Ukraine is still at war with Russia. Yet the question of how to improve the rule of law in the country’s post-war development was already on the agenda of a workshop held in Hamburg between 18 and 20 November.

The workshop was co-organized by NET-ROL member Stefan Voigt, hosted be the Europa-Kolleg and financed by the Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt Foundation. The workshop was the beginning of a conversation that we strive to institutionalize.

Constitutional experts from both Ukraine and other countries discussed various options regarding the constitutional future of the country. Among the most important topics discussed were the possibilities of further and constitutionalized decentralization, how to reduce corruption, but also whether Ukraine should move away from semi-presidentialism and towards a parliamentary form of government and how to build resilient institutions, including an independent judiciary.

Giving municipalities more autonomy has been important for improving the efficiency of (local) government. It has also been important for increasing local resilience. During the workshop, the possibility of relying on town twinning between Ukrainian and Western towns was discussed. This could be conducive to precisely targeted support from the West but could also help to increase the sensitivity of Westerners for the situation in Ukraine.

by Stefan Voigt