According to a recent article in Estonian news outlet Maaleht, the Ukrainian court system faces unprecedented issues due to the ongoing war. These include, what to do if the court has a hearing on an urgent matter, but an important person is at the front, and how many judges can work in one room of an apartment building if their building is demolished. There are also questions surrounding what to do in case an air raid alarm goes off during a court hearing — should they take a break or continue the proceedings in the basement?

The delegation from the Supreme Court of Estonia, comprising Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Villu Kõve, Chair of the Civil Chamber, Urmas Volens, Chair of the Administrative Chamber Ivo Pilving and Judge of the Criminal Chamber Paavo Randma, visited Ukraine at the end of last year to discuss these questions. The delegation of Estonian Supreme Court judges was the first to visit the Ukrainian Supreme Court since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

According to Ivo Pillingu, the Estonian and Ukrainian court systems are similar. However, many Ukrainians believe major issues can only be resolved at the highest court level in the land. "We carried out major reforms in Estonia in the early 2000s. They still have [these reforms] ahead of them. According to our Ukrainian colleagues, there is still a prevailing mindset whereby you cannot trust anyone below the top level," Pilving said.

Pilving explained to Maaleht that adapting to EU law was also a difficult process for Estonians, and so Ukrainians may feel the same way now. "We can hopefully involve them more and more in European cooperation formats, help build relationships and explain how certain things are meant to work," said Pilving.

After the visit to Kyiv, the judges concluded that the experience of Estonian judges with judicial reform could help their Ukrainian colleagues as they work to create an independent judicial system that conforms to EU practices. 

Pilving believed it would be best for his Ukrainian colleagues to come to Estonia or another EU member state for a week or two in order to view the relevant processes up close. The Supreme Court of Estonia then appealed to ESTDEV with a request to support the study visit for Ukrainian judges. This study visit would be the first step to strengthen communication between the two judicial systems by introducing Estonian practices. In the future, the Supreme Court of Estonian would also like to invite a judge from Ukraine to conduct an internship in Estonia.

Eva-Maria Liimets, manager of the democracy and rule of law program at ESTDEV, said that Ukraine faces a number of important reforms on the road to EU accession, including the development of an independent and EU-compliant justice system.

According to Liimets, ESTDEV considers it important to support the initiative of Estonian judges, as Estonia's practical experience and working examples will help Ukraine carry out the reforms necessary for accession to the European Union more effectively. "It is clear that one study visit will not make the system instantly democratic and transparent. But we hope the study visit will open up new opportunities for cooperation that will create lasting change in Ukraine's legal landscape and contribute to their Euro-Atlantic integration," said Liimets.

The Estonian delegation has also requested that its Ukrainian partners be given separate training on fundamental rights and the European Court of Human Rights. To this end, the Supreme Court plans to seek support from the European Commission to create a comprehensive training program for Ukraine, just as Estonia once had during the EU accession process.

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