The Ukrainian Bar Association publishes the Defense Counsel Handbook: A Guide for Ukrainian Lawyers Practicing in Domestic War Crimes Cases, a practical resource for Ukrainian lawyers working on war crimes cases.

This Handbook was prepared at the initiative and with support of the USAID Justice for All Activity in cooperation with the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, the Ukrainian Bar Association, and legal experts from the International Bar Association (IBA).

The Handbook is intended to provide practical assistance to lawyers involved in the defense of war crimes defendants. It contains up-to-date information on national and international legislation, defense strategies, specifics of working with witnesses and preparing legal arguments. The purpose of this publication is to provide defense lawyers with useful tools to carry out their work in the difficult conditions of war, upholding the principles of the rule of law and justice.

To view and download the Handbook, please follow this link.

For reference: This Defense Counsel Handbook: A Guide for Ukrainian Lawyers Practicing in Domestic War Crimes Cases was developed by a group of authors:

• Marie O’Leary, acting Principal Counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence (OPCD) of the International Criminal Court, Past President of the Association of Defence Counsel practicing before the International Courts and Tribunals (ADC-ICT);
• Colleen Rohan, international criminal law practitioner (served as defense counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, International Criminal Court, EULEX courts in Kosovo), Past President of the ADC-ICT;
• Andrii Yakovliev, Ukrainian defense counsel, an expert and a trainer in international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international human rights law with the NGO “Media Initiative for Human Rights” and the NGO “Regional Center for Human Rights”.

The methodology and content for this Handbook have been developed with guidance and support from the USAID Justice for All Activity in partnership with the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, Ukrainian Bar Association, and legal experts from the International Bar Association, including contributions from Judge Alphons Orie, Michael Kelly, Michael Scharf, Elsa Wyllie, Natalie von Wistinghausen, Sara Dill, Mylène Dimitri, and Sylvia de Bertodano.

Tags: UBA activities, UBA collaboration