Probation and Alternative Sanctions in Ukraine

Following the revolution of dignity and the subsequent regime change, Ukraine has reinforced its justice sector reform agenda. In its 2015-2020 Justice Sector Reform Strategy it has lists the launch of probation and the use of alternative sanctions as one of its priorities.

Within this framework, Ukraine adopted the Law on Probation in 2015, and made amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2016, which is the start for the development of fully-fledged probation practice. This includes pre-trial advice, the supervision of conditional sentences, the implementation of community service sentences, and the work on conditional release. Over the coming years, the established work processes and procedures will have to be adjusted and fine-tuned, management systems will have to be developed, assessed and updated, performance standards and quality criteria will have to defined, and a quality assurance system will have to be developed.

Our Aim

The project, that takes place in the Kievskaya Oblast, aims to further develop the capacities of the Ukrainian Probation Service. In making this service fully operational, the project focuses on capacity building in all afore mentioned probation practices.

The project team will use repeated short-term expertise of the Dutch probation service, the prosecution service, the council for the judiciary, and the custodial services to assist, coach and train the Ukrainian counterparts. This peer-to-peer approach is a proven and effective method in the transferring of knowledge, know-how and good practices in the field of probation and alternative sanctions.

By simultaneously working with the various actors in the criminal justice chain, the coordination of efforts made and the adoption of reform elements across all institutions is ensured. Furthermore, the project partners will align their actions with other (international) projects which focus on probation and detention systems.

Project Implementation

Funder: Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Matra CoPROL)

Partners: CILC (The Netherlands), Dutch Probation Service (The Netherlands,) Centre for Judicial Studies (Ukraine)

Project period: September 1, 2017 – June 30, 2021 (Extended to June 30, 2023)

Budget: € 1.596.750