European law for Ukrainian judges: the National School of Judges is aligning its training practices with European standards

On 16 April 2026, the Rector of the National School of Judges of Ukraine, Mykola Onishchuk, held a meeting with a representative of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) – the project manager of ‘European Judicial Training for EU Integration and Partnership’, Vanja Tekic.

During the meeting, the parties discussed a new initiative aimed at deepening Ukrainian judges’ knowledge of European Union law and bringing national judicial education closer to European standards. The National School of Judges of Ukraine has been invited to become a key partner in this project, which is being implemented by the EJTN.

The initiative is in line with the strategic objectives of the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies, which place particular emphasis on strengthening democracy, the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and gradual alignment with the European Union’s acquis.

The project envisages a comprehensive support model covering the development of a modular training toolkit on EU law, its integration into the national judicial training system, the establishment of national working groups, language training for judges, as well as the organisation of study visits and participation in EJTN events.

The proposed approach aims not only to conduct individual training events but also to ensure the sustainable integration of European standards into the system of judicial training in Ukraine.

Cooperation with the EJTN opens up new opportunities for the development of the professional competencies of Ukrainian judges and is an important step towards the European integration of Ukraine’s judicial system.