Advisory visits to courts: how the new support tool works

How can we help the courts operate more effectively in the face of today’s challenges? One answer lies in advisory visits – a form of professional support that is being increasingly adopted in Ukraine.

This was the topic of the round table ‘Advisory visits as a tool for supporting courts: approaches and prospects’, which took place on 24 April 2026 in the Dnipropetrovsk Region.

The event was organised by the Dnipro Regional Branch of the National School of Judges of Ukraine in cooperation with the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM). Participants included judges from local general and appeal courts.

The main objective was to create a platform for professional dialogue, the exchange of experience and the development of practical solutions to improve the work of the courts.

Opening remarks were delivered by the Director of the Dnipro Regional Branch of the National School of the Judiciary, Volodymyr Poplavskyi, the President of the Dnipro Court of Appeal, Roman Mudretskyi, and the Head of the Territorial Administration of the State Judicial Administration, Hanna Ihnatieva.

The keynote speaker at the event was Henry Telkki, Senior Adviser on Prosecutorial Affairs at the EUAM, who presented approaches to organising advisory visits and shared international experience of their implementation.

The discussion focused on practical aspects: how the methodology for advisory visits works; what issues are identified during the monitoring of judicial practice; how to translate these findings into concrete decisions; and how to develop an effective strategy – from planning to evaluating results.

Particular attention was paid to the findings of analytical materials, notably those from the EU ‘Pravo-Justice’ Project, as well as the expert work of the National School of Judges of Ukraine.

The participants also discussed the practical constraints on implementing such approaches, reporting mechanisms and the effective communication of results.

In conclusion, the judges noted that advisory visits have already proven their effectiveness as a tool for supporting the courts. They enable not only the identification of problems but also the proposal of concrete solutions.

Such initiatives open up new opportunities for the development of the judicial system – through partnership, analysis and practical changes.