Participants of the XVI Colloquium with the President of the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Administrative Court, Prof. Dr. Lars Brocker and the Director of the IRZ, Dr. Stefan Hülshörster. Ukraine
The XVI German-Ukrainian colloquium on administrative procedural law was held from 16-22 July 2023. The IRZ has organised this annual meeting between German and Ukrainian administrative judges since 2005, and the event aims to promote cooperation and exchange in the area of administrative law.
The IRZ has been advising Ukraine both on the establishment of a Ukrainian administrative court jurisdiction and on the drafting of the Administrative Procedures Act since the 1990s, and works intensively and effectively with the Rhineland-Palatinate administrative court jurisdiction.
The colloquium was held again this year after a break from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic and the war. The colloquium provided an ideal platform for professional exchanges, in-depth discussions and practical insights into the work of the German colleagues, among others through participation in the meetings. Three judges from the Administrative Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Ukraine took part in the week-long meeting. The guests were warmly welcomed on the first day of the colloquium by Prof. Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Dr. Stefan Hülshörster, Director of the IRZ.
A highlight of the colloquium was the visit to the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate to Mainz on 19 July. The Ukrainian guests were received in the historical building of the Deutschhaus by the President of the State Parliament, Hendrik Hering, and the Director, Ursula Molka. The participants were then able to attend a plenary session of the State Parliament from the visitors' gallery to gain an insight into parliamentary activities and practices in Germany.
The XVI The German-Ukrainian colloquium on administrative procedural law was undoubtedly a great success and contributed to further strengthening the long-standing cooperation with Ukraine in the field of administrative law.
The delegation at an expert talk with members of the Committee on Legal Affairs at the German Bundestag. Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova
The IRZ conducted a study trip in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin on the subject of combating corruption and money laundering for a delegation from the Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Bundestag also received the guests as part of the diverse programme.
In 2022, the European Union granted Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova EU candidate status and Georgia was also offered the prospect of EU accession. The German Bundestag therefore provided the IRZ with additional funds to conduct cooperation with these three partner countries As the recommendations of the EU Commission for the necessary legal reforms in all three states emphasised in particular the fight against corruption and organised crime, the IRZ implemented a study trip with the relevant specialist focus in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The participants were representatives from various governmental and non-governmental institutions from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia that are responsible for preventing and prosecuting cases of corruption.
The State Justice Minister Dr. Benjamin Limbach, received the delegation In North Rhine-Westphalia, This was followed by appointments at the State Office of Criminal Investigations and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Düsseldorf. The guests also visited the main departments of the Public Prosecutor's Offices in Wuppertal and Bochum, and engaged in expert talks to explore in-depth issues around the confiscation of assets and organised crime. At a meeting with the European Public Prosecutor's Office, they also discussed the subject of “Investigations into cases of fraud and tax evasion affecting the European budget of the European Union”.
The delegation then travelled to Berlin, where it was received by the Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Bundestag. Dr. Günter Krings, MdB, chaired the discussion, in which the participants explained the progress made to date and the major challenges in the fight against corruption in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The study trip was rounded off with expert talks at the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland. The focus here was on “Measures to prevent corruption in the federal administration”.
A similar study trip on the theme of “Independence of the judiciary” to Lower Saxony and Berlin is planned for August 2023 with participants from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia to further promote exchanges between the three partner states as part of the EU accession process.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kröll, LL.M., Bucerius Law School, Chairman of the Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit (DIS) (German Arbitration Institute), with the team from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Ukraine
IRZ supported the participation of Ukrainian students in the pre-moots for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The pre-moots were held in March 2023 in Berlin (Humboldt Moot Association e.V.) and Hamburg (Bucerius Law School).
Four students from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and two from the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv took part in the event in Berlin, and two students from the National Ivan Franko University in Lviv took part in the same event in Hamburg.
The feedback from the participants was very positive. In their letters of thanks, the participants emphasised how inspiring it was to take part, and they viewed the event as a defining moment in their future legal careers. This experience clearly demonstrated to them the importance of arbitration.
