On 24 July 2025, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives held the second presentation of the Green Paper on civil and patronage service in judicial bodies. This time, the event was co-organised with the All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees (UACES). The roundtable focused primarily on exchanging experiences, discussing the needs and visions of court employees themselves — heads of court apparatuses, their deputies, judicial assistants, and others. The presentation took the form of a professional dialogue: informal in tone yet centred on systemic issues and potential solutions.
Svitlana Matviienko, Executive Director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, emphasised that the Green Paper serves as a starting point for sustained dialogue:
The meeting was moderated by Bohdan Kryklyvenko, Head of the Secretariat of the High Anti-Corruption Court and UACES Board Member. According to him, the presentation of the study is a significant step towards ensuring that the voices of court staff are heard and that real change can begin.
Karyna Aslanyan, Head of the Rule of Law Area at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, presented the findings of the research and invited everyone to the discussion:
The discussion participants — including Yurii Fedorovych (Commercial Court of Kharkiv Region), Olha Pasichnyk (Odesa District Administrative Court), Serhii Andrushchenko (Commercial Court of Odesa Region), Oksana Kolomiiets (Vyshhorod District Court), among others — shared experiences based on their day-to-day professional situations. All of them highlighted several pressing issues: a shortage of staff in courts located in smaller towns, a mismatch between workload and remuneration, and difficulties with digitalisation and the use of electronic systems due to inadequate technical support.
Olha Pasichnyk, Head of the Secretariat of the Odesa District Administrative Court, raised important concerns related to the recognition of court staff, professional training and its assessment, and the lengthy process of special vetting for candidates seeking civil service positions — noting that the lack of clear regulation around vetting timelines directly affects the court’s daily operations.
Nataliia Korol, Head of the UACES and Head of the Secretariat of the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal, noted:
All participants agreed that it is important not only to identify problems but also to propose solutions. It is vital that court staff are heard — something clearly demonstrated by the research conducted by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives. For instance, according to Karyna Aslanyan, one of the in-depth interviews lasted nearly four hours.
The Green Paper on the Functioning of Civil and Patronage Service in the Judicial Authorities of Ukraine is soon to be published on the platforms of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.
The event took place within the framework of the project ‘Governance Improvement Initiative in Ukraine: Empowering Policy Making for Societal Progress’, supported by Switzerland. Responsibility for the content of the research and its presentation lies solely with the NGO Agency for Legislative Initiatives. The views and opinions expressed during the presentation and in the study do not necessarily reflect those of the donor.
