The Secretariat of the High Council of Justice prepared a comprehensive synthesis of the practice of consideration by the Council of petitions for temporary suspension of judges from the administration of justice in connection with criminal prosecution and extension of terms of such temporary suspension in 2016-2021.
The purpose of such synthesis is to highlight the activities of the High Council of Justice in the exercise of its powers in part of the specified issue.
The document contains:
- analysis of the legal basis for considering petitions for temporary suspension of judges from the administration of justice in connection with criminal prosecution and extension of terms of such temporary suspension;
- the position of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the issue of guaranteeing the independence and inviolability of judges and their responsibility;
- general overview of the practice of consideration by the High Council of Justice of these petitions;
- detailed analysis of decisions made by the HCJ based on the results of consideration of the petitions;
- information about appealing these decisions.
The prepared synthesis will make it possible to get an idea of the state of ensuring guarantees of judicial independence and inviolability at the stage of criminal proceedings for the period from 2016 to 2021 when applying to judges such a measure to ensure criminal proceedings as a temporary suspension from the administration of justice in connection with bringing to criminal responsibility and extension of such suspension.
Taking into account the diversity of judicial practice and circumstances under study, the completed analysis shows the important role of participation in the consideration of petitions of the High Council of Justice.
When making such decisions, the Council takes into account the proportionality between the principles of the independence and inviolability of judges and the consequences of temporary suspension of judges from the administration of justice, which, in turn, ensures compliance with the guarantees of the inviolability of judges in the event of criminal prosecution of them and prevents the possible use of illegal methods aimed at obstructing professional activities of judges, exerting pressure on them in connection with their administration of justice and implementation of judicial control.