UBA presents report on the results of the 2nd phase of the project "The Trial Monitoring in War Crimes Cases"
- To ensure an effective, applied, and ongoing analysis of war crimes trials for compliance with international standards, particularly all components of the right to a fair trial. The monitoring focuses on courts, the role of prosecution bodies, the quality of defense for the accused, and more.
- To generate clear analytical and statistical data on the adherence to international standards, particularly the right to a fair trial, at the national level during the judicial review of war crimes cases.
- To identify both systemic and isolated, positive and negative phenomena related to the adherence to international standards, particularly the right to a fair trial, during the judicial review of war crimes cases. To draw the legal community's attention to problematic aspects and initiate possible solutions.
The monitoring of the judicial review of war crimes cases in the current second phase of the project took place from December 2023 to May 2024 inclusive [the first phase was from July to October 2023 inclusive].
The geographical scope of the monitoring covered the regions of Ukraine where war crimes cases are being reviewed, including: Kyiv and Kyiv region, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions.
The monitoring also included the analysis of 35 verdicts issued by first-instance courts, 10 rulings of appellate courts, and 2 decisions of the cassation court.
A team of 2 leading national experts in international law and human rights, as well as 18 monitors who are lawyers with experience in criminal law, was formed to conduct the monitoring. The monitoring tools included a pre-approved Questionnaire and Methodology.
The range of the monitoring covered all components of the right to a fair trial (access to justice, public trial by a court, independent and impartial tribunal, trial within a reasonable time, right to defense, equality of participants in the trial, adversarial nature of proceedings, etc.), as well as related human rights and fundamental freedoms (prohibition of torture, right to liberty and personal security, etc.).
The report can be accessed below or via the provided link.