Supporting Ukraine

Over 700 law books have now arrived at the West Ukrainian National University in Ternopil. This is part of an important initiative by the European Law Institute led by Fryderyk Zoll, Professor at Jagiellonian University and Osnabrück University to contribute to a new European Law Library at the West Ukrainian National University. The purpose of the new library is to support research and teaching on EU law and comparative law. The library is a vitally important resource for lecturers and students particularly at this time with the restrictions on travel for Ukrainians during the current conflict.

The ILBF was delighted to work with Professor Zoll and Maciej Bujalski in Poland to furnish the new library with books collected and packed by Hannah Zia, Zachary Yong, Jonathan Keyte and Joy Magomba of the Cambridge University Law Society Pro Bono Committee. The timing worked well and within a few weeks the books were en-route to Poland as the first stop. We are very grateful to the Cambridge students for supporting this project – it was a great collaborative effort.  

From Poland, the books were transported in a fire truck, seen off on its journey by Professor Zoll’s father, Professor Andrzej Zoll, the former Polish Ombudsman and former Chair of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. Professor Fryderyk Zoll was joined on the journey by Wiktor Antolak (PhD Student at Jagiellonian University), Dr Robert Schönberg (medical doctor from the Hamburg area) and Olaf Pätsch (a German farmer). 

The fire truck was donated by the town of Melle in Lower Saxony, Germany, together with medical equipment and medicines for Ukraine. The journey across the border into Ukraine was not without its challenges. Once in Ternopil, the team from Poland and Germany were greeted warmly by the University and the books unloaded as recorded on Ukrainian TV. The town has recently been under rocket attack with casualties amongst the wider University community.

As Professor Zoll says:

‘Our fire brigade car packed with books became a symbol of hope for a good future.’

After dropping off the books in Ternopil, the fire truck continued on its journey eastward, travelling through Kremenets where the Polish-Ukrainian nationalist poet Tymka Padura is commemorated.  The team delivered medical equipment there and then continued eastwards via Kiev to the Boczeczky commune, a village in northern Ukraine, only 30km from the Russian border. There the fire truck was handed over to the mayor and local officials, to work alongside the village’s only other fire truck which is 50 years old.  Professor Zoll and the team made the return journey via Lviv where again they learned of the tragedies played out every day during the conflict. Professor Zoll and his colleagues in Poland and Germany are dedicated to continuing their efforts to support Ukraine and to help it build the future it deserves once the war ends.

Huge thanks to Professor Zoll, Wiktor Antolak, Dr Robert Schönberg and Olaf Pätsch for undertaking the difficult journey to Ternopil and for their unwavering support not just of the West Ukrainian National University but to the many communities in Ukraine who have benefitted from their efforts.

The arrival of the books in Ukraine is a fitting way to start this the ILBF’s 20th anniversary year. The ILBF is committed to support the rule of law and access to justice through sharing legal knowledge.