Why Do Ukrainian Officials Not Study European Law?

A joke something like a parable says, “A young man is asking a fortuneteller to predict his future. ‘You’ll be a pauper until you are thirty,’ the fortuneteller replies. ‘And then?’ ‘Then you’ll get used to it’.” It is the same with us: while dreaming of a personal deck chair in Hawaii, we are missing our chance to come closer to an affluent and sensible life.

Ukraine had this kind of a chance two years ago, when the TACIS program, subsidized by European taxpayers, launched a project called Legal Education in Ukraine: Kyiv and the Regions. This is by not some boring course for narrow specialists. Everything is much more serious: Europe’s best experts teach European Union law to Ukraine’s “pivotal” people, such as university professors and ministerial functionaries, who will in turn pass on their knowledge to people entrusted with adopting viable laws in this country. But almost a half of the invited civil servants do not come to get this most precious — and free — knowledge! Besides, the classes are conducted during office hours.

POLITICAL UNDERTONES

Lectures in European Law often trigger heated debates because, as a rule, our experts have never come across European law in practice. Nor is this subject taught in Ukrainian universities and colleges. Moreover, it is even unclear how this country has so far been able to address the problems of trade with he European Union, for we have practically no specialists in European law.

“We have already finished training fifty teachers from four Ukrainian universities and are going to continue teaching 240 civil servants and seventy private lawyers in 2004,” says Jolanta Taczynska, project manager and professor of Lodz University’s Department of European Law in Poland. “Naturally, this number of people is a drop in the ocean, but we are doing our work in such a way that the knowledge gained could later be put to use by a wide circle of people.”

Of course, one can ask the question of to what extent will EU canons suit us. For Ukraine is, in a way, an eastern country and its residents have a different mentality. But is it not worthwhile to bring our life into line with European standards? They are better, especially as far as fundamental human values are concerned.

The EU knows all too well that Ukraine lacks money to study European law. This is why they are ready to teach us free of charge and invite Ukrainian experts to Europe — also at EU expense — to gain hands-on experience in European law. Yet, it would be wrong to exult over the project as an absolutely free enterprise. As we know, nothing is free in real life. Since Ukraine is becoming the European Union’s immediate neighbor, this also causes serious concern for the Europeans, for they want civilized neighbors.

“The closer Ukraine approaches the European Union’s borders, the more intensively the Europeans are letting us into the circle of their problems,” says Liudmyla Holibardova, a project expert. “For is better to have a good and predictable neighbor... But, unfortunately, there are very few people in Ukraine who rely think about the prospects. From this perspective, it is difficult to overestimate the EU’s role: we are being given a most powerful impulse to be able to take care of our tomorrow and drop outdated stereotypes. Incidentally, Russia has not yet had any similar project as part of TACIS.”

HOW DOES THE PRINCIPLE OF TRANSPARENCY LOOK?

Later in March Kyiv is to host a European management conference intended for representatives of Ukraine’s “upper echelon,” that is, people directly involved in shaping our legislation by which this country’s behavior is judged on the international arena. It was originally planned to hold the conference in October. At that time, however, Ukraine was hesitating again whether to go East or West.

Today, Ukraine seems to have made its choice, which attaches still greater importance to the issues to be discussed at the March conference. For example, what is the difference between managerial and governmental functions? It turned out that many Ukrainian experts are still in the dark about this subject. What is the role of government and non-governmental organizations in the establishment of a law-governed state? What does the principle of transparency mean in the governance of a country? Very much in our lives depends on the proper understanding of these issues.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has signed a memorandum on establishing the Association of Higher Educational Institutions, which is drawing up courses on European law. The project will help launch a distance learning program that will make it possible to gain knowledge in European law for practically everyone who wants to.

University libraries are to very soon receive the most up-to-date literature on European law, a thing Ukraine has yet to see at all. The project provides, among other things, for the publication of a badly needed glossary of European legal terms in Ukrainian, Russian, and English.

The project is picking up steam, but some civil servants are still asking their instructors, “What’s the use of European law if Ukraine is moving in the opposite direction?”

The Day’s reference. Before the EU was formed, the laws of European countries functioned on their own. In 1957, the treaty was signed on the establishment of the European Economic Community, and since then all economic matters have been addressed under European law, which is constantly evolving. Experts from all EU member states take part in working out common European rules of the game. It would be wrong to say, however, that European law is based on the experience of one specific country. European law is the law of all the EU countries. European law has precedence over nationals laws should a dispute arise between them.

COMMENTARY

Oleksandr SHNYRKOV, Professor and deputy director of the Institute of International Relations, Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University:

“While earlier it was said that politics is the art of the impossible, under our conditions it is more the art of the possible. One can no longer think today in the categories of national laws only. One should take a realistic approach to the situation: all the fundamental issues connected with access to the European market are subject to the norms of European and not national law. Thus, irrespective of any changes in Ukraine’s foreign policy priorities, I do not think we have any other option from the strategic viewpoint: in our era of globalization, Ukraine must in one way or another work with Europe. Moreover, it is desirable not just to cooperate but to integrate with Europe.”