Lviv and Volyn judges improve their skills in the field of migration and asylum

A training was held in Lviv for judges of Lviv and Volyn regions who consider cases of persons in need of asylum or additional protection in Ukraine, as well as disputes related to the stay or forced expulsion of foreigners.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and the Regional Representation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine with the assistance of the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine for judges of Lviv and Volyn administrative and local courts with the participation of employees of the Main Department of the State Migration Service in Lviv region and the Lviv Border Guard Unit.

The main goal of the training was to raise judges’ awareness of the positive practice of considering disputes regarding the status of refugees and persons in need of additional protection by the administrative courts of Ukraine; the proper use of information on the countries of origin of refugees, the latest changes in the definition of the terms “person in need of additional or temporary protection”, relevant precedents of the European Court of Human Rights on preventing forced expulsion and extradition of applicants for international protection and other categories of migrants.

Tukhan Ediev, Program Manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, focused the attention of the audience on the problems of access to the procedure for obtaining international protection in Ukraine and the vulnerability of unaccompanied children, pregnant women and stateless persons before forced expulsion from Ukraine, in particular due to the failure to provide high-quality translation and free legal assistance during relevant procedures and court hearings.

As Vasyl Hulyak, a judge of the Lviv Administrative Court of Appeal, noted during the event, the national judicial practice of considering such cases is being formed quite actively. In his opinion, the category of cases concerning asylum seekers is not complicated, but requires thorough and detailed study. In particular, in administrative proceedings, general and administrative courts consider 2 categories of cases: on expulsion and on appealing against refusals of the migration service. Thus, in 9 months of 2014, the Lviv Appeal had 19 cases concerning expulsion – 12 considered, 4 canceled, 3 – not considered; 9 cases concerning refugee status were considered: 8 left unchanged, 1 canceled. Mr. Hulyak also gave individual examples of cases and named the main reasons for the cancellation of decisions of first instance courts.

Dmytro Plechko, Legal Advisor to UNHCR in Ukraine, drew the attention of judges and representatives of migration and border services to the principles of using the UNHCR position when considering certain cases of foreigners. In particular, Mr. Plechko emphasized the possibility of border guards using the instrument of false readmission in the event of the return under the Ukraine-EU Readmission Agreement of asylum seekers who applied for protection in EU countries.

The participants paid particular attention to the problem of internally displaced persons. In particular, the UNHCR representative shared with the participants the practical experience of international organizations working with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine, provided the latest statistical data, highlighted the main problems of IDPs and the latest legislative changes.

After the discussions, the training participants watched the documentary film “Strangers: Somalis on the Road”.

The project is implemented with the support of the Human Rights Fund of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.