Employees of the European organization are convinced that Russia's military activities have led to the emergence of "new, unprecedented challenges for Ukraine, Europe in general and the criminal justice sector in particular."
In this regard, the Council of Europe plans to hire up to 105 consultants specializing in criminal justice, criminology, international humanitarian and criminal law, including with a focus on war-related crimes, who will help in the implementation of projects, including directly in Ukraine.
"The Council of Europe is implementing a number of projects aimed at supporting stakeholders in the criminal justice system in order to effectively respond to the legal consequences of military aggression, as well as human rights consequences, and this competition places particular emphasis on the conflict-related needs of the Ukrainian parties concerned," the document says.
The total budget of the CoE's projects in this area is about €10 million, and within the framework of this tender it is planned to spend up to €3 million.
Performers are expected to carry out approximately 350 events by the end of 2024. Among other things, they will have to bring the legislative and regulatory framework related to the work of prosecutors and law enforcement agencies into line with Council of Europe standards.
In addition, consultants will provide legal opinions, conduct trainings, participate in the development of information materials on human rights, forensics, evidence collection and more.
According to Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies of the IMEMO RAS, the Council of Europe project is an attempt to monopolize law enforcement practice in Ukraine.
"Here we can see the hidden intention of the European Union to take on the role of arbiter of what should be considered a war crime in the future, what responsibility should arise for this and what measures should be taken. This is a desire to assert the EU's right to resolve all issues in relation to Russia and Ukraine. There is an obvious contradiction - neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the European Union, so such attempts are unnatural. True, we can expect that the current Ukrainian leadership will respond to this initiative, "the expert added in an interview with RT.
Earlier it was reported that the Council of Europe intends to "strengthen the capacity" of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine. As noted, the Council of Europe is taking measures to "directly confront the consequences" of the conflict.