Judicial System is Getting Prepared to the Introduction of the Law “On Administrative Procedure”

At the end of April, the trainers of the National School of Judges of Ukraine completed the training on the Law “On Administrative Procedure”. The training took place with the support of the EU Projects Pravo-Justice and EU4PAR in partnership with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Secretariat of the CMU.

At the training, the participants discussed the unified vision of the novelties introduced by the Law and the specifics of its application in judicial practice, and worked on improving approaches and developing effective methods of interaction when delivering training on the general administrative procedure.

The training took place in the context of preparing to the enactment of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” on December 15, 2023. Before then, the Government shall bring special legislation in line with the new Law, and civil servants, local self-government officials, and judges shall undergo training and be ready to apply the new rules of interaction between the State and citizens/businesses.

“Since the autumn 2022, the National School of Judges of Ukraine delivers the training “Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” and its impact on the administrative justice to the judges of administrative courts. With the support of our partners, we held training aimed at improving the qualifications of the trainers, at which the NSJ trainers, Ukrainian and foreign experts discussed the peculiarities of application of the new Law and developed some interactive teaching methods. We understand that the entire system of administrative justice shall be prepared for the Law “On Administrative Procedure” to enter into force at the end of this year; thus, there is a lot of work ahead,” said Liubov Honchar, Head of the Department of Special Training for Filling Judicial Positions, Coordinator of the Administrative Justice Block, National School Judges of Ukraine.

The Law “On Administrative Procedure” is designed to ensure a fair, open and democratic interaction between the State and citizens/businesses in order to protect the rights and interests of people; greater administrative efficiency; and, ultimately, building trust between citizens and public authorities. The implementation of the Law may decrease, in a longer perspective, the burden on administrative courts thanks to the administrative appeal procedure and the possibility of peaceful settlement with administrative bodies,” said Oksana Tsymbrivska, Country Manager of the EU Project Pravo-Justice.

“The experience of the jurisdictions already having the Law “On Administrative Procedure” proves how important the role of administrative courts is, especially right after the Law enters into force. The uniform interpretation of the provisions of the Law by the judicial system and public administration will significantly help the effective implementation of the general administrative procedure. While having discussions with the trainers, we noted great added value of cases from judicial practice, which can be useful for teaching the administrative procedure to civil servants”, noted Ugis Sics, Head of the EU EU4PAR Project.

The Law “On Administrative Procedure” introduces the principles of interaction between the State and citizens/businesses, which are new to Ukraine, but apply in almost all EU MS, including:

• Guaranteeing the rights of citizens and businesses in relations with public administration bodies, such as the right to be heard; the right to access case materials’; the obligation to specify the terms and procedure of appeal; the obligation to provide justification for negative decisions, etc.;
• Striking balance between state and private interests, including between the interests of various private individuals;
• Orientation of the activities of a public administration to a positive result rather than a quick resolution;
• Presumption of legitimacy, according to which a person’s actions and claims are considered as legitimate until proven otherwise in the framework of the consideration and resolution of a case, with any doubt being interpreted in favor of the citizen or business.

The adoption of the Law “On Administrative Procedure” is an important step towards a service-oriented state that works in the interests of its citizens.

More information about the LU “On Administrative Procedure”

There is also an online course on “General Administrative Procedure” and a guide for public servants available.