Selection for the position of local court judge: results of testing on general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court

 Please, be informed, that the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has completed testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialization of local administrative courts, which was held from August 05 to August 08, 2025.

I. Composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam i.e., testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of local administrative court specialisation.

A total of 2,632 persons were admitted to the testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of local administrative court specialisation:

1. Judges of local courts – 121:

• Judges of administrative courts – 14;
• Judges of commercial courts – 0;
• Judges of general courts – 107;

2. Judicial candidates – 2 511:

• court staff – 841;
• employees of the prosecutor’s office – 532;
• attorneys – 287;
• military personnel – 120;
• representatives of other professions – 731.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam i.e., testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court

№	Place of work	Woman (persons)	Man (persons)	Total
1.	Judges of local courts	67	54	121
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	9	5	14
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0	0
1.3.	Judges of general courts	58	49	107
2.	Judicial candidates	1267	1244	2511
2.1.	Court staff	543	298	841
2.2.	Employees of the prosecutor’s office	216	316	532
2.3.	Attorneys	146	141	287
2.4.	Military personnel	5	115	120
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	357	374	731
Together		1334	1298	2632

 

The overall gender balance of test participants remains relatively even:

• women — 51%,

• men — 49%.

The gender balance among selection of participants totals 50% men and 50% women, while women predominate among judges, accounting for 55% of the total.

The highest rate 65% of female participation is among court staff; the highest percentage of men is among military personnel (96%) and prosecutor’s office (59%).

There is a relative gender balance among attorneys and representatives of other professions.

Overall, the results indicate an adequate level of gender representation in the selection process.

Age composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam i.e., testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection process
№	Place of work	From 30 to 35 years old (persons*)	From 36 to 40 years old (persons*)	41 years old and older  (persons *)	TOTAL
1.	Judges of local courts	0	47	74	121
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	6	8	14
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0	0	0
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	41	66	107
2.	Judicial candidates	1039	851	621	2511
2.1.	Court staff	381	315	145	841
2.2.	Employees of the prosecutor’s office	240	164	128	532
2.3.	Attorneys	106	95	86	287
2.4.	Military personnel	44	41	35	120
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	268	236	227	731
Together		1039	898	695	2632

 

Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local administrative court are predominantly over 40 years old (61%), with none under 36 years old. This dynamic is justified by the long pause in the possibility of exercising a judge’s right to be transferred to another local court.

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

Court and prosecutor’s office employees are the youngest category: 45% are aged 30–35.

Attorneys, military personnel, and representatives of other professions are relatively evenly distributed across age groups.

Regional composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam i.e., testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court

 

№	Region	Judges (persons)		Judicial candidates (persons)												TOTAL
				Court staff		Prosecutor’s office		Attorneys		Military personnel		Other professions		Total
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	5		45		20		14		11		29		119		124
2	Volyn Oblast	1		25		22		16		0		23		86		87
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	10		47		54		21		3		49		174		184
4	Donetsk Oblast	6		7		1		0		1		3		12		18
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	8		22		21		6		1		20		70		78
6	Zakarpattia Oblast	1		20		10		8		0		19		57		58
7	Zaporizhzhia Oblast	9		16		25		6		4		21		72		81
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	2		26		21		8		4		26		85		87
9	Kyiv Oblast	3		46		24		16		8		52		146		149
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	7		29		13		6		2		13		63		70
11	Luhansk Oblast	3		0		0		0		0		0		0		3
12	Lviv Oblast	1		98		40		19		14		68		239		240
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	5		7		13		4		2		10		36		41
14	Odesa Oblast	14		47		43		24		13		50		177		191
15	Poltava Oblast	3		25		15		11		5		31		87		90
16	Rivne Oblast	0		28		9		21		4		15		77		77
17	Sumy Oblast	7		22		18		12		2		20		74		81
18	Ternopil Oblast	5		14		8		8		2		19		51		56
19	Kharkiv Oblast	10		79		29		18		8		40		174		184
20	Kherson Oblast	2		2		1		1		1		4		9		11
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	2		36		14		3		5		15		73		75
22	Cherkasy Oblast	2		14		8		7		1		15		45		47
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	2		16		13		3		1		13		46		48
24	Chernihiv Oblast	12		21		22		9		4		20		76		88
25	Kyiv city	1		149		88		46		24		155		462		463
26	Other country	0		0		0		0		0		1		1		1
TOGETHER			121		841		532		287		120		731		2511	2632

 

The city of Kyiv confidently leads in the number of people willing to become judges and consists almost 18% of all participants.

The largest number of judicial candidates came from Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa Oblasts, what together makes over 54% of the total number of candidates.

ІІ. Success rate in passing tests on general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court

A total of 690 persons, or 26% of the overall number of participants, did not show up to take the test:

1. Local court judges – 39 persons, or 32% of the total number of persons in this group:

• Administrative court judges – 1 person, or 7% of the total number of persons in this group;
• General court judges – 38 persons, or 36% of the total number of persons in this group;

2. Judicial candidates – 651 persons, or 26% of the total number of persons in this group:

• Court staff – 168 people, or 20% of the total number of people in this group;
• Prosecutors office employees – 221 people, or 42% of the total number of people in this group;
• Attorneys – 73 persons, or 25% of the total number of persons in this group;
• Representatives of other professions – 154 persons, or 21% of the total number of persons in this group;
• Military personnel – 35 persons, or 29% of the total number of persons in this group.

The minimum passing score is 75 points, or 112.5 points applying a coefficient of 1.5.

The maximum test score is 100 points, or 150 points applying a coefficient of 1.5.

Success rate of the second stage of the qualification exam “Testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court”
№	Place of work	74 points or less (or less than 111 points when applying a coefficient of 1.5)		from 75 to 93 points (or from 112.5 to 139.5 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)			from 94 to 98 points (or from 141 to 147 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)			from 99 to 100 points (or from 148.5 to 150 points with a coefficient of 1.5)			TOTAL
		persons	%*	persons	%*	persons		%*	persons		%*	persons		%*
1.	Judges of local courts	1	1,2%	18	22,0%	30		36,6%	33		40,2%	82		100,0%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	0,0%	4	30,8%	3		23,1%	6		46,2%	13		100,0%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0		0,0%	0		0,0%	0		0,0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	1	1,4%	14	20,3%	27		39,1%	27		39,1%	69		100,0%
2.	Judicial candidates	76	4,1%	632	34,0%	581		31,2%	571		30,7%	1860		100,0%
2.1.	Court staff	15	2,2%	179	26,6%	198		29,4%	281		41,8%	673		36,2%
2.2.	Employees of the prosecutor’s office	14	4,5%	125	40,2%	90		28,9%	82		26,4%	311		16,7%
2.3.	Attorneys	10	4,7%	67	31,3%	84		39,3%	53		24,8%	214		11,5%
2.4.	Military personnel	3	3,5%	42	49,4%	17		20,0%	23		27,1%	85		4,6%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	34	5,9%	219	38,0%	192		33,3%	132		22,9%	577		31,0%
TOGETHER		77	4,0%	650	33,5%	611		31,5%	604		31,1%	1942		100,0%

 

In accordance with the decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated May 12, 2025, No. 105/zp-25, the passing score for the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the relevant court) is determined taking into account that participants who have scored not less than 75 percent of the maximum possible score, which is three times greater than the projected number of vacant positions for judges in local courts, namely: 600 in local administrative courts.

In case if two or more candidates for the position of judge have received the same lowest passing score during the second stage of the qualification exam, then all such candidates for the position of judge are admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam.

Based on the results of the second stage of the qualification exam i.e., testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local administrative court, by decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated August 11, 2025, a total of 604 persons were admitted to the third stage.

ІІІ. Composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam i.e., cognitive abilities testing (specialisation in the local administrative courts)

A total of 604 persons were admitted to the cognitive abilities test (the specialisation of the local administrative court).

By Participants:

а) judges of local courts – 33:

-          judges of administrative courts – 6;

-          judges of commercial courts – 0;

-          judges of general courts – 27;

b)        judicial candidates – 571:

-          court staff – 281;

-          prosecutor’s office employees – 82;

-          attorneys – 53;

-          other professions representatives – 132;

-          military personnel – 23.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam i.e., cognitive abilities testing (specialisation in the local administrative courts)

№	Place of work	Woman			Man				TOTAL
		persons	%*		persons		%*		persons	%*
1.	Judges of local courts	20	61%		13		39%		33	100%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	3	50%		3		50%		6	18%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0%		0		0%		0	0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	17	63%		10		37%		27	82%
2.	Judicial candidates	321	56%		250		44%		571	100%
2.1.	Court staff	179	64%		102		36%		281	49%
2.2.	Employees of the prosecutor’s office	38	46%		44		54%		82	14%
2.3.	Attorneys	26	49%		27		51%		53	9%
2.4.	Military personnel	0	0%		23		100%		23	4%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	78	59%		54		41%		132	23%
TOGETHER		341	56%	263		44%		604		100%

 

Among the participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam, there is a higher percentage of women:

• Women — 341, or 56% of the total number of participants;

• Men — 263, or 44% of the total number of participants.

The highest rate of female participation was recorded among court staff (64%), judges (61%), and representatives of other professions (59%); the highest percentage of men was among prosecutor’s office employees (54%) and military personnel (100%).

There is a relative gender balance among lawyers.

Overall, the results indicate an adequate level of gender representation in the selection process.

Age composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam i.e., cognitive abilities testing (specialisation in the local administrative court)

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection process
№	Place of work	From 30 to 35 years old		From 36 to 40 years old		41 years old and older		TOTAL
		persons *	%*	persons *	%*	persons *	%*	persons *	%*
1.	Judges of local courts	0	0%	12	36%	21	64%	33	100%
1.1.	Judges of administrative courts	0	0%	2	33%	4	67%	6	18%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	0%	10	37%	17	63%	27	82%
2.	Judicial candidates	273	48%	179	31%	119	21%	571	100%
2.1.	Court staff	149	53%	97	35%	35	12%	281	49%
2.2.	Employees of the prosecutor’s office	36	44%	24	29%	22	27%	82	14%
2.3.	Attorneys	27	51%	13	25%	13	25%	53	9%
2.4.	Military personnel	10	43%	8	35%	5	22%	23	4%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	51	39%	37	28%	44	33%	132	23%
TOGETHER		273	45%	191	32%	140	23%	604	100%

 

Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local court are predominantly over 40 years old (64%), with none under 36 years old.

Among candidates for the position of judge, 79% are under 41 years old.

Court staff, prosecutor’s office employees and attorneys are the youngest categories: 53%, 44%, and 51% are aged 30–35, respectively.

Military personnel and representatives of other professions have a relatively distribution of age groups.

Regional composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam i.e., cognitive abilities testing (specialisation in the local administrative courts)

№	Region	Judges			Judicial candidates (persons)																				TOTAL
		persons			Court staff			Prosecutor’s office employees				Attorneys		Military personnel		Other professions					Total
		persons	%		persons	%		persons		%		persons	%	persons	%		persons		%		persons	%		persons		%
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	2	5,7%		18	54,5%		4		12,1%		2	6,1%	5	15,2%		4		12,1%		33	94%		35		5,8%
2	Volyn Oblast	0	0,0%		7	41,2%		3		17,6%		2	11,8%	0	0,0%		5		29,4%		17	100%		17		2,8%
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	3	6,4%		15	34,1%		12		27,3%		5	11,4%	1	2,3%		11		25,0%		44	94%		47		7,8%
4	Donetsk Oblast	1	33,3%		2	100,0%		0		0,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		0		0,0%		2	67%		3		0,5%
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	4	17,4%		10	52,6%		4		21,1%		2	10,5%	0	0,0%		3		15,8%		19	83%		23		3,8%
6	Zakarpattia Oblast	0	0,0%		8	53,3%		2		13,3%		2	13,3%	0	0,0%		3		20,0%		15	100%		15		2,5%
7	Zaporizhzhia Oblast	2	11,1%		7	43,8%		5		31,3%		1	6,3%	0	0,0%		3		18,8%		16	89%		18		3,0%
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	1	4,8%		9	45,0%		5		25,0%		4	20,0%	0	0,0%		2		10,0%		20	95%		21		3,5%
9	Kyiv Oblast	2	7,7%		11	45,8%		3		12,5%		1	4,2%	2	8,3%		7		29,2%		24	92%		26		4,3%
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	1	7,1%		13	100,0%		0		0,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		0		0,0%		13	93%		14		2,3%
11	Luhansk Oblast	1	100,0%		0	0,0%		0		0,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		0		0,0%		0	0%		1		0,2%
12	Lviv Oblast	1	1,4%		41	58,6%		4		5,7%		5	7,1%	2	2,9%		18		25,7%		70	99%		71		11,8%
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	1	20,0%		3	75,0%		0		0,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		1		25,0%		4	80%		5		0,8%
14	Odesa Oblast	3	6,5%		20	46,5%		6		14,0%		5	11,6%	3	7,0%		9		20,9%		43	93%		46		7,6%
15	Poltava Oblast	0	0,0%		5	33,3%		3		20,0%		1	6,7%	1	6,7%		5		33,3%		15	100%		15		2,5%
16	Rivne Oblast	0	0,0%		7	53,8%		2		15,4%		2	15,4%	0	0,0%		2		15,4%		13	100%		13		2,2%
17	Sumy Oblast	4	25,0%		4	33,3%		3		25,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		5		41,7%		12	75%		16		2,6%
18	Ternopil Oblast	2	20,0%		2	25,0%		1		12,5%		1	12,5%	0	0,0%		4		50,0%		8	80%		10		1,7%
19	Kharkiv Oblast	1	2,4%		22	55,0%		4		10,0%		5	12,5%	1	2,5%		8		20,0%		40	98%		41		6,8%
20	Kherson Oblast	0	0,0%		1	100,0%		0		0,0%		0	0,0%	0	0,0%		0		0,0%		1	100%		1		0,2%
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	1	5,6%		12	70,6%		2		11,8%		0	0,0%	1	5,9%		2		11,8%		17	94%		18		3,0%
22	Cherkasy Oblast	1	10,0%		6	66,7%		1		11,1%		1	11,1%	0	0,0%		1		11,1%		9	90%		10		1,7%
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	0	0,0%		5	45,5%		1		9,1%		1	9,1%	1	9,1%		3		27,3%		11	100%		11		1,8%
24	Chernihiv Oblast	2	11,1%		5	31,3%		4		25,0%		1	6,3%	2	12,5%		4		25,0%		16	89%		18		3,0%
25	Kyiv city	0	0,0%		48	44,0%		13		11,9%		12	11,0%	4	3,7%		32		29,4%		109	100%		109		18,0%
TOGETHER		33		5,5%	281		49,2%		82		14,4%	53	9,3%	23	4,0%			132		23%	571		95%		604		100,0%