Representatives of Strategic Advocacy took part in the XVI Kyiv Criminal Law Forum

On June 13, 2025, Kyiv hosted the XVI Kyiv Criminal Law Forum, a key event for the legal community dedicated to current challenges in the field of criminal law and procedure under martial law. Representatives of Strategic Advocacy Law Firm joined the event and took part in professional discussions on the future of justice in Ukraine.

“It is extremely important for our team to participate in such professional events,” said Bohdan Khmelnytsky, managing partner and founder of Strategic Advocacy, “We work on complex cases that require innovative solutions and deep knowledge. Each victory for us is not just a case, but a real protection of human rights. That is why we are constantly improving ourselves, sharing our experience with colleagues and participating in such forums. This is a space for professional development and interaction.”

Pressure on business: a reality that cannot be tolerated

One of the hottest topics of the forum was the issue of systemic pressure on business by law enforcement agencies. Practicing attorneys, representatives of the NABU, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the business community discussed painful cases and jointly sought solutions to help stop this negative trend.

The situation is threatening: unreasonable searches, seizure of equipment, blocking of accounts, seizure of property, constant summonses for interrogations – all this paralyzes companies’ operations and destroys the country’s investment attractiveness. Representatives of the IT sector, defense companies, and companies involved in public procurement are particularly vulnerable. In many cases, the methods resemble not law enforcement, but a tool of pressure or an attempt to gain access to internal information of companies.

Representatives of the legal community pointed out that dubious criminal proceedings initiated on deliberately contrived grounds, such as “tax evasion” or “cooperation with risky counterparties,” have become commonplace.

The parallel handling of cases by several law enforcement agencies, violations of the procedure for seizing documents and data, and leaks of information to the media or competitors are no longer isolated incidents but symptoms of a deeper crisis in the interaction between the state and business.

The war has not become a deterrent. On the contrary, some law enforcement agencies have intensified their actions, using martial law as a screen for excessive interference in business processes.

The forum participants came to a common conclusion: legal awareness, legal support, internal audit and compliance should become a mandatory part of the protection of every company, regardless of its size and industry. At the same time, it is important to conduct public communication and media coverage of pressure and violations of rights in order to create a public outcry and generate demand for fair law enforcement practices.

Reform of criminal law is urgent

An equally important issue discussed at the forum was the update of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Participants emphasized that the current version is based on the outdated Soviet legal model of 1960 and does not meet either modern law enforcement needs or European standards.

During the presentation of the draft of the new Criminal Code, Oleksiy Gorokh, attorney, PhD, associate professor and member of the Working Group on the development of the document, emphasized that the new code should not only update the terminology and structure, but also change the very philosophy of criminal law from punitive to protective.

In particular, it is about:

• rejection of unnecessary criminalization of social relations;
• transition to the principle of “minimal state intervention”;
• adaptation to the needs of business, the human rights community, and wartime.

The work on the project is supported by two national scientific examinations, a logical and linguistic analysis by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, international legal expertise, and public consultations with lawyers, judges, and MPs.

Events such as the Kyiv Criminal Law Forum are extremely important for building a strong legal community in Ukraine. They create a platform for open dialogue, exchange of experience, discussion of new approaches and development of a common vision of reforms. It is at such professional forums that ideas are born, which are subsequently transformed into real changes – both in approaches to law enforcement and in the quality of legal aid. For us, participation in such events is not only about learning, but also about working together on the future of the country’s legal system.