Representatives of the Commission’s secretariat took part in a round table – presentation of the third official edition of the “Documents of the Consultative Council of European Judges”
On October 26, 2020, the round table – presentation of the third official edition of the “Documents of the Consultative Council of European Judges”, which contains the texts of all Opinions adopted by the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) from 2001 to 2019, as well as the Magna Carta of Judges which was issued in 2010, organized by the Council of Europe’s Support to the Implementation of Judicial Reform in Ukraine Project, was held in online mode.
The President of the Consultative Council of European Judges, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the High Council of Justice, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Supreme Court, the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the National School of Judges of Ukraine, The Ukrainian National Bar Association, appellate and local courts’ judges, as well as experts and representatives of the Council of Europe, international technical assistance projects and non-governmental organizations took part in the event.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the main provisions of the documents of the Consultative Council of European Judges and the implementation of standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe in light of judicial reform in Ukraine.
The President of the Consultative Council of European Judges Nina Betetto made a presentation of the third official edition of the documents of the Consultative Council of European Judges. She noted that the state’s respect for the authority of a judge is an essential condition for public confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law in general, and the protection of judicial independence is a guiding principle of the CCJE.
Thus, the Opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges are a source of standards in the field of independence and inviolability of judges, based on the real judicial experience of the member states of the Council of Europe. Such standards relate, in particular, to ensuring the status of judges, citizens’ access to justice and improving the judicial system of the state.
Besides, the judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and member of the Consultative Council of European Judges Viktor Horodovenko said that the Conclusions are intended to provide advice to judges and other persons involved on how to ensure compliance with the principle of judicial independence in practice. He also noted that Ukraine, with the support of the Council of Europe, within a month after the adoption of the next CCJE’s opinion, has the opportunity to discuss with the judiciary the fastest implementation to the existing legislation and law enforcement practices of the most important positions and ideas reflected in the Opinions.
The Secretariat of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine was represented by the Head of the Legal Department Natalia Kidina, Acting Head of the International Cooperation Department Denys Kuznetsov and Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department Yuliia Tkachenko.
Reference:
The Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) is a body of the Council of Europe set up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2000 as an advisory committee in order to promote the independence, impartiality and competence of judges. The CCJE is composed of active judges from 47 member States of the Council of Europe. Its main task is to adopt advisory opinions for the attention of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. So far, the CCJE has adopted 22 Opinions.
The Support to Judicial Reform in Ukraine Project is being implemented with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is a continuation of the work undertaken by the Council of Europe on the reform of the judiciary in Ukraine. It aims at a further approximation of the Ukrainian justice system to the Council of Europe standards and recommendations.
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