Presentation of the ‘Needs Assessment of the Ukraine’s Justice System’ report

“We hope this report will be perceived as a tool to facilitate a frank and productive dialog, rather than a criticism” - Nadia Volkova, Director of ULAG during the “Needs Assessment of Ukraine’s Justice System“ report presentation.

The presentation took place on September 19 in Kyiv and included a series of panel discussions involving representatives of the investigative, prosecutorial bodies as well as judiciary, international and national experts, civil society, missions and embassies.

An effective justice strategy for Ukraine requires identifying and assessing the real needs of the domestic system, the capacity of complementing justice mechanisms, and the needs of victims and survivors of grave crimes.

The justice architecture today contains a number of gaps, and current solutions or proposals do not sufficiently address them.

This conclusion is a reflection of our experience of representing victims' interests; communication with representatives of the justice system; legal analysis of national and international law, practice and standards; monitoring and analysis of ongoing initiatives in the national and international justice systems; national surveys and in-depth interviews with various groups, positions of Ukrainian and foreign experts, as well as other sources and tools used in the preparation of the report.

Identifying the real needs and developing a justice architecture that will truly address them is impossible without an honest dialogue.

Beyond the conversations held so far, we are planning a series of discussions with representatives of the justice system and other stakeholders about the report and the issues it raises.

‘Needs Assessment’ is a dynamic tool that will be constantly updated and refined. ULAG team is already working on the next update.

The report is available on our website, now both in English and Ukrainian.

The report was prepared with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine within the MATRA project. The document reflects the views of its authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.