The National Bar Association of Ukraine hosted an awards ceremony for the winners of the All-Ukrainian Competition for Student Law-Making Initiatives, “New Ukraine: A Security Treaty Through the Eyes of Young Lawyers.”

First place went to Anzhelika Ivanitskaya, a student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her work was recognized for its high level of legal craftsmanship, structure, and doctrinal depth. Second place went to Iryna Yevdchenko, also from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, for her innovative conceptual framework, particularly the idea of a digital embassy and the 24/72 algorithm. Third place was awarded to Anna Korniyash from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.

A special prize from the organizers was awarded to Yevhen Zhurakovsky, a student at the Ivano-Frankivsk Institute “Odessa Law Academy,” for his original law-making idea, specifically the mechanism of an incomplete session and his approach to the succession of obligations.

The winners received cash prizes ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 UAH. The prize fund was provided by the law firms Barristers and Dgravity Legal.

During the ceremony, Oleksiy Shevchuk, head of the Legal Information Center at the V. Hetman Kyiv National Economic University, emphasized that this was the first time such an initiative had been held in Ukraine, and that its participants have effectively become pioneers in a new format for engaging students in law-making work in the fields of national security and international law.

According to him, it is important that talented young people do not seek opportunities for professional development solely abroad, but are able to realize their potential in Ukraine. That is why the organizers plan to make the competition an annual event.

The winners’ works will not remain merely competition entries. In the future, they plan to present them in diplomatic circles—in particular, with the participation of representatives of the Council of Europe—as well as to state institutions involved in issues of international accountability for crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

O. Shevchuk also drew the students’ attention to the practical significance of participating in the competition. According to him, winning the all-Ukrainian competition on drafting a security treaty could become an important part of young lawyers’ professional portfolios and a first step toward working in international legal institutions.

The winners thanked the organizers for the opportunity to present their own ideas. In particular, A. Ivanitskaya noted that, as a student specializing in legislative activity and regulatory drafting, she had been looking for an opportunity to prove herself in precisely this kind of setting. Y. Zhurakovsky explained that while drafting the treaty, he sought to draw on mechanisms of international law that existed even before World War II and to examine how they might function in today’s context.

Concluding the ceremony, the organizers urged the students not to stop at their competition entries, but to continue writing, speaking publicly, participating in professional initiatives, and using such opportunities for further development in the legal profession.