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Nove Pravosuddya Justice Sector Reform Program (New Justice)

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Nove Pravosuddya Justice Sector Reform Program (New Justice) NOVE PRAVOSUDDYA JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM PROGRAM (NEW JUSTICE) Quarterly Performance Report April - June 2020 Contract No.: AID-OAA-I-13-00032 Task Order No.: AID-121-TO-16-00003 Prepared for USAID/Ukraine C/O American Embassy 4 Igor Sikorsky St., Kyiv, Ukraine 04112 Prepared by Chemonics International Inc. 1717 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Table of Contents I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 3 II. CONTEXT UPDATE 5 III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 IV. KEY NARRATIVE ACHIEVEMENT 14 OBJECTIVE 1: JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND SELF GOVERNANCE STRENGTHENED 14 OBJECTIVE 2: ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF THE JUDICIARY TO CITIZENS AND THE RULE OF LAW INCREASED 18 OBJECTIVE 3: ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ENHANCED 20 OBJECTIVE 4: QUALITY OF LEGAL EDUCATION STRENGTHENED 24 OBJECTIVE 5: ACCESS TO JUSTICE EXPANDED AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTED 28 V. PROGRESS AGAINST TARGETS 32 VI. PERFORMANCE MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING 34 VII. LESSONS LEARNED 35 VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING 36 IX. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES 37 X. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO HOST GOVERNMENT 38 XI. PROGRESS ON INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT 39 XII. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 40 XIII. GRANTS AND SUBCONTRACTS 41 XIV. ACTIVITY ADMINISTRATION 42 XV. ATTACHMENTS 44 A. List of Deliverables 44 B. Public Outreach Documents 45 C. Performance Data Table 46 D. Grants and Subcontracts Table 76 E. Future Activities Table 80 F. Milestones Progress Report 83 G. Success Story 170 2 I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution AMCU Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine APEOU Association of Private Enforcement Officers of Ukraine BPA Business Process Analysis CJC Community Justice Center CCU Constitutional Court of Ukraine CMI Court Management Institute COE Council of Europe COJ Council of Judges CRC Citizen Report Card CSO Civil Society Organization ER Expected Result FAIR USAID Fair, Accountable, Independent, and Responsible Judiciary Program in Ukraine GOU Government of Ukraine HACC High Anti-Corruption Court HCJ High Council of Justice HQC High Qualifications Commission of Judges IAHR Institute for Applied Humanitarian Research IFJSE International Framework for Judicial Support Excellence IT Information Technology JRC Judicial Reform Council JSRS Justice Sector Reform Strategy LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex LNU Lviv National University MDT Ministry of Digital Transformation MEISEE Mandatory, External, Independent, Standardized Entrance Exam for Master’s Degree Programs in Law and International Law USQU Unified State Qualifications Exam in Law MOE Ministry of Education and Science MOJ Ministry of Justice MSU Michigan State University NABU National Anti-Corruption Bureau NAHEQA National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance NAPC National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption NGO Nongovernmental Organization NSJ National School of Judges ODR Online Dispute Resolution OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PIO Public Information Officer PEO Private Enforcement Officers 3 SAF Strategic Activities Fund SAG Strategic Advisory Group SCt Supreme Court SGBV Sexual and Gender-based Violence SJA State Judicial Administration TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers UCU Ukrainian Catholic University 4 II. CONTEXT UPDATE It has been almost one year since the President of Ukraine established the Legal Reform Commission aiming at further development of the Ukrainian legal system with respect to the Constitution of Ukraine, rule of law principle, human rights and international obligations of Ukraine. As of today the work of the Commission has not resulted in comprehensive understanding and acceptance by all stakeholders’ vision of the justice sector reform. The President, the members of the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers come up with legislative initiatives, which are sometimes contradictory, fragmented, and inconsistent. This has already resulted in unconstitutionality of they laws adopted by the Parliament and pending submissions to the Constitutional Court regarding other laws, as well asmixed messages that the Ukrainian government sends to international partners. New Justice continues to be a neutral and professional resource to its partners and promotes a sustainable and comprehensive approach to the reforms with respect to rule of law principles and best international practices. Comprehensive legal education reform is at serious risk of backsliding for the first time since 2014 due to tension between the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Education (MOE) and Verkhovna Rada Sub-Committee on Higher Education. The MOJ’s withdraw itself from the coalition of legal education reform champions by relinquishing its competence in the field of legal education as does not see this area as priority one. The recent controversial Cabinet of Ministers’ appointment of the Rector of Chernihiv Technological University Serhiy Shkarlet, who had ties to the Party of Regions, as Acting Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, undermines the MOE integrity. The impact of COVID-19 continues to disrupt the regular functions of government, judiciary, business, and civil society in Ukraine. In the case of the judiciary the notable example of such impact is postponing the XVIII Regular Congress of Judges that was scheduled to take place on April 6 and 7, 2020 in Kyiv to elect a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) and the new Council of Judges (COJ) composition, as well as to consider other agenda items to be suggested by the delegates. However, due to the spread of COVID-19 the COJ has issued a decision to postpone the Congress of Judges for an indefinite term. The interviews with the candidates for the CCU, scheduled for March 27, 2020, were also postponed for an indefinite term. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic related quarantine restrictions also create new opportunities for New Justice efforts on building self-reliance of Ukrainian partners. The use of New Justice– promoted distance training and education tools for the MOE and National School of Judges (NSJ) as well as e-justice elements for courts is growing as the quarantine prompted New Justice governmental partners to find the political will to proceed with the modern tools listed above. In addition, New Justice non-governmental partners demonstrated that they are capable of rapidly transfering to remote online and phone work as legal services providers which increased their visibility in communities around Ukraine. ________________________________________ 5 III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Key Narrative Achievements During this reporting period New Justice continued making a significant impact in advancing justice sector reform in Ukraine despite the ongoing political instability and attempts towards backsliding and the new challenges of COVID-19 disruptions on the Government of Ukraine (GOU) functions. The following key achievements were made during this quarter: • New Justice finalized the TOR for the development of electronic forms to be used for complaints against public procurement outcomes to the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) and submitted it for review to the AMCU and the ProZorro State Enterprise. Based on the outcomes of the review, New Justice will evaluate further assistance to the AMCU in this area. • New Justice provided support to the Council of Judges (COJ) Judicial Ethics Committee in analyzing judicial ethics related gaps and issues, particularly those related to administration of justice during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to amend the Code of Judicial Ethics and Rules of Conduct for Court Staff. • In order to improve the High Council of Justice (HCJ) judicial discipline practice, New Justice continued developing the draft Manual on Disciplinary Proceedings against Judges to provide HCJ inspectors with practical guidance on preliminary screening of disciplinary complaints, investigating judicial misconduct, and drafting findings memo upon investigation results. • New Justice supported the HCJ with organizing an online roundtable with participation from the leadership of judicial institutions to discuss potential USAID support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. • New Justice continued support to the Verkhovna Rada Legal Policy Committee in developing amendments to the Law on the Judiciary and Status of Judges, the Law on the High Council of Justice, and other laws and regulations to address Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) decisions. • New Justice continued assisting the National School of Judges (NSJ) in developing a training program for appellate- and cassation-level judges “Judicial control over the caseflow management”, by involving international expert Dr. Giuseppe Fazari to finalize the curriculum. • In order to improve the Ukrainian judiciary’s capacity to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Justice facilitated cooperation between the National Judicial College in Reno (USA) and the NSJ to prepare and deliver three webinars for judges, court administrators, and mediators on “The Role of Judge and Court Administrator in a Pandemic”, “Mindfulness and Stress Reduction in Trying Times”, and “Mediation: Key Elements for Successful Programs”. • New Justice jointly with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (USA) and National Association of Mediators of Ukraine (NAMU) conducted a series of webinars regarding online mediation in different spheres. 6 • New Justice continued its efforts to improve procedures for judicial selection and qualifications evaluation through development of a Handbook for the High Qualifications
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