10:00-10:20

Opening of the Forum

Ms Hanne Juncher, Head of Department, Justice and Legal Co-operation, Council of Europe (tbc)

Mr Denys Buhai, Head of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Partner of law firm VB PARTNERS, attorney at law

Ms Anna Ohrenchuk, Chief of the Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association on procedural law, partner of LCF Law Group

10:20-12:00

Session 1. Judicial reform 2020: next steps

Moderators:

Ms Anna Ohrenchuk, Chief of the Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association on procedural law, Partner of LCF Law Group

Ms Irina Kushnir, Manager of the Project of the Council of Europe “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine”

In focus:

• Consequences of the judgments no. 2-r/2020 and 4-r/2020 of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and implementation of the Opinions of the Venice Commission, international experts as to the judicial reform in 2016 and 2019 
• Next steps in reforming of the judicial sphere and public scrutiny as to the judiciary authority
• Responsibility of a judge for unlawful judicial decision: standards of the Council of Europe and Ukrainian aspect

Speakers:

• Mr Gerhard Reissner, Reporter of the Venice Commission, Expert of the Council of Europe
• Mr Duro.Sessa, ex-President of the CCJE, the member of the CCJE Bureau and the President of the Supreme Court of Croatia
• Ms Valentyna Danyshevska, President of the Supreme Court
• Mr Andrii Kostin, member of Parliament of Ukraine, Head of the Committee on Legal Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
• Mr Andrii Ovsiienko, Chair of the High Council of Justice
• Mr Andrii Savchuk, Partner of the law firm MORIS GROUP, attorney at law

12:00-12:30

 Coffee break

12:30-14:15

Session 2. Guarantees of the judicial independence as a European standard of democratic state    

Moderators:  

Ms Nataliia Bohatska, Chairman of the South-Western Commercial Court of Appeal, Chairman of the Association of Judges of Commercial Courts of Ukraine

Ms Oleksandra Matviichuk, Chairman of the Board of the Center for Civil Liberties

In focus:

• Main challenges for the independence of judges in Ukraine: annual reports of the Hugh Judicial Council on the state of independence of judges in Ukraine 2017, 2018, 2019
• Judicial staff shortage and possible ways of its overcome
• Dialog between judges and advocates in the context of the European standards
• Mass media impact on the judicial independence and formation of the trust to the judiciary
• Court safety guard: new functions and development

Speakers:

• Ms Diana Kovatcheva, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria , International Expert of the Council of Europe,
• Mr Denys Buhai, Head of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Partner of law firm VB PARTNERS, attorney at law
• Mr Bohdan Lvov, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Head of the Commercial Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court 
• Ms Svitlana Matviienko, Head of the Board of the Laboratory of the legislative initiatives
• Mr Stanislav Maksymishyn, First Deputy Head of the Judicial Protection Service, Colonel of the Judicial Protection Service
• Ms Vira Mykhailenko, Speaker-judge of the High Anticorruption Court of Ukraine

14:15-14:45

Lunch

14:45-16:30

Session 3. Important case law of the Supreme Court

Moderators:

Mr Vsevolod Kniaziev, Secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court

Mr Serhii Boiarchukov, Chief partner of Law firm Alekseiv, Boyarchukov and partners

In focus:

• Principle “court know a law” and adversarial principle: how to strike a balance

• Principle of res judicata and the right to appeal against the final decision by a non-party to the proceedings: standards of the Council of Europe and national case-law  

• Re-opening of proceedings upon decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on unconstitutionality of law applied in a case
• Representation of the state interests before the court by prosecutors
• Ineffective remedies for the protection of rights and interests

Speakers:           

• Mr Dmytro Tretiakov, Senior Lawyer, Ukrainian Section, European Court of Human Rights Registry
• Mr Dmytro Hudyma, Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court
• Mr Ivan Mishchenko, Judge of the Cassation commercial court within the Supreme Court 
• Ms Nataliia Blazhivska, Judge of the Cassation administrative court within the Supreme Court 
• Ms Nataliia Vasylenko, Deputy Head of the Department for Representation of State Interests in Court of the Office of the Prosecutor General
• Mr Volodymyr Vashchenko, Partner of law firm VB PARTNERS

16:30-16:45

Closing remarks

Mr Denys Buhai, Head of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Partner of law firm VB PARTNERS, attorney at law

Ms Irina Kushnir, Manager of the Project of the Council of Europe “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine”

10:00-10:15

Opening of the second day of Forum

Ms Lilit Daneghian-Bossler, Coordinator of projects of the Council of Europe (tbc)

Mr Denys Buhai, Head of the Ukrainian Bar Association, partner of law firm VB PARTNERS, advocate

10:15-12:00

Session 1. Quality of legislation and legal certainty principle in the context of investment prospects of Ukraine

Moderators: 

Ms Irina Kushnir, Manager of the Project of the Council of Europe “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine”

Ms Liudmyla Buimister, member of Parliament of Ukraine

In focus:

• Requirements to ensure quality of legislation
• Role of a court to remedy lack of legislation quality: case law, constitutional control, legal effect of recognition of a law as unconstitutional
• Uniformity and consistency of court case law

Speakers:

• Ms Clare Brown, Head of Section Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECtHR, DGI - Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe
• Mr Rasim Babanly, Head of the Department of Analytical and Legal Work of the Supreme Court 
• Mr Ivan Bondarchuk, Counsel of LCF Law Group
• Mr Stanislav Tarasov, Business Development Manager of Scatec Solar in Ukraine

12:00-12:30

Coffee break

12:30-14:15

Session 2. Moratorium on debt recovery from the state economic sector: protection of the state interests or violation of the investors’ rights?

Moderator:  

Mr Oleh Horetskyi, Managing Partner of Goretskyy & Partners Law Firm

In focus:

• Moratorium on enforcement measures regarding entities that are out of privatisation
• Moratorium on debt recovery from SC “Ukrzaliznytsia” for the obligationsof State Entity “Donetska zaliznytsia”
• Moratorium on bankruptcy of the state coal entities
• Moratorium on bankruptcy of the state organization

Participants:

• Mr Pavlo Pushkar, Head of Division of the Department for the execution of judgments of the European court of human rights of the Council of Europe  
• Mr Taras Tarasenko, member of Parliament of Ukraine
• Ms Valeriia Kolomiets, Deputy Minister of justice of Ukraine
• Ms Olena Volianska, Partner of LCF Law Group 

14:15-14:45

Lunch

Special presentation: BITs as protecting foreign investment and consequences of their termination

Speaker: 

Mr Kabir Duggal, Senior International Arbitration Advisor Arnold&Porter

15:05-16:50

Session 3. Alternative ways of court dispute resolution

Moderator: 

Ms Inna Yemelianova, Deputy Chairman of the ICAC at the CCI of Ukraine

In focus:

• Improving of foundation and functioning of the arbitrage courts
• Introduction of mediation: new law of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
• Prospects of introduction of lay judges
• Restorative justice 

Participants:

• Mr Oleksandr Banchuk, Deputy Minister of justice 
• Ms Larysa Shvetsova, Member of the High Council of Justice
• Mr Taras Shepel, Head of the Arbitration Chamber of Ukraine, member of board of the DEJURE Foundation
• Ms Halyna Yeromenko, Head and lecturer of the Ukrainian Mediation Center
• Mr Roman Koval, Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Peace and Understanding
• Ms Yuna Potomkina, Senior Lawyer of Asters, Head of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Expert of the Mediation Law Working Group
• Ms Luiza Romanadze, lawyer, mediator, president of the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation

16:50-17:05

Closing speeches. Close of the Forum

• Ms Irina Kushnir, Manager of the Project of the Council of Europe “Support to the implementation of the judicial reform in Ukraine”