Project profile — Judicial Education for Economic Growth

• Ukraine (100.00%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Legal and judicial development (15130) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (principal objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The aim of this project is to increase court efficiency and fairness in resolving commercial disputes for Ukrainian business, which ultimately contributes to improving the business enabling environment in Ukraine. Project components include strengthening the management capacity of the National School of Judges, with oversight from the High Qualifications Commission of Judges, to support and to undertake the development and delivery of skills-based, gender-sensitive, social context and business-related education to candidate, newly appointed and sitting judges. Simultaneously, it aims to improve the capacity of selected pilot courts in the districts of Ivano-Frankivsk and Odessa to handle commercial cases and use early settlement mechanisms. Canadian implementing organizations include the National Judicial Institute and the Office of the Commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: improved institutional performance of the National School of Judges (NSJ), overseen by the High Qualification Commission (HQC); established judicial education systems within the NSJ, that are skills-based, gender-sensitive, socially contextual and business-oriented, with oversight provided by the HQC.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 2018) include: (1) institutional performance of the National School of Judges of Ukraine improved: new interactive, skills-based, gender-sensitive and social context methodology integrated into judicial education in Ukraine; (2) 17 innovative and gender-sensitive training courses for judges developed and included in the official judicial training curriculum; (3) more than 2,500 judges trained according to new interactive methodology that incorporate gender equality; (4) more than 320 judges and lawyers from 11 regions trained in judge-assisted dispute resolution methodology; (5) a clause providing for an option of a judge-assisted dispute resolution included in the amended text of the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as in the procedural codes. These have contributed to modernization of the judicial education system and improvement in the delivery of justice in Ukraine.

• Proactive disclosure