The Council of Europe highly evaluated the competition to the Supreme Court. The 5th annual Report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe was published recently
We would like to inform you that on May 14, 2018, the 5 th annual Report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe “State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law: Role of Institutions, Threat to Institutions 2018” was published, which, in particular, assessed the main elements of ensuring the democratic system in the Member States of the Council of Europe: independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, the functioning of democratic institutions and inclusive societies.
In particular, the main tendencies of the development of the rule of law in the Member States of the Council of Europe, which includes Ukraine, are analyzed. In addition, the Report provided an assessment of the competition procedure to judicial positions of cassation courts within the Supreme Court in Ukraine, which was held by the High Qualifications Commission of Judges in the period of November 7, 2016 to July 27, 2017.
“An entire new body of judges has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Ukraine after successfully completing a thorough procedure aimed at selecting candidates with the highest level of professional competence and personal integrity, following constitutional amendments and legislative changes introduced in 2016,” the Report said.
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland in Chapter “Efficient, Impartial and Independent Judiciary” also notes: “An important consequence of the constitutional changes in Ukraine has been to sever the link between parliament and the judiciary and its self-governing structures, one of the issues at the origin of the finding of a violation by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine. These welcome developments are illustrative both of how change can be brought about if the necessary political will is there, and of the role of the Court as a facilitator of structural changes.”
Such an assessment of the judicial reform in Ukraine, launched in 2014 is another recognition by the Council of Europe Ukrainian authorities’ actions in promoting the rule of law.
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