ACCESS Ukraine
In April, a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Svitlana Tereshchenko participated in a three-day rule of law clinic on law drafting in Helsinki. The clinic covered legislative processes at both the EU level and in Finland, public consultations, and the role of civil society and media in ensuring transparency, monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessments. This was part of our ACCESS Ukraine project that provides critical technical support to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, specifically targeting Chapters 23 Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and 24 Justice, Freedom, and Security of the negotiation agreement. The ACCESS Ukraine initiative represents a pivotal step towards securing Ukraine's EU future, bolstering its legal capacity, and reinforcing the rule of law in the region The project is jointly implemented by Democracy reporting International (DRI), the Rule of Law Centre, and Centre of Policy and Legal Reform (CPLR). The project was launched in Helsinki in December 2024.
The participants came from the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and the Ukrainian Parliament. Finnish experts who shared their knowledge were Pekka Timonen (former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice), Markku Keinänen (Ambassador emeritus), Susanna Siitonen (Director of Legislative Affairs, Ministry of Justice), Niklas Wilhelmsson (Head of Unit Democracy and Elections, Ministry of Justice), Tuomas Lihr (Senior Specialist, Ministry of Justice), Anssi Keinänen (Professor of Legislative and Empirical Legal Studies, University of Eastern Finland), Maija Dahlberg (Associate Professor of Public Law, University of Eastern Finland), Eero Hyvönen, (Chairman, Council for Mass Media in Finland), Niko Jakobsson (General Secretary, Finnish Bar Association).
Integrity and Trust in Albanian and Kosovo Elections: Fostering Political Finance Transparency and the Safe Use of Information and Communication Technologies (Phase II)
In March, against the backdrop of the upcoming May 2025 Parliamentary elections in Albania, and in support of election integrity, the Rule of Law Centre and International IDEA organized a rule of law clinic to strengthen prosecutors' roles in fraud investigations. The challenges in investigating electoral crime allegations stem from the peculiar nature of these crimes, the specific and often short time frame in which they occur, and their consequences, which include hampering the free will of voters, endangering the principles of vote secrecy, and exerting pressure on voters. Conducting thorough investigations, holding perpetrators accountable, and bringing them to justice can increase public trust in law enforcement institutions and the integrity of elections.
Members of the rule of law clinic were Marjo Naapi (retired judge), Mari Mattila (State Prosecutor) and Johanna Valenius (Rule of Law Centre).
A week later, a milestone was reached when seven political parties signed a Code of Conduct for Digital Campaigning, promoting fairness, transparency, and respect in the digital sphere ahead of the May 11 elections. This activity aimed to formalize a cross-party commitment to uphold ethical standards in digital political campaigning ahead of the Albanian parliamentary elections. The initiative supports democratic integrity, transparency, and accountability in Albania's evolving digital political landscape. The Rule of Law Centre was represented by its Director Tuija Brax.
In December 2024, International IDEA and the Rule of Law Centre organized a two-day rule of law clinic for the Kosovo Central Election Commission and the Office for Registration, Certification, and Financial Control of Political Entities to strengthen the Office’s capacity to monitor political party financing. With experts Niklas Wilhelmsson (Head of Unit Democracy and Elections, Ministry of Justice), Jonna Carlson (Oversight Manager, National Audit Office), Simo Pietiläinen (lawyer), Yukihiko Hamada (Programme Manager, International IDEA), Zake Filiposki (co-founder of the Center for Good Governance and Integrity, HUB Skopje) and Khushbu Agrawal (Adviser, International IDEA), participants had the opportunity to enhance their technical skills, learn from the experiences of both well-established and newly-formed oversight bodies, and explore ways to improve the clarity of institutional roles to avoid overlap, ensure full reporting of political entities’ finances, and impose appropriate sanctions for violations.
The first rule of law clinic with the Kosovo Central Election Commission and the Office for Registration, Certification, and Financial Control of Political Entities on how to organise secure elections and ensure transparency in political and campaign financing took place in Helsinki in October 2024. We thank Ministry of Justice, National Cyber Security Centre, National Audit Office, the Audit Committee at the Parliament of Finland and Ambassador Liisa Talonpoika for helping us to facilitate the clinic and for the insightful discussions.
Enhancing the Rule of Law in Uzbekistan
In March ,the Rule of Law Centre organized the first Rule of Law Clinics in Uzbekistan in 2025. In the first clinic, the staff of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Ombudsman) discussed the role of the Ombud Institution as the guardian of human rights and legality. In the second Rule of Law Clinic at the Tashkent State University of Law, after presentations about the role of the Ombud Institution in Finland, Uzbekistan, and globally, there was a lively discussion among the lecturers of the university. Topics discussed included the right to make initiatives by the Ombud Institution as well as the complaint mechanism. Most complaints to the Ombud Institution in Uzbekistan concern topics such as housing and alimony, and it seems that citizen trust in the Ombud Institution is quite high in Uzbekistan.
In 2024, the Rule of Law Centre had in total 11 Rule of Law Clinics with all its partners in Uzbekistan: Ministry of Justice, Anti-Corruption Agency, Ombud Institution and Tashkent State University of Law. With the Ministry of Justice, two of the clinics were divided into several parts, each focusing on different aspects of legislative impact assessment processes (e.g. environmental impacts and social impact such as impact on people with disabilities). With the Anti-Corruption Agency, some topics of the clinics were for example risk areas and practical strategies for combating corruption, especially in local governance. The clinics with the Tashkent State University of Law focused on training of the lecturers of criminal and constitutional law in the principles of rule of law and in methodology. With the Ombud Institution, the Rule of Law Clinics focused on strengthening the institution’s capacity in implementation of Paris principles (link) essential for the effective promotion and protection of human rights. Topics of the clinics have included for example artificial intelligence and the investigation processes related human rights violations.
Introducing Education to Rule of Law teaching modules in the Mozambican educational system
In February 2025, UNODC Mozambique, in collaboration with the Rule of Law Centre, organised a launch seminar on the localisation of educational modules adapted for the Mozambican context, addressing, among other issues, public integrity and corruption.
There was also a round-table discussion on the digitalisation of legal processes. Finnish experts and Mozambican authorities discussed the positives and negatives of digital transformation. Former Under-Secretary of State Kari Kiesiläinen briefed Mozambican authorities on the lessons learned from Finland’s respective processes and their history, including the preconditions required for effective eJustice, user-based planning, system interoperability, and potential complexities.
Strengthening Legal Frameworks in Namibia: Building Capacity for Cross-Border Family Law
With increasing cross-border interactions impacting families, it's more crucial than ever to ensure that international legal frameworks safeguard the welfare of children. The HCCH Children's Conventions provide effective and cost-effective systems for tackling these issues. In November 2024, the Rule of Law Centre participated in a workshop organised in collaboration with the Namibian Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare and the HCCH – Hague Conference on Private International Law with participants from key authorities and international organizations in Namibia on cross-border family issues.
Our on-going mission continues on the previous cooperation done in 2023 to provide Namibia with the capacity to accede to the HCCH 1996 Child Protection, 1980 Child Abduction, and the 2007 Child Support Conventions.
The Finnish expert delegation included Professor Katja Karjalainen from the University of Lapland and Senior Ministerial Adviser Maija Leppä and Senior Specialist Tanja Niemi from the Ministry of Justice of Finland, with Legal Officer Capucine Page from the HCCH providing technical support online.