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«The national judicial system is operating in critical conditions due to a significant shortage of judicial personnel», – said Hryhorii Usyk

25.09.2024

On September 23, 2024, a roundtable discussion “The attractiveness of a Judicial Career: European and Ukrainian Dimensions” was held, organized by the High Council of Justice in cooperation with the EU «Pravo-Justice» Project.

Hryhorii Usyk, the Chairman of the High Council of Justice, said in his opening remarks:

«Issues related to making judicial careers more attractive are relevant for both the judicial system of Ukraine and developed democratic European countries. However, for Ukraine, the problem of judicial personnel shortage has become extremely acute over the past five to seven years. The national judicial system is operating in critical conditions due to a significant shortage of personnel. The situation is particularly difficult in the courts of appeal, where more than 52% of judicial positions are vacant».

The Chairman of the High Council of Justice noted that judges work under excessive workload, in a situation of constant stress, and are exposed to danger every day due to rocket attacks and artillery shelling. In such conditions, some judges cannot withstand the tension and resign.

«The trend is quite alarming. We are losing the most experienced and professionally trained judges aged 45-50, whose replacement prospects are quite unlikely in the near future. Between January and August 2024, the High Council of Justice decided to dismiss 186 judges, of whom 162 resigned and resigned of their own free will, and 325 judges resigned last year (2023). In January-August of this year, the High Council of Justice decided to submit to the President of Ukraine proposals for the appointment of 399 judges to local courts. The President issued decrees on the appointment of 329 judges. Thus, the number of dismissed judges exceeds the number of appointed ones», – explained Hryhoriy Usyk.

The Chairman of the High Council of Justice emphasized that the level of participation of candidates in the competition for judicial positions is currently very low. For example, while 9-10 people used to apply for one position of a judge in the appellate courts, today there are only 3-4 candidates. At the same time, the question arises whether these lawyers are ready for extremely intensive work, which is also public, which imposes additional restrictions on the judge.

Hryhorii Usyk expressed the opinion that the main reason for the shortage of judicial personnel is the long absence of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, which has not been functioning for more than three years. Military actions have also led to a deepening of the problems in the judicial system, in particular with regard to filling judicial positions.

Among the reasons for the decline in the attractiveness of the judicial profession is, in particular, the permanence of judicial reform, which creates uncertainty and makes it impossible to predict the future for judges and judicial candidates.

Another problem is the length and complexity of competitive procedures for the judicial positions. For example, candidates who applied for the positions of judges in 2017 are currently being appointed.

The conditions in which judges work are also a challenge: excessive workload, inadequate premises, including a shortage of courtrooms, which makes it difficult for judges to organize proper consideration of court cases.

In addition, the judges are subject to constant scrutiny by anti-corruption authorities and the public.

According to Hryhorii Usyk, all this leads to the fact that the most professional lawyers choose more attractive working conditions in private companies or other government agencies.

In conclusion, the Chairman of the High Council of Justice reminded that in June 2023, the High Council of Justice received observer status in the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary. The members of the High Council of Justice take part in the meetings of the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary. Such cooperation provides a unique opportunity to establish direct contacts with the representatives of more than 20 judicial Councils of the European Union and EU candidate countries, share experiences and discuss ways to overcome problems in the judicial systems.

During the roundtable the participants discussed, among other things, the Report of the Thematic Dialogue Group of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary for 2023-2024 on the attractiveness of a judicial career.

The roundtable was attended by the representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, the Supreme Court, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the Council of Judges of Ukraine, the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, the Public Integrity Council, the National School of Judges of Ukraine and the experts from the EU Project «Pravo-Justice».

The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov, the members of the High Council of Justice Oleksandr Sasevych, Inna Plakhtii, Serhii Burlakov, Oleh Kandziuba, Olena Kovbii, Oleksii Melnyk, Olha Popikova, and Vitalii Salikhov.

Video recording