OSCE trains administrative and local court judges on election legislation ahead of Ukraine’s early presidential and local vote

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU),  completed on 21 May 2014 a series of trainings on uniform interpretation of election legislation for administrative and local court judges, held jointly with the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and USAID “FAIR Justice” Project.

Nine training sessions, held in Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivsti and Sumy from 22 April to 21 May 2014, were aimed at strengthening the capacity of more than 500 administrative and local court judges from all over Ukraine to review election-related disputes in view of the upcoming early presidential and local elections, scheduled for 25 May 2014.

The judges had the opportunity to discuss the revised laws on presidential and local elections, international standards in election legislation, case-law of the European Court of Human Rights relevant to voting rights, and legal challenges related to election campaigning. The practice of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine regarding such disputes was also analysed.

The events were part of a PCU project aimed at enhancing the coherence of administrative court practice in Ukraine. The project is being implemented at the request of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine, with support from the Government of Norway.