Page 39 - Report on the infringement of rights and guarantees of attorneys in Ukraine

When disclosing the case file, the prosecution does not provide real access to
material evidence for the process participants. It sometimes happens that
prosecutors refuse to accept materials that are disclosed to parties by an
attorney . The prosecutor's office, referring to certain evidence, impedes the
requirements of attorneys to present it, to enable the defence and the court to
fully familiarise themselves with it. This also includes familiarisation with video
materials in court (parts of interviews, speeches, etc.), when the defence has
observations regarding full familiarisation for establishing the context of what is
taking place on video, and a comprehensive study of the case file .
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According to the Convention, such cases have already been assessed in ECHR
judgments. In a number of cases (Welke and Bialek v. Poland, Jasper v. The
United Kingdom and A. and Others v. The United Kingdom) the ECHR held that
prosecution authorities should disclose to the defence all material evidence in
their possession for or against the accused. Failure to provide such materials is a
violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (right to a fair trial).

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