlighted critical issues both in understanding the very nature of the self-governing profession and in the emergence of a «shadow market» surrounding the Ukrainian advocacy.
Publications
Volodymyr Matsko Extradition during wartime: when the risks outweigh the request
Volodymyr Matsko Extradition as a systemic form of rights violations
Victoria Yakusha, Law and Business The anti-corruption vertical cannot «take care» of the Bar as an institution, - acting head of the HQDCB
Censor.net Protecting advocates – protecting justice: addressing concerns about the new law
Ihor Kolesnykov A BRIEF SUMMARY REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE ORDER ON EXTENDED CONFISCATION IN LATVIA REGARDING FINANCIAL ASSETS OF…
Valentyn Gvozdiy WORKING IN A WAR ZONE
Lydia Izovitova Formula of perfection
Sergiy Vylkov Our judicial system is so built that courts do not trust advocates