Selection for the position of a local court judge: results of the test on the history of Ukrainian statehood

Please be informed, that the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has completed the first stage of the qualification exam - testing on the history of Ukrainian statehood, which lasted from July 15 to 24, 2025.

The participants and society in general showed great interest in the qualification exam, particularly in the history of Ukrainian statehood. On the first day of the exam broadcast alone, over 50 thousand views were recorded on the YouTube platform, and the number of views on social networks reached 1 million. This confirms the significant attention paid to the selection process and the importance of ensuring its transparency and openness.

Testing of the knowledge of the history of Ukrainian statehood was conducted for the first time during the procedure for taking a judicial position and is mandatory for subsequent such procedures. For the first time, within the framework of the selection for the position of a judge of a local court, candidates for the position of a judge and judges who intend to be  transferred  to another court took the exam simultaneously, under equal conditions and without any status advantages.

The introduction of this testing was an important step in the development of a transparent and objective system of access to the judicial profession. The innovation underlines the desire to raise the standards of professional training and strengthen trust in the judiciary.

I. Composition of participants admitted to the first stage of the qualification exam

A total of 8,432 people were admitted to the test on the history of Ukrainian statehood:

local court judges – 562:

judges of administrative courts – 18;

judges of commercial courts – 14;

judges of general courts – 530;

candidates for the position of judge – 7,870:

court staff – 2,980;

Prosecutor’s Office employees – 2,004;

attorneys– 868;

military personnel – 280;

representatives of other professions – 1,738.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the first stage of the qualification exam (testing on the history of Ukrainian statehood)

No	Place of work	Women (persons)	Men (persons)	TOTAL
1.	Local court judges	314	248	562
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	12	6	18
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	5	9	14
1.3.	Judges of general courts	297	233	530
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	4111	3759	7870
2.1.	Court staff	2065	915	2980
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	756	1248	2004
2.3.	Attorneys	416	452	868
2.4.	Military personnel	15	265	280
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	859	879	1738
TOTAL		4425	4007	8432

 

The overall gender balance of test participants remains relatively even:

women — 52%,

men — 48%.

Women predominate among the selection participants: among judges, their share is 56%, and among candidates – 52%.

The highest rate of female participation was recorded among court staff — 69%; the highest percentage of men — among military personnel (95%) and prosecutors (62%).

There is a relative gender balance in the categories of lawyers and representatives of other professions.

Overall, the results indicate an appropriate level of gender representation in the selection procedure, as well as the preservation of professional characteristics in the structure of participants by gender.

Age composition of participants admitted to the first stage of the qualification exam (testing on the history of Ukrainian statehood)

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection
No.	Place of work	From 30 To 35 years old (persons*)	From 36 To 40 years old (persons*)	41 years and older  (persons*)	TOTAL
1.	Local court judges	0	186	376	562
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	6	12	18
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	6	8	14
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	174	356	530
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	3251	2636	1983	7870
2.1.	Court staff	1285	1057	638	2980
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	983	614	407	2004
2.3.	Attorneys	274	288	306	868
2.4.	Military personnel	92	89	99	280
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	617	588	533	1738
TOTAL		3251	2822	2359	8432

Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local court are mostly over 40 years old (67%), there are no judges younger than 36. This trend is justified by the long break in the possibility of exercising a judge’s right to transfer to another local court.

Among the candidates for the position of judge, almost half  of them (41%) are people aged 30–35, and 75% of candidates are younger than 41.

Employees of the courts and prosecutor’s offices are the youngest categories: aged 30–35 — 43% and 49%, respectively.

Attorneyes, military personnel and other professions have a relatively even distribution of age groups.

In general, the selection is attractive for people under 40, which makes it possible to predict a gradual rejuvenation of the judiciary.

 

 

Regional composition of participants admitted to the first stage of the qualification exam (testing on the history of Ukrainian statehood)

No.	Region	Judges (persons)	Candidates for the position of judge (individuals)						TOTAL
			Сourt apparatus	Prosecutor's Office employees	Attorneys	Military personnel	Other professions	Total
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	22	126	92	38	15	64	335	357
2	Volyn Oblast	11	97	48	23	0	53	221	232
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	48	241	284	78	16	135	754	802
4	Donetsk Oblast	54	25	12	2	3	8	50	104
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	30	106	73	27	10	40	256	286
6	Transcarpathian Oblast	10	70	40	22	4	53	189	199
7	Zaporizhzhia Oblast	28	77	72	19	6	46	220	248
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	10	83	51	27	6	63	230	240
9	Kyiv Oblast	19	204	94	64	18	155	535	554
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	23	78	73	20	7	40	218	241
11	Luhansk Oblast	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	34
12	Lviv Oblast	9	230	110	62	21	137	560	569
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	25	75	76	17	6	29	203	228
14	Odesa Oblast	37	174	132	69	29	102	506	543
15	Poltava Oblast	31	116	73	35	14	77	315	346
16	Rivne Oblast	13	110	60	39	9	48	266	279
17	Sumy Oblast	27	79	73	26	4	46	228	255
18	Ternopil Oblast	9	66	41	18	5	38	168	177
19	Kharkiv Oblast	28	242	119	46	19	105	531	559
20	Kherson Oblast	16	20	11	1	2	7	41	57
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	15	108	48	19	7	34	216	231
22	Cherkasy Oblast	16	71	57	36	7	40	211	227
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	9	61	40	16	4	20	141	150
24	Chernihiv Oblast	30	69	80	23	9	44	225	255
25	Kyiv City	8	451	245	141	59	348	1244	1252
26	another country	0	1	0	0	0	6	7	7
TOTAL		562	2980	2004	868	280	1738	7870	8432

 

The city of Kyiv confidently leads in the number of people wishing to become judges — almost 15% of all participants.

The largest participation of candidates for the position of judge was provided by the city of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa Oblasts – together over 52% of the total number of candidates.

 II. Success rate of passing the first stage of the qualification exam

493 people, or 6% of the total number of participants, did not appear for the test:

1. local court judges – 96 people, or 17% of the total number of people in this group;

• judges of administrative courts – 4 people, or 22% of the total number of people in this group;
• judges of commercial courts – 5 people, or 36% of the total number of people in this group;
• judges of general courts – 87 people, or 16% of the total number of people in this group;

2. candidates for the position of judge – 397 people, or 5% of the total number of people in this group;

• court staff – 62 people, or 2% of the total number of people in this group;
• Prosecutor’s Office employees – 171 people, or 9% of the total number of people in this group;
• lawyers – 59 people, or 7% of the total number of people in this group;
• representatives of other professions – 95 people, or 5% of the total number of people in this group;
• military personnel – 10 people, or 4% of the total number of people in this group.

1 candidate for the position of judge (a group of Prosecutor’s Office employees) refused to participate during the test.

The minimum acceptable test score is 26 points.

The maximum test score is 40 points.

Success rate of the first stage of the qualification exam “Testing of knowledge on the history of Ukrainian statehood”
No.	Place of work	25 or less points		from 26 to 30 points		from 31 to 35 points		from 36 to 40 points		TOTAL
		persons	%*	persons	%*	persons	%*	persons	%*	persons	%*
1.	Local court judges	2	0,4%	6	1,3%	24	5,2%	434	93,1%	466	100,0%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	14	100,0%	14	3,0%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0,0%	1	11,1%	2	22,2%	6	66,7%	9	1,9%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	2	0,5%	5	1,1%	22	5,0%	414	93,5%	443	95,1%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	130	1,7%	233	3,1%	754	10,1%	6356	85,1%	7473	100,0%
2.1.	Court staff	45	1,5%	81	2,8%	247	8,5%	2545	87,2%	2918	39,0%
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	13	0,7%	34	1,9%	166	9,1%	1620	88,4%	1833	24,5%
2.3.	Attorneys	24	3,0%	31	3,8%	98	12,1%	656	81,1%	809	10,8%
2.4.	Military personnel	10	3,7%	12	4,4%	33	12,2%	215	79,6%	270	3,6%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	38	2,3%	75	4,6%	210	12,8%	1320	80,3%	1643	22,0%
TOTAL		132	1,7%	239	3,0%	778	9,8%	6790	85,5%	7939	100,0%

In accordance with the decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated May 12, 2025 No. 105/zp-25, participants who scored at least the minimum allowable score during the first stage are admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam, in the amount of no more than 7,200 persons. If two or more candidates for the position of judge and judges received the same lowest passing score at the first stage of the qualification exam, all such candidates for the position of judge and judges are admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam.

According to the results of the first stage of the qualification exam, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine on July 25, 2025 admitted 7,239 persons to the second stage.

III. Composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing general knowledge in the field of law and court specialisations)

A total of 7,239 persons were admitted to testing of general knowledge in the field of law and court specialisations:

1) by the composition of the participants:

a) judges of local courts – 454:

- judges of administrative courts – 14;

- judges of commercial courts – 7;

- judges of general courts – 433;

b) candidates for the position of judge – 6,785:

- court staff – 2,687;

- prosecutor’s office employees – 1,717;

- attorneys – 710;

- representatives of other professions – 1,441;

- military personnel – 230.

2) by specialization:

 administrative specialisation – 2,632 persons;

commercial specialisation – 2,237 persons;

general specialisation – 6,754 persons;

3) according to the intentions of the participants:

persons who intend to take the exam exclusively in administrative specialisation – 177;

persons who intend to take the exam exclusively in commercial specialisation – 146;

persons who intend to take the exam exclusively in general specialisation – 3,733;

persons who intend to take the exam in administrative and commercial specialisations – 162;

persons who intend to take the exam in administrative and general specialisations – 1,092;

persons who intend to take the exam in commercial and general specialisations – 728;

persons who intend to take the exam in all specializations – 1201.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and court specialisations)

No	Place of work	Women		Men		TOTAL
		persons	%*	persons	%*	persons	%*
1.	Local court judges	250	55%	204	45%	454	100%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	9	64%	5	36%	14	3%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	2	29%	5	71%	7	2%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	239	55%	194	45%	433	95%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	3601	53%	3184	47%	6785	100%
2.1.	Court staff	1861	69%	826	31%	2687	40%
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	653	38%	1064	62%	1717	25%
2.3.	Attorneys	357	50%	353	50%	710	10%
2.4.	Military personnel	12	5%	218	95%	230	3%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	718	50%	723	50%	1441	21%
TOTAL		3851	53%	3388	47%	7239	100%

The overall gender balance of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam remains relatively even:

women — 3,851 persons, or 53% of the total number of participants;

men — 3,388 persons, or 47% of the total number of participants.

The highest rate of female participation was recorded among court staff — 69%; the highest percentage of men — among prosecutors (62%) and military personnel (95%).

There is a relative gender balance in the categories of lawyers and representatives of other professions.

Overall, the results indicate an appropriate level of gender representation in the selection procedure, as well as the preservation of professional characteristics in the structure of participants by gender.

Age composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing general knowledge in the field of law and court specializations)

 

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection
No	Place of work	From 30 to 35 years old		From 36 to 40 years old		41 years and older		TOTAL
		persons*	%*	persons*	%*	persons*	%*	persons*	%*
1.	Local court judges	0	0%	157	35%	297	65%	454	100%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	0%	6	43%	8	57%	14	3%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0%	4	57%	3	43%	7	2%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	0%	147	34%	286	66%	433	95%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	2864	42%	2256	33%	1665	25%	6785	100%
2.1.	Court staff	1174	44%	956	36%	557	21%	2687	40%
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	858	50%	521	30%	338	20%	1717	25%
2.3.	Attorneys	235	33%	236	33%	239	34%	710	10%
2.4.	Military personnel	75	33%	73	32%	82	36%	230	3%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	522	36%	470	33%	449	31%	1441	21%
TOTAL		2864	40%	2413	33%	1962	27%	7239	100%

Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local court are mostly over 40 years old (64%), there are no judges younger than 36 years old among them.

Among candidates for the position of judge, 75% are younger than 41 years old.

Employees of the courts and prosecutor’s office are the youngest categories: aged 30–35 — 40% and 47%, respectively.

Attorneyes, military personnel and other professions have a relatively even distribution of age groups.

Regional composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and court specialisations)

 

Regional composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and court specialisations)
No.	Region	Judges		Candidates for the position of judge (persons)												TOTAL
		(persons)		Court apparatus		Prosecutor’s Office		Attorneyes		Military personnel		Other professions		Total
		persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	19	6,1%	115	39,7%	78	26,9%	32	11,0%	12	4,1%	53	18,3%	290	93,9%	309	4,3%
2	Volyn Oblast	9	4,3%	88	44,4%	45	22,7%	20	10,1%	0	0,0%	45	22,7%	198	95,7%	207	2,9%
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	43	6,3%	210	33,1%	248	39,1%	58	9,1%	12	1,9%	107	16,9%	635	93,7%	678	9,4%
4	Donetsk Oblast	49	53,8%	22	52,4%	11	26,2%	2	4,8%	2	4,8%	5	11,9%	42	46,2%	91	1,3%
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	19	7,8%	96	42,9%	64	28,6%	22	9,8%	8	3,6%	34	15,2%	224	92,2%	243	3,4%
6	Transcarpathian Oblast	7	4,2%	61	38,4%	34	21,4%	18	11,3%	2	1,3%	44	27,7%	159	95,8%	166	2,3%
7	Zaporizhzhia Oblast	19	8,8%	65	33,0%	67	34,0%	16	8,1%	5	2,5%	44	22,3%	197	91,2%	216	3,0%
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	10	4,9%	73	37,4%	44	22,6%	21	10,8%	6	3,1%	51	26,2%	195	95,1%	205	2,8%
9	Kyiv Oblast	16	3,5%	178	40,8%	71	16,3%	57	13,1%	17	3,9%	113	25,9%	436	96,5%	452	6,2%
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	18	8,7%	73	38,8%	62	33,0%	16	8,5%	5	2,7%	32	17,0%	188	91,3%	206	2,8%
11	Luhansk Oblast	29	100,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	29	0,4%
12	Lviv Oblast	9	1,8%	208	41,8%	98	19,7%	50	10,0%	17	3,4%	125	25,1%	498	98,2%	507	7,0%
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	21	10,3%	73	39,9%	65	35,5%	16	8,7%	5	2,7%	24	13,1%	183	89,7%	204	2,8%
14	Odesa Oblast	25	5,6%	150	35,5%	103	24,3%	59	13,9%	24	5,7%	87	20,6%	423	94,4%	448	6,2%
15	Poltava Oblast	26	8,7%	105	38,5%	65	23,8%	27	9,9%	13	4,8%	63	23,1%	273	91,3%	299	4,1%
16	Rivne Oblast	12	4,8%	100	42,0%	57	23,9%	35	14,7%	8	3,4%	38	16,0%	238	95,2%	250	3,5%
17	Sumy Oblast	22	10,1%	68	34,7%	63	32,1%	23	11,7%	4	2,0%	38	19,4%	196	89,9%	218	3,0%
18	Ternopil Oblast	7	4,4%	63	41,4%	33	21,7%	17	11,2%	5	3,3%	34	22,4%	152	95,6%	159	2,2%
19	Kharkiv Oblast	21	4,3%	223	48,3%	99	21,4%	36	7,8%	14	3,0%	90	19,5%	462	95,7%	483	6,7%
20	Kherson Oblast	10	21,7%	17	47,2%	9	25,0%	1	2,8%	2	5,6%	7	19,4%	36	78,3%	46	0,6%
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	10	5,1%	101	54,3%	42	22,6%	10	5,4%	5	2,7%	28	15,1%	186	94,9%	196	2,7%
22	Cherkasy Oblast	13	6,7%	67	36,8%	46	25,3%	31	17,0%	6	3,3%	32	17,6%	182	93,3%	195	2,7%
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	7	5,2%	56	44,1%	36	28,3%	14	11,0%	3	2,4%	18	14,2%	127	94,8%	134	1,9%
24	Chernihiv Oblast	26	11,7%	61	31,0%	76	38,6%	16	8,1%	8	4,1%	36	18,3%	197	88,3%	223	3,1%
25	Kyiv City	7	0,7%	413	38,9%	201	18,9%	113	10,6%	47	4,4%	289	27,2%	1063	99,3%	1070	14,8%
26	another country	0	0,0%	1	20,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	4	80,0%	5	100,0%	5	0,1%
TOTAL		454	6%	2687	40%	1717	25%	710	10%	230

 

Our sincere gratitude is expressed to:

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the European Union project “PRAVO-JUSTICE” – for logistical support in conducting the qualification exam;

The Court Security Service and the State Security Department of Ukraine – for ensuring the security of the event and the proper organization of its holding;

 Participants of the qualification exam –  judges and candidates for the position of judge. The record number of participants in this year’s selection testifies to the high level of trust in the work of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine – trust that we strive not only to justify, but also to strengthen in the future.

Our special gratitude is expressed to all employees of the Secretariat of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, who conscientiously performed their duties and ensured the implementation of the important powers of the Commission.

Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties involved, the necessary conditions were created for a transparent, effective, and efficient conduct of the qualification exam.