Other Activities

Annual Report 2021

IRZ reports in its Annual Report on projects it has implemented in cooperation with the partnering institutions in the partner states. The new Annual Report 2021 is now published.

En route to the European Union – IRZ accompanies Ukraine

The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) has accompanied EU accession candidate countries on the long journey to joining the European Union for 30 years. After all, the demand for support among Ukrainian specialists has been rising steadily, despite the war of aggression that Russia unleashed on Ukraine in contravention of international law. IRZ experts are continuing their cooperation with the partner institutions in Ukraine,

a partner state since day one. So far, IRZ has provided support to around 40 partner states. Past cooperation with Ukraine has focused on the democratisation process, legal and judicial reforms and measures to combat corruption. IRZ is now promoting the rule of law to prepare the country for joining the EU. The legal and judicial system will have to rise to new challenges and achieve further harmonisation with European standards due to Ukraine’s designation as an accession candidate. The German legal system serves as a role model in this regard. 

For instance, the President of the IRZ Board of Trustees, Christian Lange (photo), opened a first online consultation of a working group led by the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament on 30 June 2022, with the aim of continuing the reforms of the Civil Code of Ukraine (CC).  This work builds on two policy papers prepared by an IRZ expert team in early 2022.

Receiving significant support from the Federal Fiscal Court, IRZ joined with the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 1 July 2022 to conduct the Fifth Administrative Court Jurisdiction Days as an online event, focusing on tax law issues as a ‘special part of administrative law’.

IRZ has also received requests for further support from the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Cassation Court and from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, among others.

At the very beginning of independence, the cooperation prioritised consultations on the constitution, the Law on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the German-Ukrainian constitutional dialogue and consultations addressing the planned abolition of the death penalty, which the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ultimately declared unconstitutional in its decision of 29 December 1999. Numerous current and former judges at the Federal Constitutional Court are involved in the professional exchange with their colleagues from the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The introduction of constitutional complaints (complaint against a law) in Ukraine, the organisation of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court based on the structure of the German Federal Constitutional Court and the introduction of an independent administrative court jurisdiction based on the German model were nothing short of ground-breaking.

In addition, IRZ initiated an intensive process of dialogue at administrative court level. Important partners in this cooperation are the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the Federal Administrative Court and the administrative courts of Rhineland-Palatinate under the leadership of the Higher Administrative Court.

An administrative procedure law, for which IRZ provided pivotal support in the legislative process, was passed just a week before the outbreak of war.

Policy to combat corruption is another priority area within the cooperation. A joint conference was held with the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine just a day before the attack by Russian forces.

Promoting the rule of law is a relevant issue for all generations, so nurturing young legal professionals is among the core concerns of IRZ. It addresses this task by organising supplementary studies in German for advanced students at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in western Ukraine, among other things. Defying the war, the valedictorian of 2021 spent a research stay at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich during May 2022.

Every step on Ukraine’s independent path to democratic and constitutional reforms is a step towards joining the European Union.

IRZ PRESS RELEASE dated 25 July 2022

Contact:

Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V.
Cecilia Szabó
Advisor to the Management
OPublic Relations
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ubierstraße 92 D-53173 Bonn

Summer celebration at Haus des Rechts – common understanding of rule of law and democracy

The Federal Minister of Justice, Dr Marco Buschmann, was the guest of honour at this year’s summer celebration at Haus des Rechts in Berlin, which is jointly organised every year by the German Association of Judges, German Notaries' Association and German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ).

In light of the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the Federal Minister used his speech to emphasise how important it is for the IRZ to promote the rule of law. The Foundation was established in 1992 at the behest of the then Federal Minister of Justice, Dr Klaus Kinkel. He explicitly thanked the entire team in Bonn and Berlin. A ceremony is planned at the Federal Ministry of Justice in October 2022 to mark this anniversary.

The General Director, Dr Frauke Bachler, then thanked the Federal Minister of Justice for his kind comments. In addition to the 30th anniversary celebration, there will also be an opening ceremony for a larger office in the immediate vicinity of Haus des Rechts, once this has been occupied as planned in autumn 2022.

The attendees thanked Dr Bachler for her commitment to judiciary reform and promoting the rule of law, as well as legislative advice in Germany and partner states. “Everyone here shares a common understanding of democracy.”

The General Director also expressed her dismay at the illegal war of aggression. Cooperation with the former partner state of Russia has been suspended until further notice. However, the IRZ is receiving an increasing number of requests from Ukraine for joint projects. “The fact that this commitment is possible, is an important glimmer of hope in dark times,” says Frauke Bachler.

High-profile guests from Germany and the IRZ’s partner states braved a sharp shower and welcomed the opportunity to meet one another.

IRZ PRESS RELEASE dated 24 June 2022

Contact:

Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V.
Cecilia Szabó
Advisor to the Management
ÖPublic Relations
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ubierstraße 92 D-53173 Bonn

 

Dr Marco Buschmann, Federal Minister of Justice, during his speech at the joint summer celebration of the German Association of Judges, German Notaries' Association and the IRZ in Berlin in July 2022 (photo: DRB)

"Promoting the Rule of Law - Handbook for Research and Practice”

The following work: "Promoting the Rule of Law - Handbook for Research and Practice” was made possible by project funding from the Federal Foreign Office. This publication comprises approximately 500 pages, and was created by roughly 70 authors who are involved in the promotion of the rule of law in politics, in their daily practical work or through their academic activities, who outlined the support of partner states in the legal sphere from different perspectives. The work was published by Prof. Dr Matthias Kötter, Dr Tilman J. Röder, Dr Jens Deppe, Dr Julie Trappe, and Dr Tilman Schneider.

IRZ is represented in the handbook with the article "Promoting the Rule of Law by the BMJV", which was jointly written by Dr Stefan Hülshörster, Managing Director of IRZ and Dr Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at IRZ. The contribution presents the guiding principles and structures for the promotion of the rule of law in the Ministry of Justice and explains the project work which was funded by a grant. The importance of needs orientation, flexibility and staying power are particularly emphasised.

Anne Katharina Zimmermann, Head of the Department of German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, also co-authored a contribution to the handbook on rule of law dialogues and other forms of dialogue.

The contribution is part of the ongoing expert monitoring of the activities of IRZ itself. Within this framework, staff members participate in events for the expert monitoring of the legal transformation or contribute scientific articles in this field.

Info

Handbook "Promoting the Rule of Law - Handbook for Research and Practice” as an e-book

https://shop.kohlhammer.de/rechtsstaatsforderung-39026.html#147=22