Title page 1

Contents 7

Foreword 4

Acknowledgements 5

Abbreviations and acronyms 10

Executive summary 12

1. Pathways to reform: Assessment and recommendations 14

1.1. Introduction and general assessment 15

1.2. Recommendations 16

1.2.1. Improving sectoral governance, co-ordination and planning 16

1.2.2. Strengthening trust through the application of justice system values: integrity, independence, accountability and transparency 21

1.2.3. Enhancing capacity, performance and data-driven justice 25

1.2.4. Bolstering financial resilience and agility, infrastructure and operational continuity 28

1.2.5. Improving people-centred service design and delivery 30

1.3. About the OECD Justice Review of Ukraine 33

1.3.1. Approach and scope 33

1.3.2. Presentation of the report 34

References 35

Note 36

2. Foundations for justice governance: Rule of law reforms for EU integration, recovery and resilience 37

2.1. Introduction 38

2.2. The rule of law and democracy: A shared commitment 38

2.2.1. The rule of law as a foundation for democracy and economic growth 38

2.2.2. Shared commitment to the rule of law 39

2.3. Rule of law in Ukraine: A path towards EU integration 39

2.3.1. From independence to gradual institutional separation 39

2.3.2. The Revolution of Dignity as a catalyst of reforms 40

2.3.3. Rule of law, resilience and accelerated integration since 2022 42

2.3.4. Pressures on justice governance, service delivery and access to justice 43

2.3.5. Justice as a public service: A people-centred justice system in times of war 44

References 45

Notes 47

3. Systemic reframing: Enhancing governance, planning and co-ordination in the justice system 48

3.1. Introduction 49

3.2. Governance of the justice system 49

3.2.1. Baseline framework: separation of powers 49

3.2.2. Mapping the justice system: Main institutions and functions 52

3.2.3. Enhancing judicial governance 57

3.2.4. Strengthening prosecutorial governance 59

3.2.5. Alternative Dispute Resolution 61

3.3. Strategic vision, planning and reform co-ordination in the justice system 63

3.3.1. Governance and implementation challenges 68

3.3.2. Evidence-based justice planning and evaluation 70

3.4. Co-ordination and co-operation in the justice system 70

3.4.1. Horizontal co-ordination and co-operation 70

3.4.2. Vertical co-ordination and co-operation 73

3.4.3. Co-ordination with CSOs 74

3.5. Recommendations 75

Annex 3.A. Brief description of roles of justice institutions 77

References 81

Notes 86

4. Strengthening trust through the application of justice values 87

4.1. Introduction 88

4.2. Strengthening independence and impartiality in the justice sector 88

4.2.1. Institutional independence of the judiciary 88

4.2.2. Individual independence and impartiality of judges 92

4.2.3. Functional autonomy of prosecutors 95

4.3. Enhancing accountability in the justice sector 97

4.3.1. Disciplinary accountability 97

4.3.2. Performance evaluation 102

4.3.3. Removal from office and functional immunity safeguards 103

4.4. Improving judicial and prosecutorial integrity 104

4.4.1. International standards 104

4.4.2. Overall state of integrity in the justice sector 104

4.4.3. Integrity safeguards in judicial selection, evaluation and career progression 106

4.4.4. Public integrity standards 111

4.4.5. Asset and interest declarations, conflicts of interest and whistleblower protection 112

4.4.6. High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine 113

4.4.7. Integrity and professionalism across the broader justice system 114

4.5. Procedural justice as a foundation for legitimacy and trust 114

4.5.1. Fairness, voice and legitimacy 114

4.5.2. Fair and impartial treatment 116

4.5.3. Access to effective remedies and enforcement 116

4.6. Increasing transparency, participation and information integrity 117

4.6.1. Access to court information 117

4.6.2. Public court hearings 118

4.6.3. Media and communication 118

4.6.4. Civil society participation 119

4.6.5. Information integrity 119

4.7. Recommendations 120

References 122

Notes 129

5. Governing for performance and agility: Strengthening strategic and operational capacity in the justice system 130

5.1. Introduction 131

5.2. Financing the system for performance and resilience 131

5.2.1. Financing the justice sector for performance, agility and reform delivery 131

5.2.2. Budget of the justice sector 133

5.2.3. Spending composition and investment capacity in the justice sector 134

5.2.4. Remaining challenges 136

5.3. Strengthening human resource management and workforce capacity 138

5.3.1. Recruitment, selection and competency-based assessment 138

5.3.2. Staffing levels and deployment 139

5.3.3. Talent attraction, retention, remuneration and working conditions 142

5.3.4. Training and competency development 144

5.3.5. Prosecution workforce capacity 145

5.3.6. Remaining challenges 147

5.4. Measuring performance and quality of justice 147

5.4.1. What performance indicators show 147

5.4.2. From caseflow monitoring to quality assurance 150

5.4.3. Quality assurance policies in Ukraine 151

5.4.4. Remaining challenges 153

5.5. Enforcement of court decisions as part of justice system performance 153

5.5.1. Why enforcement matters 153

5.5.2. Enforcement institutions and operational constraints 154

5.5.3. Monitoring gaps and reform priorities 154

5.6. Digitalisation and data governance 156

5.6.1. Digitalisation to strengthen continuity and service delivery 156

5.6.2. AI use in the justice sector 159

5.6.3. Data governance as a management and strategic function 160

5.6.4. Remaining challenges 160

5.7. Rebuilding justice infrastructure: enabling a resilient justice system 162

5.8. Recommendations 163

References 166

Notes 171

6. Enhancing access to justice in Ukraine: Towards a people-centred justice system 172

6.1. Introduction 173

6.2. Access to justice and legal needs 173

6.2.1. Understanding legal needs 173

6.2.2. General barriers to accessible and user-friendly justice services 174

6.2.3. Individuals and groups facing heightened barriers to justice 175

6.3. Delivering people-centred justice: Towards a continuum of services 179

6.3.1. Court services and constitutional justice 179

6.3.2. Prosecutorial services 184

6.3.3. Legal aid services 185

6.3.4. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights 188

6.3.5. ADR services 189

6.3.6. Other local and targeted justice services 190

6.4. Empowering people to navigate the justice system 193

6.4.1. Legal awareness and outreach 193

6.5. Recommendations 197

References 199

Notes 204

Table 3.1. Number of local and appellate courts in Ukraine 54

Table 3.2. Mitigating institutional complexity in judicial governance 59

Table 3.3. Overview of strategic documents for the justice system 66

Table 4.1. Expert bodies supporting the selection of judges and members of the HCJ and the HQCJ 108

Table 5.1. Budget of the justice sector in Ukraine in 2026 (thousand UAH) 133

Table 5.2. Vacant judicial positions 140

Table 5.3. Performance standards, criteria and indicators of the CPE Framework 152

Table 5.4. Uptake of IT solutions in the justice sector 159

Boxes 9

Box 2.1. Martial Law in Ukraine since February 2022 42

Box 3.1. Separation of powers in the Constitution of Ukraine (1996) 50

Box 3.2. Provisions on judicial independence in the Constitution of Ukraine (1996) 51

Box 3.3. Establishment of new specialised administrative courts 55

Box 3.4. Models of judicial governance in OECD countries 58

Box 3.5. Overview of ADR in Ukraine 61

Box 3.6. Centralised registers of mediators in OECD countries 62

Box 3.7. Measures in the Rule of Law Roadmap ('Judiciary' part) 64

Box 3.8. Priorities of the law enforcement reform strategy 67

Box 3.9. Strategic planning in the judiciary: The example of Costa Rica 69

Box 3.10. Co-ordination of justice sector reforms through working groups 71

Box 3.11. Wartime justice co-ordination: war crimes investigations and international support 73

Box 3.12. Public Integrity Council as an example of civil society involvement in the judiciary 74

Box 4.1. International and regional standards on judicial independence 89

Box 4.2. ENCJ Guidelines for the Funding of the Judiciary 91

Box 4.3. Relevant standards on judicial accountability 98

Box 4.4. Judicial accountability mechanisms in select OECD countries 100

Box 4.5. Unified indicators for assessing judicial integrity and professional ethics 109

Box 4.6. Interpretation of the principles of judicial independence and impartiality by the ECtHR 116

Box 5.1. OECD standards for performance budgeting and public financial management 132

Box 5.2. Performance-based court budgeting in the Netherlands 137

Box 5.3. Ukraine Donor Platform 138

Box 5.4. Selected reforms in OECD countries to mitigate court understaffing 141

Box 5.5. Performance evaluation of judges in select OECD countries 145

Box 5.6. Strengthening prosecution performance and accountability: Lessons from Latvia 146

Box 5.7. Quality assurance frameworks and tools in justice systems 151

Box 5.8. Strategy for Resolving the Problem of Non-Enforcement of Court Decisions in Ukraine (2020-2025) 155

Box 5.9. The proposed IT system for the judiciary - EUICS/EU Interoperability exercise 156

Box 5.10. Digital justice solutions in OECD countries and Ukraine 157

Box 5.11. Objectives and values of data governance for people-centred justice 161

Box 6.1. Legal needs assessments implemented in Ukraine 174

Box 6.2. Domestic violence courts (problem-solving courts) 176

Box 6.3. National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Space through 2030 177

Box 6.4. Judicial map reform in Ukraine 180

Box 6.5. Mobile and outreach court services in other countries 182

Box 6.6. The Victims and Witnesses' Coordination Centre 185

Box 6.7. Legal aid services provided by CSOs 186

Box 6.8. Mandatory mediation in Italy and Australia 189

Box 6.9. Co-location and one-stop shop models for access to justice 191

Box 6.10. Strategies implemented by Ukrainian institutions to enhance public awareness 193

Box 6.11. The WikiLegalAid Platform: a step towards enhanced legal awareness in Ukraine 195

Box 6.12. People-centred approach to delivering legal information to war victims 196