JustGroup, in collaboration with the Office of the Prosecutor General and with support from the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, organized a JustTalk Special Event titled “Presumption of Innocence and Investigation Confidentiality: Harmonizing Form and Substance in the Activities of Various Stakeholders.”
In the event’s discussion paper, the organizers highlighted that the legal community and society observe a mixed understanding and application of the standards for upholding the presumption of innocence by criminal justice officials, journalists, and the public. Additionally, there is no unified approach to applying the principle of investigation confidentiality, which, while aimed at protecting investigative interests, also intersects with the presumption of innocence. These principles are particularly vulnerable during procedures such as notifying a person of suspicion, choosing preventive measures, conducting searches involving individuals with different procedural statuses, and the pre-trial disclosure of “schemes of unlawful behavior” by certain parties involved in criminal proceedings.
The discussion panel included Oleksandra Yanovska, a Supreme Court Judge; Oleh Pelepiuk, the Head of a Department at the Office of the Prosecutor General; and Nazar Kulchytskyy, the Head of the Nazar Kulchytskyy & Partners Law Firm.
Lyudmyla Pankratova, Executive Director of the Institute for Regional Press Development and member of the Independent Media Council; Tetyana Kozak, Chief Editor of the judicial journalism media Graty, and Danylo Mokryk, investigative journalist for The Kyiv Independent, provided perspectives on the journalistic community’s practical adherence to the presumption of innocence and investigation confidentiality.
The discussions addressed the purpose of informing the public about the progress and outcomes of investigations, how such communication affects investigation efficiency, and whether violations of fundamental principles can ever be justified to ensure the effective functioning of law enforcement agencies.