Today, the High Council of Justice hosted a significant event – meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Ukraine Bridget Brink, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine Melinda Simmons, Chargé d'Affaires in the affairs of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ukraine Bertram von Moltke.
The Chairman of the HCJ, Hryhorii Usyk, expressed gratitude to the leaders and people of the United States of America, Great Britain and countries of the European Union for supporting Ukraine during the sever aggression of the russian federation against our country. He noted that for nine years Ukraine has been fighting not only for its independence and sovereignty, but also for the future of the entire civilized world, its legal order and democratic values. Without the support and consolidation of our Western partners, it is very difficult to defend our independence, and therefore their help is invaluable.
Hryhorii Usyk expressed special thanks for consistent and long-term support in the development of the judicial system of Ukraine, for implementing the best international standards. He noted that these guidelines helped launch progressive reforms in the judiciary, change the principles for the formation of judicial governance bodies that will contribute to increasing the authority of the judiciary.
He emphasized that the continuation of systemic judicial reform, formation of compositions of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine according to new transparent procedures are among the requirements for acquiring membership in the European Union. The High Council of Justice is ready to continue active cooperation with international partners to bring the justice to European standards and restore citizens' confidence in the judiciary.
“The members of the HCJ are aware of the expectations that society and the judicial community place on the work of the Council and what challenges we face. We clearly see our goal, our role in the judicial system and in general in the development of democracy in Ukraine, we feel the increased demand of society for a fair judiciary,” he said.
The Chairman of the HCJ outlined the work priorities. Among the priorities is the appointment of members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, who, in turn, will work to overcome the acute shortage of personnel in the courts. The Council, in cooperation with representatives of international projects, is working on the development of selection criteria for 16 members of the HQCJU from 32 candidates, as well as with the relevant parliamentary committee and its Chairman Denys Maslov to improve legislation on the Disciplinary Inspectorate Service.
Hryhorii Usyk drew attention to the need for support from international partners in rebuilding and equipping of destroyed and damaged court premises. According to preliminary estimates (without taking into account the destruction in our temporarily occupied territories), about 1.8 billion hryvnias are needed to restore the premises of the courts. It is also needed assistance in conducting an independent audit of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System.
The Chairman of the HCJ stressed that the visit of honourable ambassadors to the High Council of Justice is symbolic not only for the judiciary, but for the entire Ukrainian society. It confirms support for Ukraine and inspires confidence in its better European future.
The ambassadors welcomed the resumption of the work of the High Council of Justice, reaffirmed their further support and noted the high expectations of the Ukrainian society and Ukraine's international partners regarding implementation of the aforementioned reforms. After all, they are of decisive importance for strengthening the confidence of citizens and donors in the courts and promoting the integration of Ukraine into the EU.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Ukraine Bridget Brink noted that the newly formed HCJ would play an unprecedented role in carrying out judicial reform and strengthening confidence in the judiciary.
According to her, the judiciary demonstrated extraordinary resilience during the rf full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine and continues to ensure access to justice for citizens in wartime conditions.
The Ambassador noted that among the main priorities of the Council's activities should be the restoration and equipping of courts, filling the courts with personnel, and assured of further support of the USA in this area.
Bridget Brink noted that the main transformational change should begin now and it is intended to satisfy the request of the Ukrainian people to appoint the most honest and qualified members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine to fill more than 2,000 judicial vacancies, as well as the renewal of transparent disciplinary procedures for complaints against judges, which will ensure their accountability. In her opinion, the confidence of public in the judiciary will depend on these steps. She expressed her hope that this procedure would be accompanied by a broad involvement of civil society.
Bridget Brink noted that the realization of the historic challenge on justice reform would contribute to Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic community and ensure Ukraine's ability to quickly recover after the war. She wished inspiration and courage in upholding democratic principles.
Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas expressed unconditional support in the fight with the rf aggression against Ukraine, noting that the war in which Ukraine is fighting covers confrontation on many fronts, because it is war against Ukrainian statehood. He emphasized the fact that the Ukrainian justice system continues to function effectively under these conditions is impressive and inspires great confidence. That is why Ukraine has the support of European partners.
According to him, one of the key issue now is the justice reform. Ukraine paves the way to the European Union. The rule of law issue is central to this process. The European community is closely following this.
Matti Maasikas noted that with the end of the war, the demand for fair justice will only increase, and therefore the authorities should satisfy this desire.
In his opinion, the most important thing is the restoration of public confidence in justice, compliance with standards of transparency and integrity.
According to Matti Maasikas, reforms of the HCJ and the HQCJU are extremely important in this aspect. He expressed his belief that the HCJ will adequately respond to the society's request.
Among the priority tasks, he called the introduction of transparent and fair procedures for the selection of the Disciplinary Inspectorate Service, solving the problem of personnel shortage in courts, strengthening of institutional capacity and rebuilding courts affected by the war. The EU Ambassador to Ukraine assured support for the reforms.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine Melinda Simmons expressed the support of Great Britain to the Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom and welcomed the resumption of the work of the High Council of Justice. According to her, the Council will play a leading role in reforming the justice system, which should meet the expectations of society.
She pointed out the priority tasks of the HCJ, in particular, the role in the appointment of members of the HQCJU and launching new procedure for disciplinary proceedings against judges.
Melinda Simmons emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation between the judiciary and the High Council of Justice with civil society, called for building open constructive relations. After all, the implementation of reforms became possible thanks to the participation of the public.
The Ambassador noted that after the end of the war, justice itself will become a central segment in the life of Ukrainian society. Through transparency, accountability and new effective HQCJU, the judiciary can gain credibility and advance the country's Euro-Atlantic integration.
Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ukraine Bertram von Moltke in his turn expressed hope for further close cooperation and stressed that the perception of Ukraine as a candidate country for EU membership depends on the results of the work of the renewed High Council of Justice.
He noted that the judicial reform is of crucial importance for strengthening citizens' confidence in the judiciary; persistence in its implementation will make it possible to overcome the shortage of personnel in the judicial system.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Legal Policy, Denys Maslov, noted that establishment of the Disciplinary Inspectorate Service to unblock the procedure for bringing judges to disciplinary responsibility and the formation of the HQCJU are among the priorities of the Committee's activities.
Denys Maslov thanked the HCJ for constructive cooperation in developing draft laws that are vital for the judiciary even before the formation of the plenipotentiary composition of the HCJ. Currently, active cooperation continues with the full composition of the Council.
The MP expressed support for the vision of international partners regarding interaction with civil society.
The Head of Operations of the European Union Advisory Mission Lynn Sheehan welcomed the resumption of the work of the High Council of Justice and noted the important role of the Council for further implementation of judicial reform. She outlined the mandate of the EUAM and areas in which the EUAM supports reforms in Ukraine.
The Head of Operations of the European Union Advisory Mission Lynn Sheehan welcomed the resumption of work of the High Council of Justice and noted the important role of the Council for further implementation of judicial reform. She outlined the mandate of the EUAM and areas of the EUAM's support of reforms in Ukraine.
In addition, support was offered for resumption of the activities of the International Advisory Council at the HCJ.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the High Council of Justice Hryhorii Usyk members of the HCJ Oksana Blazhivska, Yuliia Bokova,Tetiana Bondarenko, Serhii Burlakov, Olena Kovbii, Alla Kotelevets,Dmytro Lukianov,Roman Maselko, Mykola Moroz, Olha Popikova, Vitalii Salikhov and Oleksandr Sasevych. Leaders and representatives of international projects (USAID Justice for All Activity, EU Project Pravo-Justice, European Union Advisory Mission, Council of Europe Office in Ukraine).