There is a growing request for remote consideration of court cases in Ukraine – Hryhorii Usyk
HCJ Chairman Hryhorii Usyk took part in the event dedicated to the presentation of the updated analytical report ‘Remote Hearings in civil, commercial and administrative proceedings’ developed by the NGO ‘Interregional Expert Centre “PRO Justice” with the support of the EU project “Pravo-Justice”.
Hryhorii Usyk highlighted the relevance of such report, as the judicial system has been operating remotely since spring 2020 to this day, and noted that the analytical report makes it possible to identify problematic issues in the procedure for considering cases remotely and how to resolve them.
Judicial integrity: between law and morality
Blog by Serhii Burlakov, Member of the High Council of Justice, Supreme Court Justice for «Yurydychna Praktyka»
HCJ will make submissions to the President of Ukraine on appointment of 5 judges to local courts
On 19 November 2024, the HCJ decided to make submissions to the President of Ukraine on the appointment of two judges to local courts:
- Smokovych Mykhailo Vasyliovych - for the position of a judge of Orikhivskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia region;
- Myroshnychenko Dmytro Vadymovych - as a judge of the Oleksandrivskyi District Court of Kirovohrad region.
On 19 November 2024, the HCJ decided to make submissions to the President of Ukraine on the appointment of three judges to local courts:
- Hrytsiuk Roman Petrovych - as a judge of the Ternopil district administrative court;
- Korol Oleksandr Valentynovych - as a judge of the Iziaslav district court of Khmelnytskyi region;
- Sidorova Iryna Anatoliivna - as a judge of the Lviv district administrative court.
Judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal dismissed from office
On 19 November 2024, the HCJ decided to dismiss Borys Polyakov from the position of a judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal due to his resignation.
ВHCJ dismissed a judje of the Kyiv court of appeal for committing a significant disciplinary offence
On 21 November 2024, the HCJ decided to dismiss Judge Vyacheslav Dziubin of the Kyiv court of appeal on the basis of clause 3, part 6, article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
This procedure was carried out on the basis of the submission of the Second Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ, which decided to bring Judge of the Kyiv court of Appeal Vyacheslav Viktorovych Dziubin to disciplinary responsibility and apply a disciplinary sanction in the form of a motion to dismiss the judge from office.
HCJ member Roman Maselko and members of the HCJ Secretariat answered a number of questions from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development experts on the tasks facing the HCJ and the priorities of its activities, which affect the success of judicial reform, are crucial for increasing trust in the judiciary, and are key requirements for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Roman Maselko informed that currently, the majority of efforts are directed by the HCJ members to reviewing disciplinary complaints. Since the resumption of the Council's disciplinary function (from 1 November 2023), about 20,000 complaints have been registered, about 10,000 complaints have been considered, and about 120 judges have been brought to justice. The HCJ members focus on consideration of priority cases, including high-profile cases that attract public attention.
Judges should be independent of the appointing authority, public opinion and the majority
Dainius Žalimas, Member of the European Parliament, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (2014-2021), attended the meeting of the High Council of Justice working group on the development and implementation of measures to ensure the independence of judges and the authority of justice. Dainius Žalimas noted the support of Ukraine by the European Parliament in the process of its European integration and in connection with the military aggression of the russian federation. He highlighted the issues of ensuring the independence of the judiciary in the Republic of Lithuania, considering that this experience may be useful for Ukraine.
Deputy Chairman of the HCJ Dmytro Lukianov noted that Ukraine feels the support of Lithuania and expressed gratitude to Dainius Žalimas and the European Parliament for helping our country in connection with the military aggression of the russian federation, and stressed the importance of learning from the experience and receiving advice from an independent and friendly partner of Ukraine.
Two judges temporarily suspended from administration of justice based on decisions of the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ
Judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi city district court of Odesa region Savytskyi Serhii Ihorovych and judge of the Rakhiv district court of Zakarpattia region Tulik Ivan Ivanovych were temporarily suspended from the administration of justice based on decisions of the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ.
The decision to bring the judges to disciplinary responsibility and impose disciplinary sanctions on them in the form of dismissal petitions was made by the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ on 25 November 2024.