October 30, 2025
On October 20–24, 2025, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Gorodovenko (head of delegation), Viktor Kychun, Vasyl Lemak, Alla Oliinyk, and Oleh Pervomayskyi took part in the Experience Exchange Program for Judges of Higher Courts (Federal Republic of Germany, Karlsruhe, Munich; Republic of Austria, Vienna).
On October 20, 2025, an exchange of experience took place between judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and Henning Radtke, a judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany. The meeting was devoted to discussing the specifics of the activities of constitutional courts, their relations with other judicial institutions, as well as issues of independence and impartiality of judges. On the same day, the delegation met with Anya Seibert-Fohr, a judge of the European Court of Human Rights. The focus was on the practice of applying Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the context of ensuring the independence of the judiciary.
On October 21, 2025, the delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine visited the Federal Supreme Court of Germany, where they met with the presiding judges of the First and Third Civil Senates, Ulrich Hermann and Thomas Koch. The discussion focused on practical aspects of judicial activity, in particular the relationship between the decisions of German courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The judges also familiarized themselves with the activities of the German Federal Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutor General Jens Rommel and his team provided information on the structure of the Federal Prosecutor's Office, its main functions, the specifics of investigating cases, and representing the office in court.
On October 22, 2025, the judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine visited the Federal Financial Court, where they met with the President of the Court, Hans Josef Thesling, and judges Francesca Wert, Roberta Gübner, Rainer Wendel, Andreas Traiber, Annette Kugelmüller-Püg, and Jens Reddig. They talked about the work of ten specialized senates, panels of five judges, and the principle of “lawful judge,” which ensures the transparent distribution of cases. On the same day, the Ukrainian delegation visited the Bavarian Constitutional Court, where discussions were held with the President of the Court, Hans-Joachim Gessler, Secretary General Cornelia Kornprobst, and Judge of the Munich Higher Regional Court, Matthias Rist. The discussions focused on the Court's oversight of compliance with the Bavarian Constitution, the specifics of its mixed composition, and other issues of constitutional justice. The delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine also visited the Federal Patent Court, where the President of the Court, Regina Koch, and Judge Simone Peters familiarized the guests with the structure of the institution, its main functions, and powers. They focused in detail on the procedure for reviewing existing German patents through the prism of EU legislation.
On October 23, 2025, the Ukrainian delegation visited the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria, where they met with Deputy President of the Court Verena Madner and Secretary General Stefan Frank. They discussed issues of human rights protection and ensuring the independence of the judiciary in Ukraine under martial law. They familiarized themselves with the procedure for selecting and appointing judges, the role of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria in reviewing administrative court decisions, and the specifics of annulling election results.
On October 24, 2025, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine took part in an event at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The meeting with the Agency's Director Sirpa Rautio, international relations specialist Massimo Toschi, legal expert Sanja Jovicić, research officer in the asylum, migration, and borders sector Tamás Molnár, and head of the anti-racism and discrimination sector in the equality unit, Roma Rights and Social Rights, Rossalina Lacheva, and Chief Expert John Morain was devoted to discussing the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU in judicial practice, migration law in the context of Ukraine, the legal status of Ukrainian citizens in EU countries, the issue of the return of Ukrainians after the end of the war, and complex cases of adoption. The Agency's representatives also presented a study on the digitization of justice.
On the same day, a meeting was held at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Austria with the President of the Court, Georg Kodek. He outlined the structure and powers of the Supreme Court, as well as the mechanisms of interaction between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Particular attention was paid to the procedure for citizens' appeals, in particular, according to the law, a person is deprived of the right to file a constitutional complaint if they have already exercised the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The program concluded with a visit to the Federal Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Austria, where a meeting was held with Georg Stawa, advisor on the rule of law at the Embassy of the Republic of Austria. He shared his experience of EU enlargement, emphasizing the importance of judicial independence, transparent communication with society, and reforms consistent with EU objectives. During the meeting, he also presented an analysis of the effectiveness of the Ukrainian judicial system and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine based on CEPEJ research, drawing attention to positive trends in Ukraine's European integration process.
