Democracy in Transition: Securing Human Rights through Administrative Justice in Ukraine

Reforming a totalitarian state requires the changing of old institutions to new democratic ones, establishing new democratic procedures, changing people's mindsets and introducing new democratic values. Many observers claim that Ukraine, the second-most populous country of the former Soviet Union, has fallen short of making meaningful democratic reforms. While much work in this regard remains to be done, it would be unfair to claim that Ukraine has not made any advancement with regard to democratic reforms. In this article, we describe and analyze broadly the correlation between the establishment of the new administrative court system in Ukraine and the ability of asylum-seekers to gain asylum status as evidence of intentional democratic reforms. The findings, which derive from data gathered from the Ukraine Register of Court cases from May 2009 through May 2010, suggest that Ukraine has implemented such reforms slowly and awkwardly. However, we suggest that Ukraine's recent establishment of an administrative court reveals that deliberate, albeit cautious, steps have been taken to limit the power of the current government and hold it responsive and responsible towards the people.