Hryhorii Usyk, the Chairman of the High Council of Justice, and Mykola Moroz, a member of the High Council of Justice, took part in a roundtable discussion that was held in Warsaw (Poland). During the event, the participants discussed the recommendations of European experts regarding the functioning of Ukrainian judicial governance and self-governance bodies in Ukraine. There was also a debate on possible ways to develop Ukrainian legislation on the disciplinary liability of judges, as well as on the development of legislation to optimize the procedures for selecting judges.
The event was organized by the Directorate of Programme Coordination within the Project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”.
The Chairman of the HCJ Hryhorii Usyk reminded that Law of Ukraine No.3304-IX «On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Immediate Resumption of Consideration of Cases Concerning Disciplinary Liability of Judges» came into force, which was enacted on the day of the Law of Ukraine No. 3378-IX «On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On the Judiciary and Status of Judges» and Some Laws of Ukraine on Changing the Status and Procedure for Forming the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors of the High Council of Justice» came into force. These laws restored the disciplinary function of the High Council of Justice. Currently, the draft law No. 10140-d on amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges» and some legislative acts of Ukraine on improving the procedures for judicial career is being actively discussed».
The Chairman of the HCJ noted: «It is not enough to have a legislative framework, it is necessary to analyze and improve it, to implement the provisions of the laws. It is important to make point changes to the laws, not to update them every time. The judicial system of our country is under the threat of constant legislative changes. Currently, the most important task of the High Council of Justice is to launch the work of the service of disciplinary inspectors, which will be able to effectively exercise the powers of the High Council of Justice in conducting disciplinary proceedings against judges».
During the event, the participants discussed the status of the three main bodies of judicial governance and self-government in Ukraine – the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and the Council of Judges of Ukraine - their functions, potential challenges that arise in their activities, and possible ways to overcome them. In addition, the participants also discussed issues related to the disciplinary proceedings against judges and the liability of judges in Ukraine, as well as improving the procedure for selecting judges.
The International experts presented recommendations for bringing national legislation in line with the standards of the Council of Europe.
Summarizing the results of the roundtable, Hryhorii Usyk noted the wide representation and professionalism of the experts who took part in the event, thanked the European colleagues for their opinions and recommendations, as well as the Project of the Council of Europe «Support of the Judiciary of Ukraine during the War and Post-War Period» for the high level of organization of the event.
The event was attended by the Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Roman Ihnatov, the Deputy Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Ruslan Sydorovych, the Chairman of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Bohdan Monich, the member of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Andrii Potapenko, the Chairman of the Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court – Larysa Rohach and other representatives of the Supreme Court, the members of the Parliament including Denys Maslov – the Head of the Committee on Legal Policy Issues, the members of this Committee – Pavlo Pavlish, Maksym Dyrdin, Mykola Stefanchuk, Roman Babii.
The Council of Europe was represented by the international experts: former presidents of the Consultative Council of European Judges – former President of the District Court of Floridsdorf (Vienna) Gerhard Reissner, judge of the Supreme Court of Slovenia Nina Betetto, Full Professor of Law at the Complutense University in Madrid Lorena Bachmaier Winter, representatives of the Department for the implementation of human rights, justice standards and legal cooperation (DG I) – a.i. Head of Division of Cooperation Programmes on Justice and Human Rights Lilit Daneghian, project coordinator Andrii Kavakin, manager of the Project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine” Iryna Kushnir, project assistant Alisa Tkachova.
Photo: Council of Europe Project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”.