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On March 7, 2014, Oleg Beliaev, Executive Chairman of the Commission, participated in the working meeting initiated by experts of the “Support of the reforms in justice in Ukraine” project. This is a project of technical aid implemented with the financial support from the European Union. Project’s experts Mark Segal and Oksana Tsymbrivska announced this at the beginning of the meeting.

The Project aims at intensifying sustainable reforms in Ukrainian justice. The initiative includes six key strategic and institutional components:

1)      contribution to the development of comprehensive strategy for the sector of justice;

2)      support of the prosecution reforms;

3)      creating judicial police and reconsideration of investigators’ powers;

4)      support of the right to defense and access to justice;

5)      strengthening independence of the judiciary;

6)      preventing and tackling corruption.

During the meeting, the project’s representatives discussed cooperation with the Ukrainian National Bar Association and the Commission in order to improve current legislation. Specifically, supporting application of competitiveness and equality of parties; ensuring access to the lawyer’s services and legal support, confidentiality protection; improvement and insuring attorney’s level of services; assistance in getting information during criminal proceeding and defense of the right of protection from violations of the law.

Oleg Beliaev emphasized that concept of the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and legal profession” should remain unamended as it was adopted based on the recommendations and alterations of the Venice Commission. However, certain provisions such as mechanisms of law enforcement that are still insufficiently regulated should be revised.

The meeting addressed a range of issues related to the development of content and scope of the law, including enhancement of the responsibility for not responding to attorney’s request, as well as free access to all state registers, held by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

At the end of the meeting participants outlined the plan of future cooperation and agreed that advocates’ self-governance bodies would provide project’s representatives, European institutions as well as advocate’s community with amendments to the law in the nearest future for further public discussions and additional proposals as well as expert support from the European institutions.