19th German-Ukrainian Colloquium on Administrative Procedure
- Details
- Published: October 7, 2025
Four Ukrainian administrative judges at the Higher Administrative Court in Koblenz, the Administrative Court in Mainz, and both the Minister of Justice and the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate were shown great solidarity and respect: despite the challenges posed by the war, their Ukrainian partners are tirelessly pushing ahead with constitutional reforms in their country. Administrative jurisdiction in particular has an important role to play in protecting the rights of citizens even under martial law and in balancing the interests of individuals with the legitimate security interests of the state.
Twenty years ago, Ukraine introduced an independent administrative judiciary, thus taking a major step forward in the development of the rule of law. IRZ advised its Ukrainian partners on this development and, together with the administrative judiciary of Rhineland-Palatinate, has maintained a continuous professional exchange with the Ukrainian administrative judiciary ever since. One of the cornerstones of this exchange is the annual German-Ukrainian colloquium on administrative procedural law, at which Prof. Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Higher Administrative Court, welcomes four Ukrainian administrative judges to Koblenz for a week.
In this anniversary year, Mykhailo Smokovych, President of the Administrative Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court, also took part in person, emphasising once again that Ukrainian administrative jurisdiction would not exist without the above-mentioned advice from IRZ. During their stay, the delegation members were once again able to participate in hearings and discuss current administrative procedural law issues on an equal footing with their German colleagues.
The programme also included a visit to the Administrative Court in Mainz (reported by SWR, see 8 minutes 17 seconds) and a reception and technical discussion with the Minister of Justice of Rhineland-Palatinate, Philipp Fernis, on current legislative procedures in administrative law. The guests were also welcomed by the Vice-President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament, Matthias Lammert.