A delegation from the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine paid a working visit on international criminal law to Berlin in the last week of March. The idea for this working visit was prompted by a meeting between the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, and the Prosecutor General, Dr. Peter Frank at the G7 meeting of justice ministers in Berlin in autumn 2022.
The Office of the Public Prosecutor and the Federal Ministry of Justice were happy to comply with the Ukrainian request to hold expert talks on investigative methods regarding international criminal law and war crimes. The IRZ organised this work visit, where representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine were invited to spend three days at the Federal Ministry of Justice and meet their colleagues from the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Federal Criminal Police Office, and with Senior Public Prosecutor, Klaus Hoffmann, who is currently working within the framework of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group in Ukraine, to engage in intensive discussions on the relevant issues relating to the investigation of international crimes.
The Vice President of the Kyiv Court of Appeal, Hanna Kryzhanivska (middle), with fellow judges during the online expert talks 22 March 2023. Ukraine
The cooperation between the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court and the Kyiv Court of Appeal was initiated and is maintained by the IRZ and has existed since 2016. A European judicial identity is promoted through the regular collegial and professional exchange between the two courts.
The online meeting was originally scheduled for the end of 2022, but had to be cancelled twice due to a power failure caused by the war. The exchange finally took place on 22 March 2023 – despite the air raid warning in Kyiv. The focus of the expert talk was the topic of “e-justice”.
The participants in the online expert talks first discussed the current situation and case law of the Ukrainian judiciary and the Kyiv Court of Appeal under the current wartime conditions. In their presentation, the judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal, Borys Levenets and Yurii Tryasun, described the organisation of the work of the court in the first months of the war and the current features of court proceedings under martial law conditions.
Another topic of discussion was the introduction of electronic files in the judiciary. Dr. Jana Bruns-Klaes, judge at the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court, discussed the following points: electronic legal transactions and electronic files, the impact on persons seeking justice and the impact on the judiciary. The deputy chair of the Kyiv Court of Appeal, Hanna Kryzhanivska, then reported on the experiences at her court in this respect, and the specific challenges of electronic justice.
The exchange of experiences between judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal and the Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg is to be continued in the future - if possible, also in person, for example through a working visit to Oldenburg. The President of the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court, Anke van Hove, and the IRZ emphasised the importance of maintaining the dialogue between the two courts at this time, and reiterated their willingness to continue the cooperation.
The IRZ and the National Judicial School of Ukraine held a training event for the judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine from 20-23 March 2023; another was planned for 3 April 2023.
The subject of combating money laundering was the focus of the training course, which is required by law for the judiciary in Ukraine. Walter Selter, former Prosecutor General, discussed the definition, manifestations, legal regulations and international character of money laundering as an expert from the IRZ.
A total of 38 judges from the High Anti-Corruption Court and the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court took part in the training.
The phenomenon of corruption undermines the rule of law and market structures and is therefore a major obstacle to investment. The topic of combating corruption is therefore also a particular focus of the work of the IRZ, particularly as the recommendations of the EU Commission on Ukraine's candidate status state these points.
This is another area in which the IRZ will continue the cooperation with the Ukraine.
