ECBA Spring Conference 22 and 23 April, 2022
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General information
CONFERENCE REPORT
Introduction
Immediately following warm words of welcome from our president Vincent Asselineau, Valentyn Gvodziy, vice president of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, explained how lawyers and a legal system survive in a country affected by war and the imposition of martial law. He described a situation where the courts cannot operate in 10 of 27 regions, and where many courts have themselves been destroyed. In a short space of time, many new laws and procedures have been amended or introduced. Laws of evidence and criminal procedure (in particular those concerning pre-trial detention) have been relaxed, to the detriment of suspects. Criminal trial by video can be imposed by a judge, rather than requiring the defendant to agree. Conflict-specific offences have been introduced, including the crime of collaboration, with legal persons susceptible to liquidation if found guilty. To take into account the practicalities of the ongoing armed conflict, laws concerning the use of weapons have been changed.
In thanking Valentyn for his contribution, Vincent made it clear that the ECBA stands ready to support the Ukrainian people and its lawyers in any way it can.
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CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS (PDF)
Intro
Rule of Law in Ukraine during the martial law. Overview of Criminal Procedure
Valentyn Gvodziy, Vice President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, Ukraine
Keynote Speeches
Chair: Miroslav Krutina, Defence lawyer, Czechia
o Aigars Strupišs, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Latvia
o Juris Jansons, Ombudsman of Latvia
o Aldis Laviņš, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Latvia
o Jānis Rozenbergs, President of the Latvian Council Sworn Advocates
Panel 1 - Confiscation and seizure of assets in criminal proceedings
Chair: Arturas Gutauskas, Defence lawyer, Lithuania
o Kristina Grunte, Prosecutor of the Anti-Money Laundering Coordination Unit
General Prosecutor's Office, Latvia
o Violeta Zeppa Priedite, Defence lawyer, Latvia
o Carla Reyes, Defence lawyer, Switzerland
Human Rights and lawyers in the Russian Federation
Sergey Golubok, Defence lawyer, Russian Federation (temporarily in EU)
ECBA Activities and Working Groups
Chair: Neil Swift, Defence lawyer, UK
o Human Rights Committee: Alexis Anagnostakis, Defence lawyer, Greece
o Anti-corruption in Europe (ACE) - Amedeo Barletta, Defence lawyer, Italy
o EPPO Working Group: Rosa van Zijl, Defence lawyer, The Netherlands
o European Arrest Warrant: Elise Martin-Vignerte, Defence lawyer, Ireland
o Extradition Forum: Hans van de Wal, Defence lawyer, Belgium
o Roadmap 2020/ Procedural Safeguards: Miroslav Krutina, Defence lawyer, Czechia
o Ukraine Justice Alliance (guest speaker): Ben Brandon, Defence lawyer, UK
Panel 2 - EPPO activity
Chair: Vincent Asselineau, Defence lawyer, France
o Frédéric Baab, European Prosecutor, France
o Cécile Soriano, Delegated European Prosecutor, France
o Giulia Guagliardi, Defence lawyer, Italy
President of the European Young Bar Association
o Rosa van Zijl, Defence lawyer, The Netherlands
Panel 3 - Attorney - Client privilege
Chair: James MacGuill, Defence lawyer, Ireland
President of the CCBE
o Dian Brouwer, Defence lawyer, The Netherlands
o Jaime Campaner, Defence lawyer, Spain
o Rebecca Niblock, Defence lawyer, UK
o Jaanus Tehver, Defence lawyer, Estonia
Background documents
Preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Supreme Court (Ireland)
PHOTO IMPRESSION
