Ensuring independence of judges and the authority of justice was discussed at a meeting of the High Council of Justice working group
On April 11, 2025, a meeting of the HCJ working group on the development and implementation of measures to ensure the independence of judges and the authority of justice was held under the chairmanship of HCJ member Oleksandr Sasevych.
The participants of the working group heard information on the status of implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of the European Commission's recommendations for the effective functioning of the judiciary.
Oleksandr Sasevych informed about the completion of an anonymous survey of judges initiated by the working group in November 2024. The purpose of the survey was to study the perception of judicial independence by judges themselves and to identify problematic issues that need to be addressed.
During the meeting, the members of the working group considered it appropriate to initiate amendments to the current legislation, in particular to the provisions obliging judges to report interference in their work to the HCJ and the Prosecutor General.
The Chairman of the HCJ Hryhorii Usyk noted that the transfer of computer equipment and server hardware to the Service of Disciplinary Inspector of the HCJ is another example of effective cooperation with the EU and the “Pravo-Justice” Project. This equipment is a significant contribution to ensuring the efficient and high-quality work of the newly created service. Both the methodological and material support provided at a difficult time for Ukraine is particularly valuable. The assistance received will help to improve the level of technical support for HCJ members and employees of the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors, especially in the context of the resumption of consideration of cases of disciplinary liability of judges.
On April 15, 2025, the HCJ decided to make a submission to the President of Ukraine on appointing Mushket Oleksandr Oleksandrovych to the position of the judge of the Illichivskyi district court of Mariupol of Donetsk region.
HCJ dismissed three judges from their offices on general grounds
On April 15, 2025, the HCJ decided to dismiss:
- Tereschenko Oksana Ivanivna from the office of the judge of the Eastern appellate commercial court due to filing of application for resignation;
- Verheles Andrii Valeriiovych from the office of the judge of the Vinnytsia circuit administrative court on his own volition.
On April 17, 2025, the HCJ decided to dismiss Rebrov Serhii Oleksiiovych from the office of the Dnipropetrovsk district court of Dnipropetrovsk region due to filing of application for resignation.
ECHR judgment in Ignatov v. Ukraine is important for the practice of the High Council of Justice
Member of the HCJ Serhii Burlakov took part in a roundtable discussion on ways to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the group of cases Ignatov v. Ukraine and compliance with Article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In the case of Ignatov v. Ukraine, the ECHR found a violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, as the authorities did not provide convincing reasons for keeping the applicant in custody before the sentence was passed. The courts repeated the same arguments, including references to the seriousness of the charges and the risk of escaping, without properly reviewing the justification for detention over time. In addition, alternative measures of restraint were not considered.
In his speech, Serhii Burlakov noted that the ECHR judgement in this case has a significant impact on the practice of the High Council of Justice in considering applications for granting consent to detention, custody or arrest of judges.
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