On September 23, 2025, the report on the results of the third phase of the project “Monitoring of Court Proceedings and Analysis of Court Decisions in War Crimes Cases (under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)” was released.

The report focuses on the quality of justice in war crimes cases, the openness of court proceedings, the effectiveness of ensuring the right to defense, and judicial independence. The presentation served as a platform to discuss key findings and challenges recorded during the monitoring of court hearings in 10 regions of Ukraine, as well as the analysis of verdicts and rulings issued under Article 438 of the Criminal Code.

Opening the event, Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of the EU Project Pravo-Justice, emphasized: “The main conclusion of this report is that, despite the challenges of war, Ukrainian courts are demonstrating a commitment to uphold the key guarantees of a fair trial. This is crucial both for citizens and for the international community. While the Russian Federation systematically disregards international law, Ukraine, even during full-scale war and in war crimes cases, demonstrates the ability to ensure fair trial standards.”

Mykola Stetsenko, President of the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), briefly presented the activities of the UBA and outlined the project’s timeline: “We started monitoring court proceedings in 2023 with the support of the USAID Human Rights in Action Program, implemented by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. The first and second phases of the project have been completed, and the third phase was carried out with the support of the USAID Justice for All Program and the EU Project Pravo-Justice. We are sincerely grateful to our partners for their consistent support.”

He also expressed gratitude to institutional partners — the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Supreme Court, the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, and the National School of Judges of Ukraine — for their openness and readiness for constructive cooperation.

“The next, fourth phase of monitoring is already starting with the support of the International Bar Association. We are grateful to our colleagues for this assistance, which enables us to focus on cases with defendants present in court.”

Anna Stakhanova, Key Expert on Accountability for International Crimes of the EU Project Pravo-Justic, summarized: “Over the past eight months, more than 1,100 court hearings have been recorded and 55 first-instance verdicts analyzed. These figures are not just statistics. They prove that even during the war, Ukraine is building justice based on law, transparency, and commitment to fairness.”

Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association (IBA), highlighted that national courts play a key role in responding to international crimes, including those connected with Russia’s full-scale invasion. He stressed the importance of adhering to international standards of impartiality and underscored the progress Ukraine has achieved despite the ongoing war.

“I have worked in many countries in the post-war period, but I must say: Ukraine, despite the fact that hostilities are still ongoing, demonstrates an exceptionally high level of adherence to international standards and best practices in the field of justice,” noted Mark Ellis.

David Vaughn, Rule of Law Advisor at Chemonics UK and former Chief of Party of the USAID Justice for All Activity, shared: “Currently, a number of international organizations and projects are supporting Ukrainian courts and judges in strengthening their capacity to hear war crimes cases, including support for monitoring and analysis of trials and decisions. Such monitoring not only ensures procedural fairness and transparency in war crimes proceedings, but also provides feedback to judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers on aspects of their work that require improvement.”

The event also included a discussion of approaches to trial monitoring methodology, presentation of the report on the third phase of the project “Monitoring of Court Proceedings and Analysis of Court Decisions in War Crimes Cases”, and outlining of ways to use its results to improve work and strengthen the institutional capacity of criminal justice bodies.

The event was moderated by Inna Liniova, Director of the UBA Human Rights Institute, and Anna Stakhanova, Key Expert on Accountability for International Crimes, EU Project Pravo – Justice.

Inna Liniova emphasized that the monitoring results not only capture the current situation in the justice system, but also provide a basis for further support and development of the legal system: “Monitoring also gives us the foundation to look at what more can be done to support the legal system. On the one hand to ensure accountability, and on the other to uphold all standards.”

Among such initiatives, Ms. Inna mentioned a pilot mentoring program under which judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers working on war crimes cases can directly consult with international experts on specific cases. This format helps to raise professional capacity and improve understanding of international standards in legal practice.

Ewelina Ochab, Senior Programme Lawyer at the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, noted that trial monitoring of this kind helps ensure justice and accountability. "What Ukraine is trying to do on justice and accountability for Russia’s crimes is unheard of. Apart from fighting the aggressor militarily, Ukraine is also fighting a good legal fight on the domestic and international levels.  Trial monitoring, as conducted by UBA, is key to ensuring that the legal fight is done right.  The number of criminal cases that Ukraine is facing would have pushed any judicial system to the limits, let alone during an ongoing and brutal war. The recommendations identified by the UBA are to strengthen the important work and support victims/survivors. Implementing these recommendations, Ukraine’s justice system will become stronger and better equipped to effectively serve justice and accountability.”

Kateryna Pyshchyk, UBA Project Manager, presented the approaches and methodology of court monitoring. She noted that the methodological framework is based on two key components: attending court hearings in cases under Article 438 of the Criminal Code (war crimes) and analyzing judicial decisions in this category of cases. Thanks to UBA’s wide network, professional lawyers were engaged in monitoring — selected through a competitive process and trained with consideration of the previous phases’ experience and with international partners’ support. The questionnaire used in monitoring is regularly updated to reflect new challenges and is available in the report annexes.

Olha Salenko, PhD in Law, Associate Professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and Zoia Zahynei-Zabolotenko, Doctor of Law, Professor, and Head of Department at the V.M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, presented the report on the results of the third phase of the project “Monitoring of Court Proceedings and Analysis of Court Decisions in War Crimes Cases (under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).” During the presentation, a Q&A session was also held, giving participants the opportunity to discuss the methodology, key findings, and recommendations.

The full text of the report is available at the link.

Use of the Report’s Findings for Work and Strengthening Institutional Capacity of Criminal Justice Bodies

Oksana Kvasha, Deputy Chair of the High Council of Justice, stressed the importance of the national judiciary in wartime and highlighted the project’s role as a tool to support trust in justice: “Monitoring is a tool that helps our citizens not lose faith in justice and in the fact that perpetrators will be punished. And such documentation, despite bombings and difficult conditions, shows everyone: justice continues, it cannot be stopped.”

Natalia Marchuk, Judge of the Criminal Cassation Court within the Supreme Court, emphasized the uniqueness of Ukraine’s experience in handling war crimes cases during an ongoing war and the value of the monitoring report as a practical tool. She stressed that Ukraine is delivering justice not “after,” but “during” hostilities — an exception among states.

She also drew attention to the key challenges identified by monitoring, in particular the uneven caseload between courts and the shortcomings of notification mechanisms in proceedings in absentia: “The greatest difficulty lies in the methods of notifying defendants. Currently this means publication on court or investigative body websites, or in Uryadovy Kurier in Ukrainian. But it is clear that for defendants from Russia this is not an effective notification.”

Rasim Babanly, First Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Court, cautioned against overly high expectations regarding the speed of war crimes trials. He noted that Ukrainian courts receive about four million new cases annually, with five million still pending. Under such conditions, expecting lightning-fast verdicts would call into question the legitimacy of justice itself.

At the same time, he positively assessed the timelines indicated in the report: “The timelines provided in the report — about a year and a few months until a verdict and conclusion of appeal — were calculated very thoroughly, using a methodology similar to that applied by the European Court of Human Rights. From the moment of notification of suspicion to the appellate decision, these timeframes fully comply with Article 6 of the Convention. Yes, we would like it to be faster — but the fact that we already have such verdicts within these timeframes is a positive outcome.”

Denys Lysenko, Deputy Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General, emphasized the analytical value of the report not only as a document but also as a process. According to him, the presence of a monitor in a courtroom influences the discipline of trial participants and promotes compliance with reasonable timelines.

He underlined that the report is a useful resource both for the justice system and for international humanitarian law experts. Analytical materials will be processed in the relevant department of the Prosecutor General’s Office and disseminated among investigative bodies: “The report will be used in preparing an updated strategy for developing the national system of prosecution for international crimes. Some conclusions will already be reflected in methodological guidelines and will form the basis for updated educational programs and trainings.”

Olesia Otradnova, Director of the Training Center for Prosecutors of Ukraine, drew attention to the scale and importance of the analytical work carried out within the third phase of monitoring. She stressed that such an initiative should have a long-term continuation, as war crimes cases will remain relevant even after the war ends.

She also highlighted the dynamics of change in the work of prosecutors and judges — from the lack of knowledge and experience in 2022–2023 to gradual growth of professional capacity. At the same time, she emphasized the importance of adapting monitoring to new challenges, such as cases concerning attacks on critical infrastructure, cultural heritage, or deportation of children: “Future reports will cover these new categories of cases,” noted Olesia Otradnova.

Yelyzaveta Kovtiuk, Lecturer-Coordinator of the Teacher Training Department at the National School of Judges of Ukraine, emphasized the importance of integrating the project’s analytical findings into the system of professional education for judges, prosecutors, and investigators. She noted that with the support of the Training Center for Prosecutors, a number of educational activities had already been implemented and at least seven training programs developed on handling cases under Article 438 of the Criminal Code. According to her, such knowledge is important not only for professional growth of legal practitioners, but also for preserving national memory and ensuring quality documentation of crimes that may become the subject of a future tribunal.

Oleksandr Baranov, Director of the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, underlined the practical value of the report for improving the work of defense lawyers in war crimes cases. He noted that they had the opportunity to review the document in advance and that some recommendations are already being implemented, although many require partnership-based cooperation.

He also focused on the issue of public perception of the defense’s role in war crimes cases, stressing the high level of mistrust. According to him, only 40% of Ukrainians recognize the right to defense of such defendants. This, in his view, creates an additional challenge that must be addressed through consistent communication, particularly in work with the media.

A video recording of the presentation is available on YouTube.

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), the UBA Human Rights Institute, the International Bar Association (IBA), the IBA Human Rights Institute, together with the EU Project Pravo-Justice, implemented by Expertise France.