Yesterday marked the opening of the X-th anniversary Kharkiv International Legal Forumwhich, over the years, has become an important part of Ukrainian and international legal discourse, a space for professional dialogue, academic collaboration, and the search for solutions to the challenges on which the future of law, the state, and society largely depends.
The Kharkiv International Legal Forum was launched in 2017 as an open international platform for discussing the most pressing issues and challenges facing the national and global legal community.
The Forum was initiated by Vasyl Yakovych Tatsyi, Honorary President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, long-time rector of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, and Hero of Ukraine.
It was precisely thanks to his strategic vision and deep understanding of the role of legal scholarship and legal education in the development of the state that the foundation was laid for the creation of a platform that we today rightly call one of Ukraine’s leading international legal forums.
Since its founding in 2017, nine Kharkiv International Legal Forums have been held, attracting more than 15,000 participants and featuring approximately 1,000 world-class speakers and experts who shared their knowledge and practical experience.
The Forum has become a truly international platform for professional dialogue, bringing together representatives from 50 countries around the world. Over the years, the Forum’s program has steadily expanded to include more than 250 professional events, including international conferences, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, training sessions, expert sessions, presentations of scientific research, and special thematic events.
An important component of the Forum’s success is its strong network of partners. Over the past nine years, approximately 250 partner organizations - including international institutions, government agencies, professional associations, universities, research centers, law firms, and civil society organizations - have joined in organizing and hosting events.
This year’s Forum aims once again to go beyond the scope of a traditional academic event, transforming into a large-scale international platform for shaping new legal ideas, presenting the results of academic research, discussing legislative reforms, and developing practical recommendations for the development of Ukraine’s legal system and the international legal order. Participants include representatives from 19 countries: Belgium, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, the United States of America (USA), Ukraine, Finland, and Sweden. There were 20 events, 30 moderators, 210 speakers and experts, and over 2,000 registered participants.
The forum was opened by Anatolii Getman, rector of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.
Among the guests of honor:
🔹Ruslan Stefanchuk – Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
🔹Oleg Synegubov – Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration;
🔹Ihor Terekhov – Mayor of Kharkiv;
🔹Tetiana Egorova-Lutsenko – Chairwoman of the Kharkiv Regional Council;
🔹Oleksandr Petryshyn – Acting Chair of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;
🔹Stanislav Kravchenko – Chair of the Supreme Court;
🔹Denys Maslov – Minister of Justice of Ukraine;
🔹Volodymyr Zhuravel – President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.
Each of us understands that, for Ukraine today, the issue of the rule of law is not merely a matter of developing legislation or improving law enforcement practices. It is a matter of protecting human rights, safeguarding state sovereignty, holding perpetrators of international crimes accountable, restoring justice, protecting rights and freedoms, rebuilding the state, and establishing a legal order capable of ensuring peace and security.
That is precisely why the X-th Kharkiv International Legal Forum is of particular importance.
Kharkiv is a city that has become one of the symbols of Ukraine’s resilience. It is a city of science, education, and university traditions. It is a city that has suffered severe blows from the war but has not abandoned what matters most - justice, freedom, knowledge, and the drive to shape the future. Today, together, we are proving that a city that serves as a hub for education, science, and student life cannot be broken as long as knowledge, professional discourse, scientific thought, and faith in the future thrive within it.
And it is extremely important for our University that the Kharkiv International Legal Forum continues its legacy and serves as a testament to how a university initiative has, in a relatively short time, evolved into one of Ukraine’s most prestigious international legal forums, bringing together thousands of participants, hundreds of speakers, and dozens of countries around a common goal - upholding the rule of law, protecting human rights, and advancing modern legal scholarship - the University’s rector noted during the Forum’s opening ceremony.
Each Forum was a unique response to the challenges of its time. After all, the law does not exist outside of society. It evolves alongside the state, responding to changes in the economy and technology, to security challenges, to societal expectations, and, ultimately, to the most difficult trials humanity faces.
Russia’s war against Ukraine, the country’s European integration, rapid technological development, the growing use of artificial intelligence, and large-scale post-war recovery processes are fundamentally transforming legal systems and modern legal practice.
With these challenges and trends in mind, the 2026 Forum programme has been structured around six thematic tracks designed to address the most pressing legal issues facing Ukraine, Europe, and the international community:
🔹Postwar Justice: Accountability for Aggression and War Crimes, and Access to Justice
🔹Constitutional Resilience, Democratic Governance and Ukraine's Reconstruction
🔹Human Security: Health, Food Security, and Environmental Recovery
🔹AI, Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation of Law
🔹The Rule of Law, European Integration, Private Law, and Models of Dispute Resolution
🔹Future of Legal Education and the Legal Profession
The forum will run for five days - from September 21 to 25, 2026. We invite you to participate in the events, stay up to date on the latest developments, and be part of the professional dialogue.
Today, as we open the anniversary Kharkiv International Legal Forum, we must be especially mindful that the opportunity to live, work, teach, learn, engage in scholarly discussions, and talk about Ukraine’s future is owed first and foremost to our defenders.
It is they who, day after day on the battlefield, are fighting for Ukraine’s right to be a free, independent, and sovereign state. They are defending not only our territory - they are defending our right to a future, to education and science, to development, to justice, and to the rule of law.
We thank our defenders - both men and women - for giving us the opportunity to work, learn, conduct research, and build Ukraine’s future.
May our Forum be another significant step toward establishing justice, fairness, and peace for Ukraine.
I sincerely congratulate everyone on the opening of the X-th Kharkiv International Legal Forum!
Watch the recording of the opening ceremony.
The forum is organized by the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in cooperation with the Kharkiv City Council, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, the Kharkiv Regional Council and the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine..
The Forum’s partners play an important role in organizing and conducting the Forum; their support helps foster professional dialogue, strengthen cooperation, and implement joint initiatives.
The Forum's partners were:
🔹 General Partners:
- Shkrebets & Partners Law Firm
- Krupnova & Partners Law Firm
🔹 Exclusive partners:
- Grain Law Firm
- Spravar Law Firm
🔹 Forum Partners:
- Justeco Law Company
- Ares Law Firm
- BELPART
- NOVAGROUP
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our partners for their support, trust, and contribution to the development of legal education, scholarship, and the professional community!