German Galushchenko holds bilateral meetings with Justice Ministers of Council of Europe
On the sidelines of the Informal Conference of Council of Europe Ministers of Justice titled “Cross-Border Cooperation and Mutual Assistance: Strengthening Collaboration to Combat Transnational Crime,” Ukraine’s Minister of Justice, German Galushchenko, met with his counterparts from Norway, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Finland, as well as the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
The discussions covered:
- Support for Ukraine in response to russia’s full-scale aggression;
- Importance of finalizing an international compensation mechanism and confiscating russian assets;
- Justice for Ukraine, including the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression;
- Return of deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children;
- Ukraine’s European integration aspirations and accelerating EU accession negotiations.
Special emphasis was placed on the need to exchange experiences with EU member states regarding the adaptation of legislation to the EU acquis. In particular, during the meeting with Permanent Secretary of the Finland’s Ministry of Justice, Antti Leinonen, discussions focused on studying Finland’s experience in international judicial cooperation.
With Jack Richards, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the UK Ministry of Justice, Minister Galushchenko discussed the implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of justice. This includes:
- Developing modern and resilient justice systems;
- Supporting vulnerable groups;
- Cooperation in criminal justice and the execution of sentences;
- Strengthening collaboration in civil justice;
- Expanding access to dispute resolution mechanisms in Ukraine.
During the talks, there was a mutual understanding of the importance of cooperation in the justice sector, with a focus on human rights protection, including in the penitentiary system.
It’s worth mentioning, on September 19 in Valletta, German Galushchenko signed the Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Valletta Protocol), which modernizes mechanisms for international cooperation in crime investigations.