As the world has its eyes on the tragic events taking place in Ukraine, we want to share a personal appeal from one of IACA’s long time members, Natalia Chumack, leader of the Association for Judicial Administrators of Ukraine’s Court Management Institute. In the appeal below, Natalia offers a first-hand glimpse into what is happening in Ukraine and offers some ways we can help.  

---

 

Dear international professional community of court administrators!

I am Natalia Chumak and I am a leader of the Association of Judicial Administrators of Ukraine "Court Management Institute". Today the whole world knows that on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Not only military facilities, but also civilian areas and objects (residential buildings, hospitals, kindergartens, etc.) are under the indiscriminate attack of the Russian forces. 

The brutal and cynical war started by Russia not only threatens the sovereignty of Ukraine, but also jeopardizes the security system of the entire world. The ongoing heroic battle of Ukrainian soldiers and all Ukrainian people currently prevents the expansion of Putin's tyrannical dictatorship further into Western Europe. 

Today, my colleagues continue to serve Ukraine. Most perform their professional duties in the courts in the realities of wartime. Someone took up arms in defense of Ukraine and its citizens. Some became a volunteer. 

My friend Olena, a court administrator from Kharkiv, has endured the horrendous intense bombardment of her hometown for several days, along with her newborn granddaughter, who came into this world three days before the start of the Russian invasion. 

I remain in Kyiv, fulfill my professional duties and I'm ready to help my city survive. I am writing this appeal between air raid alerts, and my family is now in my hometown near Kyiv. The name of this small defenseless town is Borodianka. He was wiped off the face of the earth by Russian tanks and planes just because he was on their way to Kiev. His name has become a symbol of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, and the whole civilized world must know about it.

We are deeply touched by that expression of the solidarity and support of Ukraine, the assistance provided to our country and the severe sanctions already imposed on the aggressor by foreign states and organizations.

We believe that our colleagues from the world are standing by us and seeking ways to help Ukraine. To facilitate this, we provide the non-exhaustive list of various actions that may help Ukrainian nation to get through these harsh times.

1. Make donations to Ukraine's Armed Forces and charities helping them. Please see the list of the verified fundraising initiatives and bank details for donations in different currencies: (https://www.kernel.ua/support-for-ukrainian-army/)
2. Make donations to the international organisations helping Ukrainians during the Russian aggression, in particular: (https://www.kernel.ua/support-for-ukrainian-army/)
3. Block and ignore all Russian propaganda media, such as Russia Today, RTR, RIA Novosti, etc.
4. Use and share only reliable sources of information. You may rely on the following official Ukrainian sources:
• The President of Ukraine;
• The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine;
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;
• The Parliament of Ukraine;
• The Cabinet Ministers of Ukraine.
5. Express your support of Ukraine to the government of your state, business partners and colleagues to intensify military and other assistance for Ukraine, as well as to facilitate imposing as severe as possible sanctions on Russia.
6. Please, write a few words of support for our Ukrainian colleagues in these incredibly difficult days. You can post your support post on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/court.management.institute) or send a message to my email ([email protected]).

Your help would be much appreciated in this tough time for Ukraine.
God bless us! Glory to Ukraine!

Best Wishes
Natalia Chumak

Original Message

---

 

IACA was created in 2004 by court system executives and managers. Its founding principles envision a global association of professionals collectively engaged in promoting the effective administration of justice.  We do so by endeavoring to build and sustain well-managed, independently governed, effectively administered, and publicly accessible court systems.  IACA’s global governance framework is directed by a president and president-elect who are assisted by an Executive Board comprising vice-presidents who oversee its activities in geographically defined regions of the world and other executive officers.  IACA also has an Advisory Council comprising senior-level justice-sector leaders.  Our programs and services include international and regional conferences which attract professionals from throughout the world, publication each year of two issues of the International Journal on Court Administration, maintenance of technical resource/research database, and newsletter, some of which are available only to current members.  We provide opportunity for court and justice system professionals to network, build relationships, engage in professional development activities, and otherwise contribute to fostering court excellence, access to justice, and optimal public service.  We also promote and support through a special membership category the development of national and regional associations of judges and court employees who join together to collectively improve how their courts are managed and administered and to lobby for the resources to do so.

We welcome your interest in IACA and urge you to consider joining us through one of our categories of membership and participating in our conferences.  We also encourage all current and future members to actively involve themselves in IACA’s future development and expansion through taking on leadership roles at the regional and national levels.  We are a dynamic organization and perpetually interested in ideas and suggestions as to how we might improve and expand the services we provide.