Ukraine: Young legal minds engage with global justice leaders at IBA co-sponsored Criminal Justice Summer School
This summer, a group of promising young legal minds were brought together in Kyiv, Ukraine for an intensive and inspiring programme at the 2025 Criminal Justice Summer School (the Summer School) – a five-day syllabus designed to cultivate the next generation of justice professionals. It was organised by JustGroup, co-sponsored by the International Bar Association (IBA) – the global voice of the legal profession – and supported by key national and international institutions. The initiative offered 25 Ukraine-based top law students and early-career practitioners a rare opportunity to engage directly with leading voices in law, ethics and reform.
Set against the backdrop of Ukraine’s evolving justice landscape, the programme blended academic depth with practical training to:
- prepare participants for the complex legal challenges ahead;
- bridge the gap between students and criminal justice institutions by offering practical, value-driven and human-centred legal education;
- develop a new generation of legal professionals who are bold, ethical and committed to justice and human rights;
- connect theory with practice by exposing participants to real-world cases, institutions and practitioners in the field of criminal justice; and
- foster a professional culture based on honesty, openness, courage, respect for human rights and critical thinking.
IBA tutor representation included: Dr Mark Ellis, IBA Executive Director; Kirsty Sutherland, Co-Chair of the IBA War Crimes Committee; and Dmytro Hladkyi Coordinator in Ukraine of the IBA-founded eyeWitness to Atrocities, an app used to capture tamper-proof photo, video and audio footage of human rights violations and atrocity crimes for use as potential evidence in legal proceedings.
A standout moment for the Summer School students was day three, held at the Supreme Court of Ukraine, where participants examined the complex legal issues of international crimes, war crimes and trials in absentia. Students met with Andriy Leshchenko, Deputy Prosecutor General, Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Mykola Mazur, Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Dr Ellis participated by video link from London. The session focused on the legal and ethical challenges surrounding trials in absentia.
Dr Ellis commented: ‘Even amid the extraordinary and unprecedented challenges facing Ukraine as a result of Russia’s brutal actions, the fairness of national legal proceedings must not be compromised. Programmes such as the Criminal Justice Summer School are essential to sustaining a legal culture grounded in integrity, human rights and accountability. The way Ukraine conducts its domestic trials matters more than ever. Fairness, transparency and adherence to international standards are not optional; they embody Ukraine’s standing in the international community.’
Together, the day three tutors explored the balance between ensuring justice in the face of atrocity and upholding the defendant’s right to a fair trial under international standards. They offered a behind-the-scenes look at Ukraine’s evolving strategy for prosecuting war crimes and engaging with international justice mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. A Q&A session followed with the Ukrainian Supreme Court President Stanislav Kravchenko, who discussed judicial reform, the development of jury trials and the unification of legal practice in Ukraine.
To add a deeper moral dimension to the legal discussions, the day concluded with students visiting the Bykivnia Graves National Historical and Memorial Reserve, a burial place for victims of the Stalinist regime that reflects the historical costs of political repression and the ongoing role of the legal profession in defending truth and justice. For future lawyers, this was a moment of rethinking: from the theory of international justice to personal responsibility for preserving memory and building a just society.
Throughout the Summer School, students covered the following topics:
- how decisions are made at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR);
- interviewing techniques to use on witnesses and suspects in criminal court cases;
- how to argue a case effectively in a real courtroom setting; and
- the workings of the international criminal justice system.
Participants were also tutored in:
- the value and importance of freedom and the rule of law as the foundation of democracy;
- how to acknowledge legal professional obligations, in protecting justice and human rights and the consequences of the law being used as a tool of repression;
- learning from history, reflecting on the events in Bykivnia and the importance of protecting every citizen, irrespective of political affiliations.
The five-day Criminal Justice Summer School was held in Kyiv between 18-22 August 2025. It was available to third and sixth-year law students studying in Ukraine. Travel to the venue and accommodation were covered to encourage all talented students to apply regardless of financial means. The programme offered students the opportunity to deepen their level of understanding and knowledge in areas ranging from criminal justice, international law, human rights and anti-corruption to investigative interviewing and war crimes prosecution. Participants engaged with judges, prosecutors, lawyers and international experts. The programme combined academic rigor with hands-on exercises, offering students exposure to real-world challenges in the Ukrainian and international justice systems.
The Summer School was supported by the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and Azones Law Firm, in partnership with the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the High Anti-Corruption Court, the Faculty of Law NaUKMA and the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) Faculty of Law.
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Contact: IBApressoffice@int-bar.org
Notes
- Related material:
- The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
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Find the IBA on social media here:
IBA - The IBA War Crimes Committee works to promote justice around the world and uphold the principle of accountability. The Committee focuses on atrocity crimes, international criminal law, and practice. It provides a forum for practitioners and scholars, offering reliable resources and a network of contacts in this field. The Committee supports international, ad hoc and domestic war crimes tribunals and collaborates with the IBA’s Human Rights Institute to promote justice and accountability. The Committee aims include being a leading professional body for international criminal law, providing valuable resources, and inspiring young lawyers in this area.
- About eyeWitness to Atrocities (eyeWitness) it is a London-based non-profit organisation, created as an initiative of the International Bar Association (IBA) in 2015, with LexisNexis hosting footage on a secure server. By combining law with technology, eyeWitness’ controlled-capture camera app for Android phones was designed to ensure that digital footage of mass atrocity crimes and serious human rights violations meets the admissibility standards of courts. eyeWitness offers the only system specifically designed by legal professionals for human rights defenders to collect, verify and safeguard digital evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and serious human rights violations.
- Find the eyeWitness to Atrocities app on Google Play here: tinyurl.com/qctl4s6
- Find eyeWitness to Atrocities on social media here:
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