Synegor at the 14th UBA Legal Forum – one of the key platforms for discussing the future of the Ukrainian justice system.

The first and second days of the 14th Judicial Forum were devoted to the key challenges facing the modern judicial system. The programme included discussions on the digitalisation of the justice sector, reform of the legal profession, the Supreme Court’s role in ensuring the uniformity of judicial practice, European integration processes in the field of justice, the development of the judicial system as an institution, and Ukraine’s role on the international judicial stage.

The first day of the forum took place in the historic Klovskyi Palace, highlighting the symbolic link between the traditions of justice and its contemporary challenges. The second day of the event took place at the Hilton Kyiv hotel, where discussions centred on international legal proceedings, issues of European integration and legislative trends for 2025.

The event brought together leading judges, lawyers, prosecutors, representatives of state authorities, international experts and politicians, serving as a major platform for professional dialogue, the exchange of experience and the shaping of future guidelines for the development of the justice system in Ukraine.

During the discussions, considerable attention was paid to the issue of the abuse of procedural rights and its consequences for the effectiveness of the justice system. The problem is becoming increasingly pressing, as a significant number of legal disputes are being artificially protracted by the bad-faith procedural conduct of the parties involved.

Rostyslav Salamakha emphasised:

‘Delayed justice is denied justice’.

He stressed that ignoring court summonses, systematic failure of defendants to appear, the bad-faith delaying of proceedings, or the deliberate creation of obstacles to court proceedings is a trend that seriously undermines the principles of accessibility, efficiency and fairness of justice.

In this regard, Rostyslav Salamakha proposed a number of practical mechanisms to counter such abuses, namely: strengthening the procedural liability of the parties. Specifically, this involves:

• the introduction of financial sanctions for the deliberate delaying of court proceedings;
• imposing asset restrictions on a party acting in bad faith;
• the application of other legal measures aimed at putting an end to abuses and ensuring procedural discipline.

In Rostyslav’s view, the court should have effective tools at its disposal to respond in cases where a party to the proceedings shows contempt for the court and consistently fails to respond to lawful summonses.

A separate issue raised was the need for compulsory professional indemnity insurance for lawyers, in particular:

• in cases classified as serious or particularly serious;
• in proceedings with significant financial or reputational stakes;
• in cases where a client may suffer substantial losses due to professional errors on the part of their defence counsel.

According to Rostyslav Salamakha, such a mechanism is in line with practices in developed jurisdictions, ensures a higher level of protection for the rights of parties to proceedings, and will help raise standards of professional liability within the legal profession.

The participation of representatives from Synegor Law Firm in the 14th Judicial Forum of the Ukrainian Bar Association underscores our ongoing commitment to the development of the legal system, professional dialogue, the exchange of practical experience and the establishment of new standards of justice.

We are working to ensure that justice in Ukraine is timely, effective and fair.

Find out more about the event via the links below.