On October 04, 2023, the Deputy Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Ruslan Sydorovych met online with representatives of International Technical Assistance projects (hereinafter referred to as ITA) in the area of strengthening the Rule of Law, organized with the support of the USAID Justice for All Program.
The meeting was also attended by Olena Ponomarenko, Head of the Commission’s Secretariat, and Commission members Roman Sabodash, Andrii Pasichnyk, and Vitalii Gatseliuk.
The event was dedicated to the topic “Effective Cooperation of the Public Integrity Council and the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine”.
In his speech, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission expressed his gratitude to the USAID Justice for All Program for the invitation to participate in such format. He further informed the audience that the Commission actively cooperating with the Public Integrity Council (hereinafter referred to as PIC) intends to resume the qualification evaluation of judges in the near future. The Deputy Chairman mentioned that the Commission has already published the tentative schedules of hearings during qualification evaluation of judges in October and November 2023. He hopes that PIC will play a pivotal role in establishing whether a judge (judicial candidate) meets the criteria of professional ethics and integrity for the qualification evaluation, allowing replenishing the judiciary on the basis of objectivity and integrity.
PIC coordinators Oleh Yakymiak and Veronika Kreidenkova informed about the PIC’s activities, its priorities, and plans to assist the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine in establishing compliance of judges and judicial candidates with the criteria of professional ethics and integrity, as well as about the challenges faced by the new PIC members.
There was further discussion on the necessity to amend and modify the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” with regard to improve the judicial selection procedure, PIC role enhancement etc.
PIC and the Commission’s representatives underscored the necessity to establish effective communication between the Commission and the public, ensuring the appropriate level of confidence of civil society towards processes, taking place in the Commission.
We would like to highlight, that the Commission has recently announced a competition for 560 vacant positions of judges in local courts and for 532 vacant positions of judges in appellate courts.
