The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia concludes a significant support project for the development of constitutional justice in Ukraine

16.12.2025.

On Tuesday, December 16, the final round table discussion of the EU-Council of Europe project “Support to the Development of Constitutional Justice in Ukraine” on “Public Interest as a Ground for Exercising Constitutional Review” took place in Riga. Judges and staff of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, as well as representatives of the Council of Europe, took part in the discussion.

“In less than three years, the project has grown from a dialogue initiative into a structured platform for cooperation that has strengthened the work of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – from its methods to its institutional culture. 38 activities with more than 1650 participants ensured a continuous flow of knowledge between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and European constitutional courts, especially the Constitutional Court of Latvia, creating a bridge between the reality of war and European legal standards,” emphasised Irēna Kucina, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia.

This is the most ambitious international cooperation project to date, in which the Constitutional Court of Latvia shares its experience on the path towards the rule of law and the European Union. This highly collaborative model has made a real, practical impact – the project allowed to formulate precise recommendations on how the Constitutional Court of Ukraine can increase its efficiency in handling constitutional complaints submitted by private individuals. The project contributed to more efficient delay planning in complaint handling by improving initial assessment, clearer admissibility criteria, case flow management and predictability of proceedings. The electronic circulation of documents and the protection of personal data have also been improved, making the processing of sensitive data in the handling of constitutional complaints and in electronic record-keeping more secure and intelligent. The year 2025 marked a qualitative milestone: the adoption of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with the support of the project became a symbol of institutional maturity and a conscious choice to strengthen independence and transparency even in wartime.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine bases its work on European standards of rule of law and bases its judgements on international law, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Ukrainian colleagues adopt the methodology of the Constitutional Court of Latvia in a number of matters, and we often see references to rulings of the Constitutional Court of Latvia.

The project was implemented from March 2023 to December 2025 with the aim of contributing to the development of constitutional justice in Ukraine, taking into account the best practices of the Constitutional Court of Latvia. Cooperation between the constitutional courts of Latvia and Ukraine included exchange of knowledge and experience in streamlining the judicial process and applying European legal standards. The project allowed to deepen the dialogue between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of Latvia by organising working groups and discussions involving judges, judges assistants and other experts. Both stakeholders are committed to continue their effective cooperation in the framework of other projects.

The judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine also met with the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, to discuss the progress of the integration of the Ukrainian legal system within the common European legal space.