The mission of the High Council of Justice in strengthening the rule of law, forming an honest, highly professional corps of judges and ensuring the independence of the judiciary was discussed in the course of orientation session “Roles and Responsibilities of the High Council of Justice: Building Public Trust and Confidence in the Judiciary” that held on March 10-12, 2023 in Lviv.
The event was held with the support of international partners – the USAID Justice for All Activity, the EU Project Pravo-Justice in a mixed of online and offline mode, in the format of nine thematic sessions.
Representatives of councils for the judiciary and experts from the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Spain, Slovakia and Ukraine shared their best experience and practical knowledge.
The first session was dedicated to discussing the role of the judiciary in Europe. Representatives of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) – President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary Dalia Vasariene, President of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and member of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic Prof. Jan Mazak, member of the Spanish General Council for the Judiciary and former President of the ENCJ Nuria Diaz Abad, spoke about the work of the ENCJ, its missions and roles, core standards and tools developed for institutions representing independent courts and judges.
The ENCJ President Dalia Vasariene, in particular, informed about the mission of the Network – strengthening the independence and at the same time accountability of the judiciary and promoting the implementation of best practices to ensure the provision of timely, efficient and high-quality services by the judiciary for the good of all citizens. The ENCJ improves cooperation and mutual understanding among councils of judges and members of judicial system in both European Union member states and candidate EU member states.
During the second session, the participants discussed the role of the HCJ in building public confidence in the judiciary. Director of Development of the Danish Court Administration, the CEPEJ Working Group on the Quality of Justice member Merethe Eckhardt, Head Of Communications at National Infrastructure Commission, former Head of Communications at the UK Supreme Court Ben Wilson, noted the significant impact of communications on the reputation of the authority. They outlined ways to establish open relations with the media. Attention was drawn to the importance of establishing sustainable partnerships and cooperation with different user groups and partners, as well as proactive communication with the public and civil society. The speakers also noted the need for regular monitoring and evaluation of public perception of the High Council of Justice as an institution.
The third session was devoted to discussing the issue of international and European standards and practice in selection of judges. Honorary Chief Legal Advisor of the National Judicial Institute (Canada), Judge Adele Kent, former member of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic Pavol Zilincik, retired judge of the Constitutional Court of Poland, former member of the 255th panel for the selection of judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union Mirosław Wyrzykowski informed about the development of methods and criteria for evaluating candidates for the position of a judge. They talked about the tools and methods of verification, the study of materials, interviewing candidates. Issues of advanced training and requirements for current judges to improve judicial competencies were raised.
At the fourth session, there were considered issues of bringing judges to disciplinary responsibility and consideration of complaints. International experts – judge of the Court of Appeal of the Lisbon Judicial District, former Head of the Cabinet of the Vice President of the High Council of Justice of Portugal, José Manuel Cardozo, former Director-Chief Counsel California Commission on Judicial Performance (California, USA) Victoria Henley, highlighted issues related to standards evidence, confidentiality, investigation procedures, writing reasoned decisions.
During the fifth session, attention was focused on the analysis of the previous experience and practice of the High Council of Justice in bringing judges to disciplinary responsibility. The participants discussed current challenges related to handling the backlog of disciplinary complaints, formation of the Disciplinary Inspectorate Service. Member of the HCJ in 2014-2019, former dean of the Faculty of Law of the National University of Lviv, Andrii Boiko, drew attention to the fact that the High Council of Justice is a body that is as bridge between the judiciary and society. According to him, building of public trust in the judicial branch of power largely depends on decisions of the HCJ. In this aspect, the quality of disciplinary proceedings is of great importance.
Director of the Analytical centre of the Institute of Applied Humanitarian Research (Kharkov), Oleksandr Serdiuk, focused on the fact that legislation on disciplinary responsibility is progressing, but currently it contains conceptual and technical and legal shortcomings. He also proposed, to comply with the unity of disciplinary practice, to provide, for example, the principle of rotation of the composition of chambers, introduction of the institution of legal opinion in considering a case in plenary membership, and to create a base of legal positions of a disciplinary body.
In the course of the sixth session, there were discussed aspects of the work of new bodies in the justice system, which include international experts – the Ethics Council and the Selection Commission for selection of members of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine. Chairman of the Ethics Council Lev Kyshakevych, member of this Council Lavly Perling focused on the activities of the Ethics Council, analyzed the effectiveness of the proven methodology for assessing candidates. Members of the Selection Commission for the selection of candidates for the position of members of the HQCJU Ivan Mishchenko, Ted Zarzeczny, Robert Broekhuijsen, Serhii Verlanov, Stephen Markman, Yevhen Miezientsev spoke about the application of the model of positive selection of candidates to the HQCJU, of which there were more than 300 people. It was noted that the principle of compliance of the candidates with the criteria of integrity and professional competence was a priority in the selection. Candidates were evaluated according to the methodology developed by the Commission; interviews were conducted live, which contributes to public confidence. Together with a team of analysts, the members of the Commission analyzed a large amount of information on each candidate to clarify all questions during the interviews.
During the seventh session, attention was focused on the importance of developing a strategic approach to both external and internal communications, including the role of members of the High Council of Justice, the staff of the Secretariat and the Press service of the HCJ in this process. Expert of the EU Project Pravo-Justice on communications and judicial reform, expert on communications of state bodies Anna Ostapko, expert of the EU Project Pravo-Justice on communications and judicial reform Ivan Hisem, partner at “BeCentric Communications and Marketing Group” Iryna Khymchak spoke about the main principles and tools for building a reputation, as well as methods for assessing risks to avoid crises situations.
The final ninth session was devoted to the issue of optimizing the activities of the HCJ. Former Head of the State Judicial Administration of Lithuania, expert of the EU Project Pravo-Justice Reda Moliene, Legal Advisor of the USAID Justice for All Activity Serhii Suchenko paid attention to the practical issues of the High Council of Justice, in particular, strengthening leadership positions, strategic planning, organization of activity management, process automation, interaction, as well as the professional development of members and employees of the HCJ.
Summing up the work over the course of three days, the Chairman of the HCJ Hryhorii Usyk noted that the problems proposed for consideration are extremely relevant; the event became a platform for the exchange of experience. He expressed his gratitude to the representatives of international projects for organizing efficient work and to the speakers for their systematic professional analysis of topics and practical advice. International partners assured that they would support the High Council of Justice in building an independent, respectable and accountable judicial system, and would provide methodological and expert assistance. The parties determined directions and formats for further cooperation.
The orientation session was attended by the representatives of international projects – Chief of Party, USAID Justice for All Activity, David Vaughn, his deputy Nataliia Petrova, EU Project Pravo-Justice Country Manager, Oksana Tsymbrivska, EU Project Pravo-Justice, International Key Expert, Judiciary Component Lead, Anna Adamska-Gallant other experts; by the High Council of Justice – Chairman of the High Council of Justice Hryhorii Usyk, Deputy Chairman of the High Council of Justice Dmytro Lukianov, members of the Council Oksana Blazhivska, Yuliia Bokova, Serhii Burlakov, Oleh Kandziuba, Oleksii Melnyk, Plha Popikova, Inna Plakhtii, Roman Naselko, Mykola Moroz, Vitalii Salikhov, Alla Kotelevets, Oleksandr Sasevych, Olena Kovbii, Tetiana Bondarenko.