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 2025, we organized the first two Rule of Law Clinics in Uzbekistan of 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 students and staff members 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.
A Rule of Law Centre delegation was in Tashkent to implement the project. The six Rule of Law experts on board divided their time between the lectures at Tashkent State University of Law and participation in the Uzbekistan Anti-Corruption Agency’s IV Tashkent Anti-Corruption Forum. Lectures, interviews and interesting discussions – a good basis to continue the cooperation - from Elina Pirjatanniemi (Professor, Åbo Akademi), Juho Pitkänen, Tuija Brax and Mirzokhid Karshiev.
In December 2024, we had three delegations from Uzbekistan visiting us in Helsinki. Over the course of three days, groups from the Uzbek Ombudsman’s office, Ministry of Justice and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) met and shared experiences with several Finnish experts, both from academia and state bodies.
The Uzbek Ombudsman’s office delegation learned about the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence and automatic decision-making from leading Finnish academics. The delegation also received a warm welcome at the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office from Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman Maija Sakslin, and planned to coming year with Deputy Chancellor of Justice Mikko Puumalainen.
For the Ministry of Justice employees, we organized a program around environmental impact assessment. Environmental issues are evermore present in the 21st century, both in Finland and in Uzbekistan - sharing expertise and experiences benefits everyone involved.
The clinic with ACA brought together experts from Finland and the Agency to discuss risk areas and practical strategies for combating corruption, especially in local governance. The program included insightful sessions on transparency, good governance, and the role of media and civil society in anti-corruption efforts.
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.