Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of the “Law and Order” Area at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI), participated in the human rights dialogue “The Human Rights Reforms We Need for EU Accession”
The event focused on the need to improve human rights mechanisms in Ukraine, the impact of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings against Ukraine on the EU’s reform expectations, the government’s readiness to implement those rulings, and the role civil society can and must play in ensuring accountability in this process.
ALI contributed to the panel discussion titled “When Will Detentions Become European?” — a critical topic given that unlawful detention remains a serious issue in Ukraine. Over the past 18 months alone, the ECHR has ordered Ukraine to pay over €1.4 million in compensation for violations of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) — the right to liberty and security.
Yevhen Krapyvin noted that in just the first quarter of this year, the ECHR issued 17 rulings under Article 5, accounting for a third of all rulings. Key, recurring violations include: deprivation of liberty without a court order; detention orders lacking specified time limits; court rulings authorising pre-trial detention without proper justification; delays in releasing individuals from custody after court decisions; delays in drawing up arrest protocols; detention without legal basis prior to judicial review, etc.
So, what’s the core problem? While the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine formally regulates the procedures for detention, application of preventive measures, and their extension, systemic issues persist in practice.
Separately, Yevhen noted the Custody Records system Custody Records system A system of electronic recording of all actions taken with detained persons. , which has been expanding significantly in recent years. However, it does not cover all the “grey zones” where investigative and operational units may attempt to extract information in an extralegal manner for further use. Such practices are often accompanied by isolation from legal assistance, failure to notify relatives, psychological pressure, and improper treatment. The system has been actively implemented in the National Police for over five years, yet there is still a lack of a comprehensive assessment of its effectiveness and overall impact on the problem. Therefore, conducting such an evaluation should be a priority for experts in this field — especially since this issue is increasingly raised in the context of European integration.
Undoubtedly, to achieve tangible progress in all aspects related to human rights, it is essential to comprehensively improve the mechanisms of the rule of law and law enforcement in Ukraine. Supporting and providing expert assistance to state institutions on this path is one of the core missions of the Agency, which is precisely why we have begun to engage more deeply with issues related to the prosecution service and public order.
