On September 29, 2025, members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Ihor Kushnir and Oleksii Omelian, took part in the discussion of draft laws on the establishment of military courts, which were considered at a meeting of the working group of the Scientific Advisory Council at the Supreme Court.
The participants of the event provided proposals regarding the preparation of conclusions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court on the draft laws of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” regarding the functioning of military courts” (reg. No. 13048 of February 27, 2025) and “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” regarding the creation and organisation of military courts” (reg. No. 13048-1 of March 11, 2025).
Oleksii Omelian emphasised the importance of amending Article 69 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges”. In particular, he drew attention to the lack of a legitimate purpose for restricting the participation of academics from higher education institutions in the field of military law in judicial career procedures. Such a restriction is provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4 of part seven of the aforementioned article.
During the discussion, the algorithms for staffing military courts under the two draft laws were analysed. Oleksii Omelian spoke about the role of the High Council of Justice in the future selection and prospects for staffing military courts. He also proposed to provide for the rapid launch of military courts by transferring judges without competition according to criteria defined by law, such as experience as a judge in military courts or their patronage services and military service.
The meeting of the working group of the Scientific Advisory Council was attended by judges of the Supreme Court, leading Ukrainian scholars in the field of judicial system, representatives of parliament, the Office of the President of Ukraine, practicing lawyers, representatives of the prosecutor’s office, the bar, military authorities, command, and international experts.
