On November 10, 2019, at Impact HUB Odessa, under the auspices of the Higher School of Advocacy of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, a continuing education seminar for attorneys was held on the topic “Agreements in Criminal Proceedings: Issues of Law Enforcement.”

As is customary, the event began with opening remarks by attorney Dmytro Serhiyovych Terletskyi, Ph.D. in Law, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Justice and Human Rights of the Odessa Regional Bar Council and Head of the Department of Constitutional Law at the National University “Odessa Law Academy,”, Associate Professor Dmytro Serhiyovych Terletskyi.

The first module of the seminar was led by Anastasia Serhiivna Khilchenko, a lawyer, Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Criminal Law at the National University “Odessa Law Academy,” who spoke on the topic “Problems of Sentencing and Exemption from Serving a Sentence in Plea Agreements. Qualification of Intentional Failure to Comply with the Terms of a Plea Agreement.” The speaker highlighted the historical development of the institution of plea agreements in criminal proceedings and emphasized the problematic issues of a criminal-law nature arising from their practical application.

The second and third modules of the seminar were devoted to issues of a criminal procedural nature related to the initiation, conclusion, and execution of plea agreements in criminal proceedings, with an emphasis on the practice of law.

The presentation for the second module of the seminar was delivered by Mykola Ivanovych Pashkovsky, an attorney, research advisor at the “Barristers” Law Firm, member of the committee of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, Ph.D., Associate Professor Mykola Ivanovych Pashkovsky, on the topic “The Lawyer’s Role in Initiating and Concluding Agreements in Criminal Proceedings. The Lawyer’s Role in Court Proceedings Based on Agreements.” The speaker focused on the parties with whom the attorney interacts when concluding agreements in criminal proceedings, the procedural stages, as well as the procedural situations that an attorney may encounter in their practice when concluding agreements in criminal proceedings. The speaker’s presentation was accompanied by statistical data on court practice regarding the approval of agreements in criminal proceedings, which was presented in the form of graphs and tables on the corresponding slides of the presentation.

The third module was led by a lawyer, scientific advisor at the “Barristers” Law Firm, member of committees of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, and member of the Committee on Constitutional Justice and Human Rights of the Odesa Regional Bar Council, Head of the Department of Criminal Procedure at the National University “Odesa Law Academy,” Doctor of Law, Associate Professor Iryna Vasylivna Hlovyuk, who spoke on the topic: “Grounds for Refusal to Approve Plea Agreements. Appeals of court decisions in criminal proceedings based on plea agreements. Overturning of sentences based on plea agreements due to non-compliance with the agreement.” The speaker drew attention to problematic issues regarding the implementation of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine concerning grounds for refusing to approve plea agreements. The speaker’s presentation was accompanied by references to court decisions on this matter, highlighting interesting and problematic aspects of law enforcement. The speaker paid particular attention to appeals of court decisions in criminal proceedings based on plea agreements, specifically to judicial practice regarding the annulment of sentences based on plea agreements due to non-compliance with the agreement.

The speakers’ presentations were accompanied by relevant slides, which made a stronger impression on the audience.

The seminar concluded with a presentation by attorney Dmytro Serhiyovych Terletskyi, Ph.D. in Law, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Justice and Human Rights of the Odesa Regional Bar Association and Head of the Department of Constitutional Law at the National University “Odesa Law Academy,”, Associate Professor Dmytro Serhiyovych Terletskyi, and a traditional group photo.