For six years, JustConf has brought together criminal justice professionals, creating a space for honest conversation about change and for searching for solutions that can change the system from within. It has become an annual meeting point for people who think beyond their narrow roles and who are ready to see the entire system in its interconnections. This year’s conference, “JustConf2025: Think Holistic,” held on 4 December 2025, gathered nearly 130 practitioners from across Ukraine’s criminal justice system.

“JustConf is an event about ideas that change the criminal justice system. I want to emphasise the meanings embedded in the conference format. The first is subjectivity. Bold and capable people must have the opportunity to voice their ideas. That is why the speakers themselves chose the topics of their presentations. Second, the value of ideas. Well-thought-out and well-formulated proposals can become points of growth for the system and professional communities. Third, space for dialogue. JustConf is not just a stage. It is an opportunity for participants to reflect on what they have heard and discuss it together. And finally, community. We bring together national institutions, international organisations, and donors to form a common logic for action and transformation in criminal justice,” stressed Vasylyna Yavorska, Head of JustGroup

Over the past six years, JustConf has evolved from presenting innovative tools to engaging in deeper conversations about values and meaning — leadership, justice, human dignity, and common sense. This progression naturally led to the 2025 theme: thinking holistic. It is about moving beyond narrow functions and embracing responsibility for a shared result. It is about leadership, but also about personal development through thinking, and system development through the ability to see and change the whole.

Key Themes of 2025

It is important for us that ideas come from people who work in the system every day and understand it from within. As every year, we held an open call for ideas and were impressed by the quality of submissions. The JustConf2025 stage brought together voices from the judiciary, investigation, prosecution, defence, international projects, academia, and public administration — people who see the system from different angles but are united by the desire to think beyond their own role.

That is why we opened the event with a talk that set the framework for such thinking. The conference began with a keynote by musician, entrepreneur, and systems-development consultant Denys Bloshchynskyi, titled “When Justice Becomes an Illusion: Four Behavioral Traps of the System.” His talk set the tone of the event and became a guide into systemic, holistic thinking — the approach that shaped the entire format of JustConf2025.

Throughout the day, the program moved from individual experience to wider systemic perspectives. Each talk added a new dimension to the overarching picture:

• Masi Nayyem, lawyer and managing partner, Miller Law Firm — on the rights of military personnel and why accountability is essential to prevent abuses within the armed forces.
• Olha Shevchenko, judge, the Verkhnodniprovskiy District Court — on dignity as the foundation of every procedural decision.
• Artem Shevchyshen, Deputy Head of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police — on investigative management discipline and the standardised approaches that prevent critical elements from being overlooked.

• Anastasiia Renkas, Head of Whistleblower Protection Development at NACP — on whistleblowers and why truth often becomes known not to institutions, but to individuals, making their protection vital.
• Ivan Dulkai, Senior Investigator, Main Investigative Department of the National Police — on accountability for war crimes and why approaches must change if Ukraine aims for real results.
• Mykola Karas, Deputy Head of Division, Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office — on courtroom logic that must be predictable and transparent to ensure efficiency and justice.

• Oksana Kaidanovych, Head of the Department for Child Protection and Domestic Violence Prevention, Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor’s Office — on juvenile responsibility in sexual offence cases, where the law often proves harsher than real life.
• Volodymyr Venher, Dean of the Faculty of Law at NaUKMA — on how war and rapid change reshape the way legal professionals think.
• Serhii Moisak, Judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court — on rethinking punishment and building a resocialisation system that genuinely gives people a chance to return to society.
• Olesiia Otradnova, Senior National Legal Advisor, International Criminal Justice Initiative (Georgetown University) — on leadership in criminal justice and why there are so few leaders capable of uniting, inspiring, and guiding teams.
• Andrii Sliusаr, lawyer, partner, Nazar Kulchytskyi & Partners Law Firm — on the internal mechanics of justice: how roles, expectations, and professional positions shape outcomes in criminal proceedings.

Together, these conversations formed a holistic space where ideas became not abstractions, but actionable steps toward a more coherent, humane, and effective system.

Partners Who Make Transformation Possible

JustConf would not exist without the organisations that have supported the development of criminal justice in Ukraine for many years. Among them: the International Renaissance Foundation, UNDP in Ukraine with support from the Government of Japan, Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, the EU Project Pravo-Justice, and the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine. Together, we work to ensure that conference ideas become real solutions — from war-crimes investigation standards to development programmes and analytical work.

This year, a broad coalition of national institutions also joined as partners — institutions without which criminal justice is impossible to imagine: the Supreme Court, High Anti-Corruption Court, Office of the Prosecutor General, National Police of Ukraine, National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bureau of Economic Security. A special role was played by law firms that strengthen the professional environment and support a culture of open dialogue: Nazar Kulchytskyi & Partners, Azones, and Miller.  Yurydychna Hazeta became a media partner of the event.

Beyond Ideas

Ideas are only the beginning. Systems change when people change. For us, JustConf is a place where professional worlds intersect, where new connections emerge, and where a culture of cooperation takes shape. One day cannot solve all systemic challenges — but it can launch processes that reshape rules, approaches, and practices.

Photo: Anna Putylina