Members of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov, Oksana Blazhivska, Inna Plakhtii, Oleksandr Sasevych, Vitalii Salikhov, Roman Maselko, Alla Kotelevets, Serhii Burlakov, Oleh Kandziuba took part in the discussion of aspects of implementation of recommendations of the Opinion No. 25 Consultative Council of European Judges (CCEJ) on freedom of expression of judges.
The President of the CCEJ, Anke Eilers, and the Head of the Secretariat of the Consultative Council of European Judges, Artashes Melikyan, addressed with a welcoming speech the participants of the round table, within the framework of which it was presented translation of the Opinion into Ukrainian. The event was moderated by the judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Consultative Council of European Judges Representative of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko.
Opinion No. 25 has been prepared on the basis of previous CCJE Opinions, the CCJE Magna Carta of Judges and relevant documents of the Council of Europe, as well as the Opinion relies on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and also takes account of the replies of CCJE members to the questionnaire on freedom of expression of judges.
The Opinion addresses the legal and ethical duty of a judge to speak out in order to safeguard the rule of law and democracy at the domestic, but also at the European and international level. The Opinion considers judicial expression that addresses matters of concern for the judiciary, as well as controversial topics of public interest, and examines the judicial restraint that must be exercised. It covers judicial expression both inside and outside court. The Opinion intends to give general guidance to judges and a broad framework for an ongoing discussion on which parameters to consider when they exercise their right to freedom of expression.
The Opinion also states that in the situations where democracy, the separation of powers or the rule of law are under threat, judges must be resilient and have a duty to speak out in defence of judicial independence, the constitutional order.
The members of the High Council of Justice in their speeches expressed their gratitude to the President of the CCEJ Ms Anke Eilers, the Head of the Secretariat of the CCEJ Mr Artashes Melikyan, to international experts for their significant work in the process of preparing the thorough Opinion, which will be of practical value for judges to strike a balance between freedom of expression of judges and the obligation to restraint from statements, due to high judicial office. They also noted that the HCJ highly appreciates and systematically uses the CCEJ opinions in its work.
The HCJ member Inna Plakhtii emphasized that recommendations stated in the Opinion No. 25 are useful for taking into account during execution of disciplinary functions by the members of the Council. After all, the Opinion outlines a range of issues that may result in the disciplinary responsibility of a judge – violation of the rules for the withdrawal of a judge, disclosure of the secrets of a deliberation room, disclosure of information acquired in the course of their duties that is relevant for pending proceedings, as well as violation of the judicial ethics rules (possible manifestations of disrespect for colleagues, representatives of other branches of government, participants in the trial) etc.
Inna Plakhtii expressed her hope that popularization of the Opinion and implementation by judges of its recommendations in regard of communication conduct will help reduce the grounds for bringing judges to disciplinary responsibility. She is convinced that the Opinion of the CCEJ will become a guide for judges, heads of the judiciary, representatives of judicial councils, through which they will strike a balance between freedom and restraint of opinions expressed.
The HCJ member Oksana Blazhivska noted that the main tasks of the HCJ are to ensure the independence of judges and protect the authority of the judiciary, as well as to consider disciplinary cases against judges. Therefore, opinions of the CCJE are a roadmap in making decisions by the constitutional body of judicial governance.
She considers the position expressed by the CCEJ to be invaluable and emphasizes it expedient the Opinion to be used by judges to develop rules for communication in public realm and social networks.
Oksana Blazhivska noted that it is worth remembering that a judge has the right to freely express his/her views like every citizen. At the same time, from the moment of taking the oath, the judge takes on a special burden of responsibility and certain moral obligations towards the state and society. Given this, it is necessary to clearly outline the boundaries of the expression of one's views – so as not to harm the authority of the judiciary. After all, the perception of a court decision by society and, as a result, the formation of trust in the judiciary depends on proper communication. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance.
The HCJ member Oleksandr Sasevych noted that the Opinion will be useful in finalizing the Code of Judicial Ethics, because its recommendations are meaningful, timely and important. He informed that the HCJ has recently established a working group to develop and implement measures to ensure the independence of judges and the authority of the judiciary. The Opinion can serve as a guideline in its activities, a basis for developing approaches to these issues. The HCJ member invited the CCJE Representative of Ukraine, Viktor Horodovenko , and his deputy, Yehor Krasnov, participate in the work of the said group. After all, the development of effective mechanisms to ensure the independence of judges and the authority of justice is urgent. Judges are waiting for effective tools to protect judicial independence and the authority of justice.
The event, jointly held by the Supreme Court and the Division of Co-operation Programmes of the Council of Europe in the framework of the CE Project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”, was attended by the members of the HCJ, the Head of the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court, Mykhailo Smokovych, judge of the Cassation Economic Court within the Supreme Court, the CCJE Deputy Representative of Ukraine Yehor Krasnov, the Head of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Bohdan Monich, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, consultant of the Council of Europe Jannika Jahn and others.