On July 16, 2024, in Kyiv, Maciej Janczak, the head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, held a working meeting with the leadership of the Ukrainian National Bar Association.

The parties discussed war-related challenges in the context of the UNBA's activities and possible ways of cooperation to strengthen the implementation of Council of Europe standards.  As a reminder, on December 14, 2022, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the CoE Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Rebuilding" 2023-2026.

In particular, among the measures aimed at ensuring support for the justice system in accordance with European human rights standards, paragraph 2.1 of the Action Plan provides strategic and legal advice to public authorities, the bar, and the Legal aid system. In addition, it is planned to strengthen the professional capacity of lawyers, improve the quality of legal education, and support the development of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, other legal associations, NGOs, and the free Legal Aid system.
As a result of the meeting, it was agreed to hold an operational meeting with the relevant project managers of the Council of Europe to identify potential concrete actions to support the UNBA.

The Ukrainian side was represented by Lidia Izovitova, President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) and the Bar Council of Ukraine, Valentyn Gvozdiy, her Vice President, and Vadym Krasnyk, Cheif of staff of the UNBA Secretariat. The meeting was also attended by Iryna Kushnir, Project Manager of the Council of Europe's Support to the Judiciary in Ukraine in the Context of War and Post-War Period.