“With the support of international partners, in particular the EU Project Pravo-Justice, the HCJ has fulfilled all the tasks planned for 2024,” said Acting HCJ Chairman Dmytro Lukianov at a meeting of the Steering Committee of the EU Project Pravo-Justice.
Dmytro Lukianov expressed his gratitude to the Project for supporting all areas of judicial reform. In particular, expert and technical support of the competition commission for the selection of candidates for vacant positions in the service of disciplinary inspectors of the High Council of Justice was one of the main activities this year.
“Establishment of the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors is one of the key stages of judicial reform envisaged in all of Ukraine's international legal obligations. The Service is a completely new body within the High Council of Justice. This unit has already started its work. This week, the first meetings of the HCJ Disciplinary Chambers with the participation of disciplinary inspectors began. So, we are learning the new disciplinary procedure together,” said Dmytro Lukianov.
He also emphasized the importance of the Project's support for the activities of the Ethics Council, in particular in the process of determining whether the candidates from the Congress of Judges for the position of HCJ member meet the criteria of professional ethics and integrity, and the activities of the Competition Commission for the selection of candidates for the position of a member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine.
The acting HCJ Chairman drew attention to the support of the EU Project Pravo-Justice for European integration processes within the framework of the negotiated Title 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights”, in particular, assistance in conducting three rounds of “training/simulation sessions” in preparation for a bilateral meeting with the European Commission in Brussels, as well as consultations with the European Commission experts on the development of a draft Rule of Law Roadmap.
In addition, Dmytro Lukianov informed that the working groups of the High Council of Justice worked closely with international experts to summarize disciplinary practice and develop common indicators for assessing integrity and professional ethics.
“Unified indicators for assessing integrity and professional ethics is a document introduced by the laws “On the Judiciary and Status of Judges” and “On the High Council of Justice”. The development and approval of this document was entrusted to the High Council of Justice after consultations with the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the Council of Judges of Ukraine and the Public Integrity Council. This difficult work was carried out by a specially created HCJ working group, which included representatives of all these judicial authorities and international experts, including the EU Project Pravo-Justice,” informed Dmytro Lukianov.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Project for the preparation of the EU Court of Justice Case Law Handbook on the Rule of Law, as well as for facilitating cooperation between the High Council of Justice and the European Network of Justice Councils, in particular in the process of preparing for the Judicial Independence Survey. The speaker drew attention to the importance of holding a series of roundtables, moderated lectures, discussions and trainings on pressing issues related to the attractiveness of judicial careers, judicial communication, digital security, etc.
In his speech, Dmytro Lukianov emphasized the need for further cooperation with the EU Project Pravo-Justice. He identified such urgent areas as supporting the activities of the competition commission for the selection of four candidates for vacant positions in the HCJ disciplinary inspectors' service, supporting the work of the Ethics Council and its secretariat in the process of establishing the compliance of candidates for the HCJ member with the criteria of professional ethics and integrity, as well as the need to support the institutional capacity of the SIDs, their logistical support, training of disciplinary inspectors, and familiarization with practical experience.
He also emphasized the need for expert and technical support of the HCJ in the process of European integration, in particular, in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission set out in the Enlargement Report and the Screening Report, and in implementing the measures envisaged by the Ukraine Facility within the established timeframe.
Further cooperation with the European Network of Judicial Councils is urgently needed to analyze the results of the Judicial Independence Survey and improve existing mechanisms to strengthen the HCJ's role in protecting judicial independence and guaranteeing the authority of the judiciary.
Dmytro Lukianov also focused on the need to approve and start implementing the Roadmap for IT Modernization in the Judiciary based on the audit results. He noted that the following modules of the Unified Judicial Information and Communication System are currently operational: the Electronic Cabinet, Electronic Court, Automated Interaction with Other Automated Systems, and Video Conferencing subsystems. Given the rapid development of modern technologies and changes in approaches to building such systems, these UJICS systems require significant modernization, the acting HCJ Chairman noted.
In their turn, representatives of the EU Project Pravo-Justice assured that they are ready to continue to cooperate and support the HCJ so that the Ukrainian judicial system is best prepared for Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Photo: European Union Project Pravo-Justice