President of Ukraine

President emphasizes the importance of reforming the judiciary

18 February 2021 - 18:16

President emphasizes the importance of reforming the judiciary

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Smyrnov, MP, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy Andriy Kostin and MP, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement, Chairman of the Commission on Legal Reform Serhii Ionushas took part in the discussion of the Strategy for the Development of Judiciary and Constitutional Justice for 2021-2023, which was presented to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The main goal of the Strategy is to establish the main directions of policy and priorities for further improvement of the legislation of Ukraine on the judiciary and the status of judges in the relationship and interaction with other institutions of justice.

"The judicial system in Ukraine today is one of the biggest problems. First of all, for ordinary Ukrainians who do not hope for justice in the courts and do not feel the protection of the judiciary. But there are also other problems such as attracting investment, the image of Ukraine. All Ukraine's international partners put emphasis on judicial reform, and we need to do it," the President said.

It was agreed that the Commission on Legal Reform under the President of Ukraine will convene in the near future.

In addition, the participants discussed the bill on the High Council of Justice and the selection of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, the launch of the Intellectual Property Court, which should become a platform for full-fledged electronic litigation based on the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.

The parties also discussed in detail the introduction of a jury trial.

"With this legislative initiative, we primarily aim to ensure justice by bringing people to the process. Such a jury trial increases public confidence in the judiciary as a whole. It is impossible to reform the judiciary without a jury trial," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.