Zlata Simonenko became a national expert on the UBA project “Monitoring of War Crimes Trials”

01/ 11/ 2023

Zlata Simonenko, counsel at Sayenko Kharenko, has been appointed a national expert for the “Monitoring of War Crimes Trials” project. This project is being undertaken jointly by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) and the USAID Human Rights in Action Project, which the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union implements. The project aims to conduct trial monitoring of war crimes and analyse the judicial practises in these cases in Ukraine. It aims to evaluate the compliance of such practices with international human rights standards, identify any shortcomings, and propose solutions to eliminate them. Zlata Simonenko shared the project’s findings and highlighted certain legal ambiguities in the Ukrainian legislation regarding the classification of war crimes. She also mentioned that the procedure for notifying individuals involved in criminal proceedings of court hearings is complex, and there is no consistent approach to engaging external monitors in court cases. Furthermore, the right to a fair trial and defence is not fully guaranteed. Zlata’s active position and cooperation in this project are essential to the future of trials and ensuring their independence in war crimes cases. The company is proud of her contribution and recognises her participation as a critical step in achieving the project’s goals.

Zlata Simonenko, counsel at Sayenko Kharenko, has been appointed a national expert for the “Monitoring of War Crimes Trials” project. This project is being undertaken jointly by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) and the USAID Human Rights in Action Project, which the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union implements. The project aims to conduct trial monitoring of war crimes and analyse the judicial practises in these cases in Ukraine. It aims to evaluate the compliance of such practices with international human rights standards, identify any shortcomings, and propose solutions to eliminate them.

Zlata Simonenko shared the project’s findings and highlighted certain legal ambiguities in the Ukrainian legislation regarding the classification of war crimes. She also mentioned that the procedure for notifying individuals involved in criminal proceedings of court hearings is complex, and there is no consistent approach to engaging external monitors in court cases. Furthermore, the right to a fair trial and defence is not fully guaranteed.

Zlata’s active position and cooperation in this project are essential to the future of trials and ensuring their independence in war crimes cases. The company is proud of her contribution and recognises her participation as a critical step in achieving the project’s goals.