On February 02, 2023, a working meeting was held between the leadership of the Secretariat of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and representatives of the USAID Justice for All Program: counselors Anna Sukhova and Serhii Suchenko, expert Elvira Fayzullina, and IT expert Andrii Zhuravlev. The event was also attended by the Director of the Information Technology Department of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine Oleksandr Chykin, Acting Director of the State Enterprise “Center for Court Services” Andriy Slіusarenko, and Acting Director General of the State Enterprise “Informational Court Systems” Mykola Kozlov.
The Commission was represented by the Head of the Secretariat Olena Ponomarenko, Director of the Department of Judicial Career Taras Neshyk, Acting Head of the Department of Information Technologies Serhii Korovka, and Acting Head of the International Cooperation Division Denys Kuznetsov.
The participants of the working meeting discussed the report prepared by the Program’s expert Elvira Fayzullina based on the results of the review and assessment of the current software functionality of the Automation Workflow System of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine (AWS).
The purpose of the report is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the functionality of the existing electronic modules, taking into account the needs of the Commission’s Secretariat to update the AWS, and the software’s ability to perform the tasks envisaged by the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and Status of Judges”, provide recommendations on the implementation of the functionality of creating and maintaining judicial dossiers and dossiers of candidates for the position of a judge in electronic form, which may later become a separate subsystem (module) of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (UJITS).
The AWS functionality is an important component of the UJITS architecture. Given the prospect of implementing UJITS, any modifications to the existing software in the judicial system should be based on system priorities and opportunities to ensure data integration and process optimization. The report emphasizes the need to create the possibility of data exchange with the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System, in particular, data on the participation of judges in court proceedings, courts, and judges, etc.
Ms. Fayzullina emphasized that the document “Technical and Functional Requirements of the AWS”, developed by the Commission as technical specifications, is the result of a great deal of work done by the team of the Commission’s Secretariat. This document contains a comprehensive list of specific tasks that will accelerate the achievement of the desired results.
Olena Ponomarenko, Head of the Commission’s Secretariat, emphasized that the process of developing and implementing new modules of the AWS should include all stakeholders, be transparent and fully meet the functional needs of the Secretariat.
At the end of the meeting, which was held in such format for the first time, the participants unanimously concluded that fruitful cooperation and joint systematic steps in implementing the recommendations in the report will allow for full automation of all the Commission’s work processes.
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The USAID Justice for All Program has been launched in Ukraine on October 1, 2021, and is implemented to promote the idea of justice for all by strengthening the justice system, justice services and community involvement to ensure an adequate response to the legal problems and needs of Ukrainian people in Judiciary.
The USAID Justice for All Program will be built on the achievements of the USAID New Justice Program and will use its achievements to coordinate close cooperation with domestic partners, USAID and US government projects, and other projects of international donor organizations in Ukraine.