On February 22, the National School of Judges (NSJ), supported by international donors, including the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), kick-started a 5-day online training program for the judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).
The training program aims at enriching the knowledge and skills of judges of the HACC in handling complex and sensitive aspects of anti-corruption cases and passing on EU best practices in the field. The training program includes issues concerning the application of criminal and criminal procedure legislation, ethical standards of conduct of judges, and case management practices.
EUACI contributed to the training program by engaging leading international and national experts:
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Sir Anthony Hooper, a retired judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, former professor of law, head of Public Council of International Experts, a member of Matrix Chambers.
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Viacheslav Navrotskyi, Doctor of Law, Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), Lviv State University of Internal Affairs, The Marshal Jozef Pilsudski School of Security and Safety (Warsaw, Poland).
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Andrii Lapkin, Сandidate of jurisprudence (Ph.D. in law), Associate Professor at the Department of Organization of Judicial and Law Enforcement Agencies of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, member of the working group on security sector reform at NATO Program «Partnership for Peace».
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Aleš Zalar, President of the European Center for Dispute Resolution (ECDR), a retired judge, Slovenian Minister of Justice (2008-2012), and Minister for Home Affairs (2011–2012).
The training program for the judges of the HACC is an essential milestone to strengthen the capacity of the Court. According to the Law on HACC, judges are required to undergo trainings for the enhancement of knowledge and skills on a yearly basis. EUACI is pleased to provide such support, which leads to accelerated institutional development.
Recently, Transparency International Ukraine published a Report on the results of monitoring the HACC's work, highlighting the high level of trust in the Court observed by other participants of the criminal proceedings and the professional competence of both judges and staff of the Court.