On 18 July, the scientific discussion “The Institute of Judicial Officers in Lithuania and Ukraine” was held in the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and judicial officers from various regions, such as Kyiv, Odessa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, members of the Seimas, judges, university professors, members of the Presidium and the Honorary Courts of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, judicial officers and other guests.
On 18 July, the scientific discussion “The Institute of Judicial Officers in Lithuania and Ukraine” was held in the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and judicial officers from various regions, such as Kyiv, Odessa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, members of the Seimas, judges, university professors, members of the Presidium and the Honorary Courts of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, judicial officers and other guests.
Moderator of the discussion Prof. Habit. Dr. V. Nekrošius emphasized that Ukraine needed to move forward and perhaps even experiment in individual regions of Ukraine. “For instance, in Odessa, the number of state judicial officers could be reduced thrice, private judicial officers could be employed, which, I believe, would result in the increase of the efficiency of debt recovery up to 10 %,”– suggested the professor.
Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Lithuania Prof. Dr. V. Višinskis noted that the consolidation of confidence in judicial institutions in Ukraine should be among the priorities. “The court must not only control the activity of judicial officers but also assist in resolving disputes. Which is why I invite Ukrainian courts not only to take decisions, not only to control the activity of judicial officers, but also to contribute to enforcement. When it comes to responsibility, we have in mind that after the court approves the actions of a judicial officer, the court also becomes responsible, which is perceived as assistance,” – stressed Prof. Dr. V. Višinskis.
Judicial officers should be provided with adequate instruments and functions to their assistants. This is what the Ukrainian system of enforcement of judgements lacks today. The judicial officer assumes responsibility for the whole process, the responsibility is individual and sole, however, the work must be the teamwork of the judicial offer and his/her qualified assistants, – emphasized I. Karalienė.
According to Chairwoman of the Presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania I. Karalienė, the reform of the legal system already ongoing in Ukraine for some time will improve the protection of rights of the citizens, the efficiency of debt recovery, investments and business environment. “Not only specialists and professionals working in the system of judicial officers but also the efficiency of the process is important and should not be disregarded. The process of recovery should focus on prompt and comprehensive information on the debtor. Judicial officers should be provided with adequate instruments and functions to their assistants. This is what the Ukrainian system of enforcement of judgements lacks today. The judicial officer assumes responsibility for the whole process, the responsibility is individual and sole, however, the work must be the teamwork of the judicial offer and his/her qualified assistants,” – emphasized I. Karalienė.
In Lithuania, changes are obvious – according to the survey conducted by Prime Consulting in October of 2017, confidence in judicial officers increased up to 71 %. D. Satkauskienė, the Director of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, General Secretary of European Union of Judicial Officers, stressed that improving the quality of work of judicial officers of Lithuania many procedures was transferred to the virtual space, which allowed the creditor and the debtor to monitor the work of the judicial officer and to ensure the maximum transparency of the system. The Ukrainian judicial officers should also move to the direction of introduction of information technologies.
Representative of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine O. Olyinyk highlighted that it was also attempted to clarify the state system of judicial officers and raise its efficiency by motivational measures. According to private judicial officer V. Prytuliak, high standards of education imposed on judicial officers, i. e. the obligation to have not only the Bachelor’s degree but also the Master’s degree as well as continuous training, allows the system to have competent judicial officers.
This discussion was one of the practical activities provided for in the implementation, in May-September 2018, of the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Project No K2018-VB-UK-06 under the title “Implementation of the legal reform in Ukraine: the development of professional activity and services of judicial officers, the consolidation of confidence in the institute of private judicial officers in the society”. This project implemented by the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania in cooperation with project partners – the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Association of Private Judicial officers of Ukraine – is funded by the Development Cooperation and Democracy Support Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. The project intends to increase confidence in the Ukrainian legal system, to encourage a positive attitude towards judicial officers performing functions entrusted by the state, to promote transparent and efficient activities of judicial officers, and to create a positive investment climate in the country.