Objectives
Leavitt Institute Objectives in Ukraine
The Leavitt Institute seeks to assist Ukraine in bringing to reality the important human rights protections enumerated in the Constitution of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Constitution provides guarantees for the presumption of innocence, the right of counsel, and jury trials. However, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and Ukrainian custom does not recognize these important human rights. Because of this disparity, criminal defendants are frequently not provided counsel and the presumption of innocence is not observed. A jury trial has never occurred in Ukraine, despite the constitutional guarantee. Through our Ukrainian projects, The Leavitt Institute seeks to bring the criminal procedure code and Ukrainian custom in harmony with the Ukrainian Constitution, believing that doing so will allow for jury trials, the presumption of innocence, and the right to counsel, thus providing stability to the rule of law.
