Due to the active discussion in the mass media regarding the verdict of the Volovetskyi district court of Zakarpattia region dated March 16, 2023, in case on charges of persons, who committed the sexual violence acts against a minor, and the calls which were expressed in such publications to bring judge who passed the verdict, to disciplinary responsibility, the High Council of Justice considers it necessary to state the following.
The High Council of Justice shares the concerns of the public, community of journalists, officials of the authorities regarding the objectivity of the pre-trial and judicial investigation conducted in the said case, as well as the fairness of the punishment determined by the court for persons that were accused of committing aforementioned criminal offense.
In accordance with the provisions determined by the second part of Article 19 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the High Council of Justice, like other government bodies and their officials are obliged to act only on the basis of and within the limits of authority and in the manner provided by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
According to Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, justice in Ukraine shall be administered solely by the courts and in accordance with the procedures established by law.
The independence and immunity of judges shall be guaranteed by Articles 126 and 129 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Any influence on judges shall be prohibited.
One of the main tasks of the High Council of Justice, as an independent constitutional body of public authority and judicial governance, is to ensure fair and objective procedures for considering disciplinary proceedings on complaints against the actions of judges.
The HCJ is not empowered to interfere in consideration of court cases by the courts, to evaluate the evidence available in the case, verify the legality and validity of court decisions in an extra-procedural way, comment on them.
The verification of the legality and validity of a court decision belongs exclusively to the competence of the higher court, in this case – to the court of appeal. Currently, the verdict of the first instance court has not entered into legal force and can be appealed. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the prosecution will appeal the verdict in accordance with the established legal procedure.
The HCJ is not empowered to initiate disciplinary proceedings on its own initiative based on information reported in the mass media about the presence of signs of a disciplinary offense in a judge's actions.
Any person has the right to file a complaint about a judge's disciplinary offense (a disciplinary complaint) (part one of an Article 107 of Law of Ukraine “On Judiciary and the Status of Judges”).
Article 106 of this Law provides the grounds for disciplinary liability of a judge, in particular, intentional or caused by negligence unlawful denial of access to justice (including unlawful denial to review any statement of claim, statement of appeal, or a cassational appeal on the merits of the same) or any other substantial breach of procedural law in the course of administration of justice, which denied the exercise by the litigants of their procedural rights and compliance with their procedural obligations, as well as a judge's commission of a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms or another gross violation of the law that led to significant negative consequences in the adoption of judicial decision.
As for today the verdict of the Volovetskyi district court of Zakarpattia region dated March 16, 2023, has not been the subject of an appeal review and has not entered into force.
The High Council of Justice calls for restraint of statements in the mass media, in particular in a rude and aggressive form that go beyond acceptable criticism, which can be regarded as pressure on the court, to reprisal against the judge, posing real risks to the judge in the administration of justice, as well as posing a threat to adoption of fair and impartial judicial decision that will be made by the court of appeal following the results of the consideration of an appellate complaint.
The High Council of Justice informs that complaints of disciplinary misconduct committed by the judge of the Volovetskyi district court of Zakarpattia region O. A. Sofilkanych and reports of the judge about interference in her activities as a judge in the administration of justice have been registered and will be objectively investigated, those will be assessed properly in the manner prescriber by law.