Since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been in a state of full-scale war with the aggressor country that has affected all spheres of our state’s life, including the judicial system.
Currently, the judicial system is running through many trials and transformations.
Unfortunately, the absence of functioning bodies in the judiciary – the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and the High Council of Justice – fell precisely on this difficult period. However, the challenges facing society today require an immediate response.
Any conscious citizen, regardless of age and position, must strongly condemn and consider unacceptable manifestations of state treason and collaborative activity, especially among judges.
For today, the general public is already aware of cases of collaborative activities among judges that are the oath violation, and therefore the HCJ members have repeatedly publicly emphasized that the lack of authority of the highest body of judicial governance threatens the stability of the judicial system and the security of the entire state.
That is why the members of the Council insist on the adoption of legislative changes that will allow, despite the absence of the full composition of the Council, to respond to such cases and bring to liability those judges who have violated the oath.
It is also important to realize that such isolated instances of collaborative activity among courts should not cast a shadow on the entire judicial system, because among the judges there are also real warriors and patriots of their cause and state.
Today, feeling their responsibility, judges give part of judicial remuneration in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; moreover, judges defend Ukraine from the occupier.
According to the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, the total number of persons drafted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during mobilization is 363 persons.
At the same time, it was repeatedly emphasized that judges who defend our state should be provided properly, since the judicial remuneration is a constitutional guarantee of a judge and cannot be reduced.
However, given the financial instability in Ukraine in wartime, a judge should be given the exclusive right to determine whether to receive military compensation or judicial remuneration.
The High Council of Justice does not stop dealing with the issues of financial support of the judicial system. Members of the Council actively participate in meetings of the working groups of the committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to stabilize the crisis situation caused by the underfunding of courts, take measures to meet the priority needs – financing the costs of utility bills, salaries of employees of court apparatuses, purchase of stationery, etc.
I am absolutely convinced that ensuring a decent level of financial support for the employees of court apparatuses – assistant judges, secretaries of court session, employees of the registry and other departments – an urgent issue. Judges cannot work without their own office and decent records management keeping support, since the path of a claim from a plaintiff to a judge begins with the court registry and involves certain procedures, which are provided by professional support of staff court apparatus.
Thus, the issues of ensuring financial stability in terms of maintaining guarantees for judges and court staff are equivalent and should be resolved by parliamentarians through making appropriate changes to legislative acts.
For this purpose, it is even possible to consider the possibility of enshrining in the law a single official salary for each category of employees of court apparatus in order to prevent even the theoretical possibility of limiting their financial guarantees.
Considering that it is currently planned to hold congresses of representatives of various legal professions to elect judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and members of the HCJ, I would like to draw attention to the fact that these meetings also involve financial expenses that are not fully compensated for today.
Savings should be in everything, so there is a proposal to hold these congresses, conferences, in particular the congress of judges, in a mode of significant budget savings, that is, without unnecessary expenses, which the participants of congresses and conferences should approach consciously and with understanding.
In addition, an unpopular but effective mechanism for filling the special fund of the State Budget of Ukraine by increasing court fee rates has been proposed.
The relevant draft laws have already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under numbers 8047, 8046.
However, seeking to solve the financial problems of the judicial system, members of the High Council of Justice expressed their position to the legislator to take away the upper limit of the court fee altogether, which would allow filling the budget more quickly.
Such a norm may be temporary, for the period of martial law, but in fact it is forced and can significantly help.
I note that, in spite of everything, the High Council of Justice once again calls on all subjects of delegation to form its full composition. State power in the absence of an authorized constitutional body of judicial governance cannot be fully exercised.
In this case, we will be able to resolve a number of important issues, solution of which cannot be postponed for a longer time, among which is the response to manifestations of collaborative activity in the judicial system.
Any attempts to commit high treason within Ukraine, in any branch of government, especially in the judiciary, must be neutralized immediately, as required by the legislation and the Basic Law of Ukraine.
In such difficult times for our country, the state machine should function clearly, continuously and efficiently.
This will bring us closer to Victory!
Everything will be Ukraine!
Member of the High Council of Justice
Oksana Blazhivska