The Open Court Initiative is working nationally to promote transparency in the court system and enhance citizen participation, by encouraging the public to attend and videotape proceedings. This activity also publicizes the work of legal professionals (judges, prosecutors, advocates, and investigators), and thereby establishes oversight mechanisms which help bring practice into compliance with law
. Within the period from the 12th of October through the 7th of December, 2015, the organization has successfully carried out the most broad-scale over the course of Ukrainian history monitoring of operation of courts which involved video recording of legal trials in civil, criminal, administrative, and economic cases, public consultation and assessment of behavior of judges against standards of justice. The monitoring took place throughout the entire territory of Ukraine (24 regions), was followed by millions of citizens of Ukraine and has been carried out titled Open Court Reporter. Monitoring included involvement of the most active civil society members to video recording of court cases and their public disclosure for the purposes of transparency of the activities of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers. On the 14th of December, 2015 at the initiative of the Open Court project in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Ukraine and with the support of WNISEF and EU Project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" International Justice Forum has been held for the first time in Ukraine at which the idea of video recording of court trials received a full scale development, and during which award process of participants of Open Court Reporter contest took place involving over 200 special guests. The event attendees were representatives of EU and USAID projects, public authorities, the ambassadors of Austria, Belgium, and Georgia, representatives of the embassies of Canada and Netherlands, heads of foreign business chambers, and Business Ombudsman of Ukraine. Also, chairmen of supreme, local courts, and courts of appeal, law firms, and recognized experts in the area of law and management of higher education institutions participated in forum having supported the Open Court project activities and stressed remarkable significance of the results of the contest. During the event the most high-profile examples of negative and positive justice in Ukraine with highlighting of critical behavior of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers satisfying or not satisfying occupational standards have been shown in the form of video materials from the court rooms. During the event 13 citizens – participants of Open Court Reporter national contest were awarded in Grand Prix nomination, and the topics of speeches of event’s special guests were arranged in relation to this contest and the Open Court project in general.
1/ project’s national team in Kyiv – 30 activists;
2/ project’s regional team – 477 activists from all over Ukraine;
3/project’s advisers – 20 (well-known legal professionals, practicing lawyers, retired judges of national courts, retired judges of international courts and of foreign jurisdictions, scientists, teachers at universities specialized in law);
4/project’s experts – 20 (experts in the area of law who agreed to provide professional evaluation to conduct of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers).
