Dmytro Yagunov brings more than 25 years of hands-on professional experience spanning criminal defence and human-rights litigation, international expert work, legal policy advising, academic teaching, and prison inspection.
- Attorney at Law (Advocate)
Ukrainian National Bar Association — since 2009
Representation of clients before Ukrainian courts at all levels and before the European Court of Human Rights. Focus areas: ill-treatment and torture, unlawful detention and pre-trial custody conditions, disciplinary proceedings, ECHR Rule 39 interim measures, and civil damages for human-rights violations.
Selected ECHR matters: Ivanov v. Ukraine (No. 47391/15 — police ill-treatment), Avetisova v. Ukraine, Kazak v. Ukraine, Sklyarenko v. Ukraine (No. 18277/18 — prison torture), and more than a dozen Article 3/5 complaints currently pending in Strasbourg.
- Member, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
Council of Europe — since December 2021 (elected in respect of Ukraine)
Participation in CPT periodic and ad-hoc visits: Moldova (2022), Cyprus (2023), Lithuania (2024), Republic of Ireland (2024). Active member of the CPT Working Group on tackling prison subcultures and informal prison hierarchies.
- International & National Expert — Council of Europe
2020–2022: International expert, CoE Project on reforming the penitentiary system of Ukraine.
2011–2018: National expert, CoE Projects on reforming the penitentiary system of Ukraine.
Responsibilities included drafting legal opinions, developing training materials, delivering workshops, and conducting interviews with prison and probation leadership.
- Legal Adviser — Administration of the President of Ukraine (2015 – 2019)
Drafted constitutional amendments (justice chapter), amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, and recommendations on penitentiary inspections that led to changes to the Constitution of Ukraine.
- Academic Adviser & Legal Counsellor — State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine (2010 – 2016)
Prepared draft legislation in the area of sentence execution; provided analytical and academic support to both the central service and the Odessa Regional Administration.
- Legal Expert — UNICEF Project on Probation (2007 – 2008)
Co-developed the Concept of Probation in Ukraine and drafted the Law of Ukraine “On Probation” — one of the key justice-reform milestones of the decade.
- Academic & Teaching
Visiting Professor, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (since 2022) — currently a research fellow under the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative.
Professor of the Political Sciences Department, Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia (since 2019).
Previous lectureships: Odessa National Law Academy, Odessa National Maritime Academy, International Humanitarian University, Odessa Regional Institute of Public Administration, and the Institute of Prison Service (Kyiv).
Subjects taught: criminology, prison law, international penitentiary systems, human rights in criminal justice, European integration, and penology.
- Investigator / Assistant District Prosecutor
Prosecution Office, Autonomous Republic of Crimea — 2000–2001
Supervised police, conducted pre-trial investigations of torture and other crimes by law-enforcement officials, and supervised execution of criminal sentences.
