How justice is administered in Ukrainian regions online

Quarantine introduction paralyzed most areas of Ukrainians' everyday life. Spheres of life involving law application is no exception.

"We observed that. But now in the Lviv region, a new reality is gradually being formed: communication and solving many issues has shifted to online format, with large number of modern technologies used. Clear and understandable procedures and algorithms are needed to ensure equal access to justice for citizens. During the first three months of quarantine, our Lviv Regional Justice Reform Council identified problems related to the administration of justice in the region and suggested potential options to solve them,” said Marta Mochulska, Council Coordinator.

The administration of justice, free legal aid, bar activities, notaries' services and legal business have always been built solely on face to face communication. Now it requires adjustment, changes in established rules and procedures. In the beginning both lawyers and citizens were not ready to change all the basic principles of daily life.

"We understand that to make justice accessible, the judiciary of Lviv region needs consistent approach and maximum openness with the use of all available communication tools," said Vasyl Artymovych, member of the Council, Deputy President of the Commercial Court of Lviv region.

To date, the Council of Judges of Ukraine has drafted general rules on special regime of courts' working mode, taking into account positive tests for COVID-19 in a particular court. However, the implementation of these recommendations is still differing.

"We are the link that makes it possible for central government to hear the real problems people are facing at the regional level. That is why we analyze sensitive topics and gaps to help solve them as soon as possible", emphasizes Marta Mochulska.

One of such problem is e-court system functioning. Given quarantine restrictions, demand for such system has significantly increased. Users report technical problems related to the system functioning, limited operation of individual components, lack of proper technical support. Elimination of technical problems, due technical support and drafting clear detailed instructions for system users can greatly make lawyers' lives simpler in our region.

We would like to remind you that Lviv Justice Reform Council is a permanent working group set up with the support of EU Project Pravo-Justice to promote bottom-up reform via bringing specific regional challenges and their potential solutions across to parties concerned and facilitates better information exchange from the centre to the regions and at the interregional level.