Month of legal awareness

In accordance with current legislation, the state respects and protects the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of convicts, who enjoy all human and civil rights, with the exception of restrictions defined by the Laws of Ukraine, the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine, and court sentences.
The creation of a system of free legal aid for convicts is aimed at realising their right to access justice in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Legal aid for women serving sentences in the Chernihiv Penal Colony is, in our opinion, extremely necessary, as it contributes to the development of their legal culture, fosters the ability to use legal tools in practical activities, and will ensure their legal protection after release.
In order to provide legal aid to female convicts, representatives of the charitable organisation ‘Chernihiv Women’s Human Rights Centre’ invited I. A. Kebets, Chief Specialist of the Main Department of Justice in the Chernihiv region; V. V. Aksyon, Chief Specialist of the Chernihiv City Civil Registry Office; T. V. Yevtushenko, Chief Specialist, and Yu. M. Chernous, Leading Specialist of the State Executive Service Department; and V. A. Nevolko, Chief Specialist of the Notary Department of the Main Department of Justice in the Chernihiv region.
They answered numerous questions from the female convicts regarding changes in family and marital legal relations concerning the dissolution of marriage by women serving sentences in penal colonies, the procedure for inheritance by will and by law, the registration of the right to an inheritance, and the procedure for property confiscation.
Lawyers from the charitable organisation ‘Chernihiv Women’s Human Rights Centre’, who are members of the Chernihiv city and regional supervisory commissions, explained to the female convicts the procedure for applying for parole, the substitution of a sentence with a more lenient one, and the procedure for releasing pregnant women and women with children under the age of 3 from serving a sentence.
In addition, there was an intake of convicts for personal issues.


A. Lepyokha, Director of the ‘CWHRC’