Green Paper by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives: Key Aspects of the Functioning of the Staff of First-Instance and Appellate Courts

Attention to court staff, unlike the judiciary itself, which has been the focus of constant reform, has remained fragmentary and usually limited to responses to current challenges. Yet it is court staff — civil servants, judicial assistants, technical personnel — who organise the work of the court on a daily basis. Nevertheless, despite the decisive role of staff in ensuring the effective functioning of justice, this category of employees remains systematically undervalued in both legal regulation and in public perception.

The issue of paying attention to the activities of court staff has become particularly important since the start of the full-scale invasion, as the conditions under which the justice system now operates have undergone fundamental change.

Focus and Methodology of the Study

Given the identified relevance, the new study by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives not only describes existing problems in the period 2020–2024 but also provides a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the functioning of the civil and patronage service in courts based on empirical data, practices, regulatory analysis and European approaches. Moreover, the study initiates a discussion on forming new personnel and the ethical and managerial culture of the judiciary.

In conducting the study, the ALI relied on both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis: 

• In-depth interviews: 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with judges and court staff, which allowed a deeper understanding of the situation and the identification of structural and regional features.
• Survey of court staff: more than 1,000 employees of the civil and patronage service in first-instance and appellate courts took part.
• Examination of legal regulation, organisational approaches and funding.
• International context: the study analysed models of judicial administration and career development of court staff in such countries as Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico and others.

Systemic Challenges

The study revealed deeply rooted problems that have developed over a long period and have been exacerbated by martial law:

1. a critical staffing shortage that has become chronic;
2. a personnel selection system that is fragmented and non-transparent;
3. non-competitive remuneration that does not correspond to the level of responsibility and workload;
4. insufficient material and technical support for courts;
5. inequality of working conditions between lower-level courts and higher courts;
6. problems of professional development and training of staff. Respondents pointed to formalism, lack of practical orientation and limited accessibility of training;
7. the impact of the war and the absence of adaptation mechanisms. The judiciary of Ukraine, under the extremely difficult conditions of martial law, has demonstrated an ability to maintain its functionality. At the same time, the adaptation mechanisms themselves have proved insufficiently flexible and slow;
8. corruption risks and the absence of proper control mechanisms, as well as a lack of anti-corruption training, which reduces trust in the judiciary.

Such systemic shortcomings have both objective and managerial causes. Some are driven by external factors, above all the impact of martial law; others are the result of the long-term neglect of personnel policy and proper funding of the judiciary.

Recommendations

Based on the analysis of respondents’ answers, interviews and collected documents, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives has prepared more than 40 comprehensive recommendations for the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, in particular regarding:

1. reforming the system of remuneration and material and technical support;
2. improving the existing system of recruitment for the civil and patronage service in judicial bodies;
3. ensuring internal independence and effective interaction;
4. improving the system of professional training for court staff;
5. increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the civil and patronage service in judicial bodies under martial law;
6. reducing corruption risks in the civil and patronage service of courts.

More on the key problems and recommendations for addressing them can be found in the new study by the ALI.

This study was carried out within the framework of the project ‘Ukraine Governance and Policy Improvement Initiative: Empowering Policymaking for Social Progress’, supported by Switzerland. Responsibility for the content of this study lies solely with the NGO Agency for Legislative Initiatives. The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the donor.