71 candidates will continue to participate in the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court, 7 of them – according to the results of joint meetings of the HQCJU and the PCIE
On January 28, 2019, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJU) and the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) finished special joint meetings in the framework of the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court. In general, from January 18, 2019, six meetings were held, in course of which 46 candidates were interviewed.
As a result of the meetings, 39 candidates stopped participating in the competition, 7 candidates successfully passed the meetings and will take part in the next stage of qualification evaluation – “Examining dossier and interview”, 3 candidates filed statements to terminate participation in the competition before the meetings.
In the course of meetings, based on candidates' answering questions of the members of both bodies, it was established whether they comply with the criteria of integrity (morality, honesty, incorruptibility), namely, whether property was acquired in a legal way, whether the standard of life of a candidate or members of his family correspond to income declared, whether a candidate's lifestyle corresponds to his status, whether he possesses knowledge and practical skills to consider cases falling within jurisdiction of the High Anti-Corruption Court. Among the candidates who successfully passed the joint meetings of the HQCJU and the PCIE, there are 5 candidates to the High Anti-Corruption Court, of who there are 4 judges, 1 scholar and 2 candidates to the HAC Appeal Chamber, of who there are 1 judge and 1 scholar.
The decision that a candidate complies with these criteria was taken by a majority of the general composition of the HQCJU and PCIE members in the deliberation room, provided that at least 3 members of the PCIE voted for it. If such a decision was not adopted, the candidate was considered as having stopped participation in the competition. Meetings were broadcast live on the official YouTube channel of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and can be viewed at any time.
“The judiciary in Ukraine is repeatedly establishing precedents among state bodies for the transparency and complexity of carrying out competitive procedures for filling vacant positions. In the course of the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court, we managed to strengthen our experience with the practice of professionals from other countries in adopting important decisions regarding the competence of candidates for the highest positions in the state”, said Mr. Sergii Koziakov, Chairman of the HQCJU.
He also added that the Commission made every effort to establish efficient PCIE and to ensure effective bilateral cooperation. “In determining integrity and professionalism of candidates the Commission was assisted by top-notch professionals experienced in working as judges and prosecutors in their countries. Their decisive role in the process of qualification evaluation of the High Anti-Corruption Court judges-to-be will be important in the future work of the new judicial body”, said Mr. Sergii Koziakov.
It should be noted that according to the results of the examination, 113 candidates were admitted to the next stage of the competition, in particular 81 - to the High Anti-Corruption Court and 32 – to the Appeal Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court. However, the PCIE had questions about integrity and professionalism of 49 candidates (43%), while in respect of 64 candidates (57%) there were no such questions and they immediately proceeded to the next stage of the competition – interviews based on the results of examining dossier.
In total, 71 candidates will participate in the next stage of the competition. Among them there are 42 judges, 17 lawyers, 6 scholars, 6 candidates with mixed experience. Of those who continue to participate, there are 50 men and 21 women. Candidates are mostly aged 30-49 years. 15 persons are candidates of Juridical Sciences and 2 are Doctors of Juridical Sciences.
The competition for 27 positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court and 12 judges of the Appeal Chamber of this court started on August 2, 2018 and is part of the judicial reform taking place in Ukraine.
