Restoring dignity and justice in Ukraine: Consortium Programme (Phase II 2025-2027)

Sub-project: Expertise and mechanisms to pursue accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine strengthened and contextualised

Ukraine’s accountability efforts for international crimes are expanding but remain institutionally fragile. Criminal investigations and prosecutions are ongoing, yet they take place against a backdrop of continued hostilities and uncertain peace negotiations. In this context, reinforcing Ukraine’s justice mechanisms is urgent. Persistent capacity gaps among Ukrainian national actors in international criminal law (ICL), international humanitarian law (IHL), and transitional justice (TJ) continue to hinder the development of a comprehensive, strategic, whole-of-society approach to accountability.

The T.M.C. Asser Institute sub-project responds to these challenges by strengthening the capacities of Ukrainian justice sector stakeholders, legal practitioners, policymakers, and societal actors in line with international and European standards. It combines targeted legal capacity-building, policy support, and international cooperation to address both immediate accountability needs and longer-term institutional resilience.

Focus Areas

  • Strengthening ICL and IHL expertise across the justice system

The sub-project strengthens the practical and theoretical knowledge of investigators, prosecutors, judges, defence lawyers, and future legal professionals in ICL and IHL, with particular attention to procedural safeguards derived from European human rights law.

Key activities include specialised training and knowledge-sharing for the judiciary and defence lawyers, support for handling complex international crimes cases, and targeted expertise on emerging accountability challenges such as the pillaging and illegal exploitation of natural resources in armed conflict. By investing in both current practitioners and future legal professionals, the sub-project promotes sustainability and coherence in Ukraine’s international crimes practice.

  • Advancing transitional justice policy and coordination

While criminal prosecutions are a central component of accountability, they cannot address the full range of harms caused by the conflict. Ukraine’s transitional justice efforts beyond prosecutions remain fragmented and insufficiently institutionalised, with limited coordination between national policymakers and local authorities in conflict-affected and de-occupied areas.

The sub-project supports Ukrainian policymakers and legal actors in developing a clearer understanding of transitional justice mechanisms, including truth-seeking, reparations, memorialisation, and institutional reform. Through policy-oriented support, capacity-building, and structured dialogue, it helps link local-level experiences and needs with national TJ policy development, contributing to a more coherent, victim-centred, and sustainable approach.

III. Enhancing international judicial cooperation on international crimes

Accountability for international crimes increasingly relies on effective cross-border cooperation, particularly for evidence collection, mutual legal assistance, and the prosecution of suspects located abroad. The sub-project strengthens awareness and practical implementation of international and EU judicial cooperation instruments among Ukrainian legal actors and policymakers.

Activities focus on improving understanding of applicable legal frameworks, analysing and addressing gaps in domestic legislation, and providing practical guidance to support effective implementation. Strengthened judicial cooperation enhances Ukraine’s ability to pursue complex international crimes cases and aligns domestic practice more closely with EU standards.

Implementation approach

The sub-project is implemented in close cooperation with Ukrainian state institutions, judicial governance bodies, and relevant authorities, while also engaging legal professionals, academia, and civil society. Activities operate at national, regional, and local levels and combine capacity-building, applied legal expertise, policy support, and structured dialogue.

By integrating legal capacity-building with policy development and international cooperation, the sub-project contributes to immediate accountability efforts while laying the foundations for long-term institutional resilience. In doing so, it supports Ukraine’s broader rule of law reform agenda, strengthens public trust in the justice system, and advances alignment with European standards and EU accession requirements.

Key stakeholders and beneficiaries

  • National School of Judges of Ukraine
  • Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and Regional Prosecutor’s Offices of Ukraine
  • Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision (CCLAP)
  • Judiciary and Courts of Ukraine
  • Defence lawyers
  • Ukrainian Bar Association
  • Council of Judges of Ukraine
  • Ukrainian universities, academics, and students

Project partners

  • Global Rights Compliance
  • UpRights
  • The Hague Academy for Local Governance
  • European Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM)


About Restoring Dignity and Justice in Ukraine

This project is part of the Restoring Dignity and Justice in Ukraine consortium programme (Phase II, 2025-2027), implemented in cooperation with the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC), the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC), and International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), which leads the consortium. The programme is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.