7 judges resigned
The HCJ decided to dismiss due to the applications for resignation:
- Lyla Vitalii Mykolaiovych – from the office of the judge of the Novomoskovskyi city district court of Dnipropetrovsk region;
- Tonkonozhenko Mykola Mykolaiovych – from the office of the judge of the Kyivskyi district court of Odesa;
- Zhyhulin Serhii Mykolaiovych – from the office of the judge of the Izmailskyi city district court of Odesa region;
- Kucheriavenko Serhii Stepanovych – from the office of the judge of the Veselynivskyi district court of Mykolaiv region;
- Burlaka Iryna Vasylivna – from the office of the judge of the Kharkiv appellate court;
- Novov Serhii Oleksandrovych – from the office of the judge of the Kyiv appellate court;
- Shevchuk Svitlana Rostyslavivna – from the office of the judge of the Northern appellate commercial court.
HCJ changed the territorial jurisdiction of cases of four courts of Donetsk region
The HCJ changed the territorial jurisdiction of cases of four courts of Donetsk region from September 2, 2024, namely:
- Dzerzhynskyi city court of Donetsk region – by transferring the jurisdiction to the Samarskyi district court of Dnipropetrovsk;
- Dymytrovskyi city court of Donetsk region – by transferring the jurisdiction to the Babushkinskyi district court of Dnipropetrovsk;
- Krasnoarmiiskyi city district court of Donetsk region – by transferring the jurisdiction to the Zavodskyi district court of Dniprodzerzhynsk of Dnipropetrovsk region;
- Selydivskyi city court of Donetsk region – by transferring the jurisdiction to the Kirovskyi district court of Dnipropetrovsk.
HCJ addressed the KMU and MFU regarding the adequate funding of the judiciary
To ensure the independence of judges and the authority of justice in terms of proper funding and conditions for the functioning of courts, bodies and institutions of the justice system in 2025, on August 29, 2024, the HCJ made a public appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
The text of the public appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is available here.
The results of the project “Support for the Reform of the Occupational Classifier, development of legal profession standards in Ukraine”, implemented by the Ukrainian Bar Association with the support of the USAID Justice for All Program, were discussed. During the event, draft amendments to the Classifier of Professions in terms of the legal profession were presented, as well as draft standards for the professions of Judge, Prosecutor and Legal Advisor.
HCJ member Inna Plakhtii noted that the standards of the legal profession are crucial, especially for ensuring the quality of justice. They define clear requirements for lawyers’ qualifications and competence. And it helps to ensure a high level of professionalism. This guarantees that justice is administered by competent and trained professionals, which increases public confidence in the judiciary.
Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov took part in the discussion on reforming higher legal education in Ukraine
Deputy Chairman of the HCJ Dmytro Lukianov, Head of the HCJ Secretariat Mykhailo Shumylo participated in the work of the round table, where the report “Reform of higher legal education in Ukraine: approaches to distinguishing between training of specialists for the legal profession and law enforcement agencies’ was presented. The report was prepared by the Reanimation package of reforms coalition in cooperation with the DEJURE Foundation with the support of the National Democratic Institute and the USAID Justice for All Program.
Dmytro Lukianov informed that HCJ will take part in the meeting with the European Commission, which will be held on 17 September 2024 in Brussels (Belgium), on the topic of negotiating chapter 23 ‘Judiciary and fundamental rights’, which includes the reform of legal education. During this meeting, the situation with legal education in Ukraine will be presented and proposals for its reform will be developed, after which an action plan for Ukraine will be developed. Certain recommendations for Ukraine's next steps will largely depend on the position of European experts.
Activity of the HCJ secretariat in figures for January – August, 2024
During eight months of 2024, 3229 appeals from citizens and 1008 requests for information were considered by employees of the HCJ Secretariat; 1707 appeals from citizens were received to the HCJ hotline at the telephone number: (044) 481-06-26; also 8908 cover letters on sending copies of the acts of the HCJ and its bodies were prepared, 15 251 copies of the acts of the HCJ, its bodies and members of the HCJ were issued, 18641 pages of draft documents of the HCJ were edited.
In January - August 2024, the official website of the High Council of Justice published: 3925 HCJ acts, 1929 other documents, 517 news and announcements; 1116 information materials were posted on the HCJ social media; more than 2100 information materials were published in the News section of the Judiciary of Ukraine portal.
Optimization of the court network is in the focus of attention of key stakeholders
A roundtable discussion on ‘Optimization of the court network: current state, challenges and prospects’ was held. The event, which brought together a wide range of experts, was organized by the EU Project “Pravo-Justice”.
The Chairman of the HCJ Hryhorii Usyk stressed that optimization of the network of local general courts is a component of the judicial reform, which is one of the most important conditions for Ukraine's progress on the path of European integration. “ We need to take a balanced approach to this issue, taking into account all the real risks, the specifics of each region and the amount of resources required. Therefore, neither the legislator nor the judicial administration will be able to solve all the issues on their own. This case requires a systematic, comprehensive approach and joint actions. Including amendments to the legislation on territorial jurisdiction of cases”, – he said.