Chapter 6. Compliance with the rule of law in the exercise of justice One of the key mechanisms for the protection of human rights in Ukraine is the right of every person to appeal in court against the decisions, actions or omissions of public authorities. At the same time, the main guarantee of judicial protection of human rights is the principle of the rule of law. In Ukraine, the justice system is not adequately regulated and it does not ensure respect for the fundamental rights of participants at all stages of criminal, civil and administrative proceedings, as well as at the stage of execution of court decisions. This is evident in the 4,069 appeals and the 6,399 reports made to the Commissioner in the reporting year from citizens, officials and lawyers relating to violations of procedural rights. Significant shortcomings in the functioning of the judiciary have also been evidenced by the large number of appeals from judges regarding the lack of court premises, as well as a significant number of open vacancies and the absence of judges from courts. This situation leads to violations of the constitutional right to judicial protection. The Commissioner has been focusing on all of these issues. In 2019, measures were taken to: restore the rights of citizens when these were violated; identify systematic problems in the functioning of the justice system and send requests regarding these; and monitor compliance concerning procedural rights for all participants in 303 open hearings, in order to prevent such violations in the future. 2019 4,069 appeals from citizens and 6,399 reports 303 court hearings monitored 6.1. Rights of participants in criminal proceedings during detention, arrest and investigation In 2019, the Commissioner received 2,702 reports on violations of procedural rights of participants in criminal proceedings, including improper pre-trial investigation, failure to meet reasonable pre-trial investigation deadlines, violation of the right to defence, failure to enter information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URPTI), and failure or refusal to issue an URPTI excerpt. The right to an effective pre-trial investigation A significant proportion of the reports received by the Commissioner concerned improper conduct of the pre-trial investigation: failure to enter information on a criminal offence into the URPTI; failure or refusal to provide excerpts from the URPTI; inaction on the part of the investigator and/or prosecutor; 123 CHAPTER 6 COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULE OF LAW IN THE EXERCISE OF JUSTICE