On April 16–18, 2024, members of the Commission Oleh Koliush and Roman Sabodash paid a working visit to Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania, as part of a delegation of representatives of the judiciary of Ukraine.
The event was implemented by the company “Good to know” within the framework of the Project “Strengthening communication competencies of the judicial system of Ukraine by developing an effective internal communication system and sustainable communication tools” financed from Lithuanian Development Cooperation Fund.
The visit was aimed at obtaining insight into the activities of the Lithuanian judiciary, sharing experience and best practices of effective internal communication in the judicial community, cooperation with other branches of government, and strengthening public trust in justice.
The participants visited some state institutions, including the Ministry of Justice of Lithuania and District Court of Vilnius City. During the visit to the National Courts Administration of Lithuania, the Ukrainian delegates were welcomed by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council Sigita Rudėnaitė and the Director of the National Courts Administration of Lithuania Dr. Natalija Kaminskienė. They spoke about the procedures for selecting judges in Lithuania, their training and career advancement, communication with the public, and the implementation of IT systems in Lithuanian courts. At the Supreme Court of Lithuania, representatives of the Ukrainian delegation met with the President of the Court Dr. Danguolė Bublienė, Chairperson of the Civil Division
Dr. Artūras Driukas and Chairperson of the Criminal Division Dr. Gabrielė Juodkaitė-Granskienė. The delegates also visited the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Lithuania, headed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine Petro Beshta.
In the context of the topic of effective internal coordination in the judicial community, the co-founders of the company “Good to know” Reda Molienė and Živilė Navickaitė-Babkin made a number of recommendations to the participants on how to improve internal and external communication in the judicial community in Ukraine.
During the discussions and deliberations, a member of the Commission and Head of the Working Group on organizing and conducting the competition for vacant positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court and the Chamber of Appeal of the High Anti-Corruption Court Oleh Koliush, informed his Lithuanian colleagues about the competition. He noted that preparations for interviews with nominees for the positions of members of the Public Council of International Experts are underway, which should help the Commission to establish whether the candidates for the positions of HACC judges meet the criteria of professional ethics and integrity.
Commission member Roman Sabodash focused the participants’ attention on the results of competitions for vacant judicial positions, selection of candidates for judges of local and appellate courts, qualification evaluation of judges for their suitability for the position, temporary transfer (secondment) of judges to other courts, which are carried out by the Commission.
Representatives of the Ukrainian judiciary shared with their Lithuanian colleagues their experience of administering justice in the country during the war, and described how courts and cases were evacuated from the temporarily occupied territories.
The Ukrainian delegation, in addition to HQCJ members, included Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov, members of the High Council of Justice Oleksii Melnyk and Tetiana Bondarenko and representatives of the High Council of Justice Secretariat, Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Bohdan Monich and member of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Valeria Chorna, Rector of the National School of Judges of Ukraine Mykola Onishchuk, Acting Head of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine Maksym Pampura, Head of the NGO All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees Natalia Korol and member of the NGO All-Ukrainian Association of Court Employees Olena Bezborodova.
