Below please find the brief description of the projects, the recipient and executor of which UHHRU is in the form of sub-grants, provided by the USAID Nove Pravosuddya Justice Sector Reform Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

1. “Implementation of regional monitoring of the work of the system of free legal aid in Ukraine”

In accordance with Order of the Ministry of Justice No. 287/7 of December 31, 2014, the Plan of Measures for the Development of the System of Free Legal Aid, approved by the Ministry of Justice by Order No. 331/5 of March 10, 2015, the Ministry launched 100 local centers, providing secondary free legal aid (FLA). They provide legal assistance in civil and administrative cases since July 1, 2015.

It is worth noting that the population highly demands legal assistance in civil and administrative cases, and the demand is constantly increasing, so the role of local centers in responding to this demand is also increasing all the time. Therefore, the effective functioning of local centers is one of the key aspects of the development of a system of free legal aid in civil and administrative cases in Ukraine. Since the establishment of these centers, there has already been sufficient period of time and it is now important to carry out an independent assessment of the effectiveness of their work in order to determine at what stage of development these centers are located and how effective their activities are.

This project aims at helping the system of free legal aid to become more effective in fulfilling its tasks. Among the most specific objectives, one can distinguish the following:

• Development of a means and methodology for the objective and independent evaluation of the work of state centers, which could be used on a regular basis by any stakeholder.
• Evaluation (monitoring) of the status of work of local centers of the system of FLA throughout Ukraine and formulation of a report based on monitoring results, which will include some recommendations for improving the work of the centers.

Period of implementation: July-December 2017

2. “Annual review of national judicial practice “Precedent UA-2017”

Following the adoption of new provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which obliged the Ukrainian courts to apply judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Ukrainian judicial system began to take the first steps towards convergence with the Anglo-Saxon system of law. The Precedent UA study is the only systematic study of this aspect of court activity in the country in Ukraine. The problem of implementation of ECHR decisions is multifaceted and complex: it involves changing the approaches to particular issues, views on the essence of issues, and in general the paradigm of change in the legal culture of society. At the same time, the main role belongs to judges who apply approaches based on respect for human rights in their daily practice.

The Precedent UA study is necessary to monitor the application of ECHR case law, not only using quantitative indicators but also qualitative, in order to avoid the formation of misleading national practices, with distorted approaches to international principles of law. The subject of research is the same every year, but it is a subject of change: in 2017, the subject of the study was the question of the application of the ECHR case law concerning Ukraine under Article 6 (in criminal cases) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The project has the following objectives:

• to establish the quantitative and qualitative level of application the ECHR case law related to Ukraine under Article 6 of the Convention by national judges; to establish the reasons for the unsuccessful (incorrect) application of the ECHR case law by national judges;
• to distinguish the progress in applying the ECHR’s approaches and express respect for those judges who support the consistent move towards the implementation of human rights standards in the judicial practice of Ukraine: at the end of the year, the tens of best courts or judges are solemnly awarded.

Period of implementation: September 2017 – July 2018

The American people, through the USAID, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for 55 years. In Ukraine, USAID’s assistance focuses on three areas: Health and Social Transition, Economic Growth and Democracy and Governance. For additional information about USAID programs in Ukraine, please call the USAID Information and Communications Division at +38(044)521-5741, or visit the website: http://ukraine.usaid.gov or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.

The USAID Nove Pravosuddya Justice Sector Reform Program (New Justice Program) started implementation in Ukraine in October 2016 and builds upon the successes, partnerships and efforts of the USAID Ukraine Rule of Law Project (UROL) and FAIR Justice Project (FAIR). The purpose of the program is to provide support to the judiciary, the Government, Parliament, the lawyer community, the legal circles, civil society, the media and citizens in creating the conditions for the functioning of an independent, accountable, transparent and effective justice system that ensures the rule of law and in the fight against corruption. For more information on the program, please call +38(044)581-3303.