OSCE Project Co-ordinator, Canada launch multi-year project to help Ukraine improve protection of human rights by courts

KYIV, 16 September 2014 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Government of Canada officially launched a € 2.2 million, four years project, which aims to enhance the functioning of the Ukrainian judiciary in line with international standards of human rights protection.

The “Safeguarding Human Rights through Courts” project will be implemented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine with financial support from the Canadian Government.More than 3,000 Ukrainian judges will be trained to better apply the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Ukrainians are among the most numerous appellants to the ECtHR regarding rights violations.

“An effective national justice system, based on international standards, is an important element of national security. The more people are confident that their rights are safeguarded by an independent, effective and fair judiciary, the more stable the situation is likely to be in any given country,” said Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “We believe that with this project, Ukrainians would be less likely to seek international mechanisms to ensure their rights, because the local justice system would meet their needs,” he added.  

To improve the protection of human rights by courts, the Project will use focus group interviews to identify gaps in knowledge and identify the needs of the target audience – judges of the local and administrative courts. Based on the outcomes of the research, the Project will support the improvement of the judicial education system through publications, training courses, and online education tools. National experts will also be trained to deliver quality trainings on the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the ECtHR. Tailored training courses for judges and legal professionals on international standards in human rights protection are also envisaged.

In addition, support will be provided to Ukrainian civil society to develop capacity to professionally monitor and evaluate the quality of judicial decisions.

The Project is being implemented at the request of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, High Administrative Court of Ukraine and National School of Judges.