Acting Chairman of the HCJ Vitalii Salikhov, the HCJ members Oksana Blazhivska, Dmytro Lukianov, Roman Maselko, Mykola Moroz and Inna Plakhtii took part in regular meeting of representatives of international assistance projects working in the field of strengthening the rule of law.
The participants discussed the status and further steps of competition for the position of members of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine.
Chairman of the Selection Commission, retired judge Ted Zarzeczny, and Deputy Chairman of the Selection Commission, judge of the Cassation Economic Court as part of the Supreme Court Ivan Mishchenko outlined the main areas of work and challenges in the forming process of the composition of the HQCJU.
They noted that formation of the final list of candidates for the HQCJU composition is currently underway.
The deadline for submission of documents by candidates ended on August 22, 2022. After that, the Selection Commission formed list of 250 candidates. But since the documents from the candidates continued to arrive, the Commission will form the final list, which will be about 300. After its formation, the final portrait of candidates, their age characteristics, professional, gender, etc. will be known.
As Ivan Mishchenko noted, a large number of candidates and materials for processing may take more time than expected. This is one of the main challenges in the activities of the Commission, the matter of resumption time of the work of the HQCJU is now particularly acute.
Among other challenges of the work, Ivan Mishchenko noted the implementation of the education and training program for members of the HQCJU, the completion of the qualification assessment of acting judges, forecasting of expenses for the activities of the HQCJU, formation and implementation of the strategy of the corps of judges.
He informed that the Selection Committee should select 64 candidates who will be admitted to the interview. Of these, 32 people will be recommended by the HCJ, which should select 16: 8 from judges/retired judges and 8 from lawyers and academics.
Members of the HCJ Vitalii Salikhov and Mykola Moroz expressed their proposal to submit more than 32 candidates for consideration by the HCJ in the event of larger number of worthy applicants. “The law establishes the minimum number of possible candidates recommended by the Selection Commission, that is, at least two candidates for the position, but does not limit the body to recommend more persons, if there are worthy applicants. This is especially true in conditions of martial law and in various difficult life circumstances in which candidates may also be. The more recommended candidates, the more opportunities to form higher-quality composition of the HQCJU,” emphasized Vitalii Salikhov.
He also noted the need to turn over materials to the Commission regarding candidates for the HCJ in order to prompt consideration and time saving and the possibility of providing criteria on the basis of which the Selection Commission will select candidates for the positions.
The HCJ member Roman Maselko stressed that the openness of the Commission’s activities is a centerpiece to increasing public confidence in the judiciary and is a keystone of the judicial reform effectiveness. He noted that the Selection Commission creates standards that will guide the HQCJU and the HCJ in the future.
Roman Maselko also pointed out the need to indicate in recommendations of the Selection Commission substantiations for each candidate, which will be a reference point for the HCJ to make its own decisions.
Manager of the USAID Justice for All Program Olexandr Piskun noted further expert support for the formation of key bodies in the judiciary by international assistance projects to increase confidence in the judicial and anti-corruption reforms. According to him, this will contribute to attract investments, and this is especially important in the context of martial law and the need to restore the country.