The European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, has called on the Council of Judges, Ukraine’s main professional association of judges, to unblock judicial reform.
The council has sabotaged the reform by refusing to delegate members to a key body created by a judicial reform law passed in July: the Ethics Council. Without these members, reform cannot move forward.
The Ethics Council would hire and fire members of the discredited High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s highest governing body. The Ethics Council must contain three Ukrainian judges and three international experts. If a vote is split 3-to-3, international experts’ opinion must prevail.
“Ukraine’s international partners have already nominated their candidates for the Ethics Council,” Gianni Buquicchio, head of the Venice Commission, said in a statement on Sept. 29.
“It is now urgent that the Council of Judges of Ukraine make, with no further delay, its own appointments, which are essential for the implementation of the reform. Indeed, all the concerned authorities should refrain from taking any measure, action, inaction or procedure resulting in a delay in the setting-up of the Ethics Council, which could cause an irreparable damage to the realization of an independent and efficient judiciary in Ukraine.”
Buquicchio added that “without the Ethics Council, there cannot be an independent and trusted High Judicial Council and, in turn, there cannot be a trusted High Qualification Commission of Judges.”
He called on “the competent authorities to take all the necessary steps to allow the Ethics Council to be set up and to carry out its tasks efficiently and swiftly.”
Council of judges
The Council of Judges failed to submit three candidates for the Ethics Council on the day of the deadline to do so, Sept. 13.
Since then, the Council of Judges has dragged its feet, leaving the Ethics Council’s fate uncertain.
On Sept. 21, the Council of Judges set itself a new Oct. 21 deadline to choose new candidates.
But the association also set numerous meticulous requirements for potential nominees. Candidates must have 15 years of experience, use a specific font in their application and must pass an interview.
The Council of Judges also called on parliament and the Supreme Court to revise the judicial reform law.
Bohdan Monych, head of the Council of Judges, even said that he doubted whether the Council of Judges would be able to delegate members to the Ethics Council.
Explaining the Council of Judges’ rationale, Monych said on Sept. 13 that he believed the reform legislation should be revised because Ukrainian judges would not have sufficient voting powers. He denied accusations of sabotage.
Reactions
G7 ambassadors criticized the Council of Judges on Sept. 23, saying that “the proposed timetable does not reflect the importance and urgency of this reform.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky issued his own condemnation, saying on Sept. 13 he would not allow sabotage of judicial reform. But so far no practical consequences have followed.
But if Zelensky really wants to unblock the reform, he must submit amendments stipulating that the Ethics Council must start functioning without the representatives of the Council of Judges if they are not elected by a certain deadline, Vitaly Tytych, ex-head of judicial watchdog Public Integrity Council, told the Kyiv Post.
Zelensky’s spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov told the Kyiv Post that Zelensky would wait for the Council of Judges to delegate its representatives.
High Council of Justice
The tainted High Council of Justice is the final authority for appointing, firing and punishing judges.
The council has been involved in numerous corruption scandals and is known for appointing judges linked to illegal schemes.
In 2020, the council unanimously refused to suspend notorious judge Pavlo Vovk, who is involved in Ukraine’s most high-profile judicial corruption case.
In wiretapped conversations released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Vovk mentioned the involvement of Andrii Ovsiienko, head of the High Council of Justice, along with other council members in his alleged corruption schemes. Council members did not respond to requests for comment.
