At the beginning of the meeting, the Chair of the Committee briefed the guests on the structure of the Seimas, the remit of the Committee on Legal Affairs, and the judicial system in Lithuania.
Yaroslav Romaniuk presented the Ukrainian judicial system, the functions of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the major constitutional reforms currently under way that mainly focused on improvement of the Ukrainian judicial system. The President of the Supreme Court of Ukraine noted that the reforms were aimed at ensuring independence of courts and judges, increasing an age-limit for candidates for judges, and simplifying some procedures to make legal proceedings faster and more efficient.
During the meeting with the judiciary of the Ukrainian Supreme Court, the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs shared their country's experience in developing the Lithuanian judicial system, establishing the principles of operation of courts, and in implementing the reforms aimed at improving the work of courts. The meeting focused greatly on the procedure of appointment and dismissal of judges in different types of court, the role of the Constitutional Court in the legal system and the importance of implementation of Constitutional Court rulings. Vilija Aleknaitė Abramikienė, Member of the Committee on Legal Affairs, took note of the great progress that had been made by Ukraine in its attempts to bring the standards of the Ukrainian legal system closer to those of Europe. Mrs Abramikienė also expressed her overall support for the country currently on its challenging path towards reform.
It is noteworthy that both the Ukrainian delegation and the Members of the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs agreed that guaranteeing independence and transparency of the judiciary was of particular importance for the democratic processes in the state and prosperity of its people, and that the path of reform undertaken by Ukraine was an essential and efficient step towards achieving the set goals.
