“The main event of the year - the competition to the Supreme Court will be completed in May”, - Mr. Sergii Koziakov, Chairman of the HQCJ, presented the experience of Ukraine in forming of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in Vienna
On 24 March 2014 a round table devoted to the Ukrainian reforms “Transforming the country: Ukraine on the path of reforms” took place in Vienna. During the meeting, Mr. Sergii Koziakov, the Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ), called the competition to the Supreme Court the main event of the year in Ukraine and noted that it should be completed in May. The meeting was also attended by the member of the HQCJ Mr. Andrii Kozlov.
During the speech in the section “Ukraine’s judicial reform blueprint: designing and constructing fair justice system”, Mr. Sergii Koziakov outlined the main stages of forming a new Supreme Court in Ukraine. He reminded that the competition started on November 7, 2016, and noted that for the first time in history not only judges could participate in the competition, but academics and lawyers as well. They will be evaluated on three main criteria: competence, professional ethics, and integrity.
The Chairman of the Commission emphasized the unprecedented transparency and openness of the competitive procedures. “The Commission ensures the transparency of all stages of qualification assessment in the selection of judges to the Supreme Court. In particular, about 60 representatives of the media, 25 international observers, and the representatives of the public observed the exam. An online broadcast was conducted and the dozens of video cameras recorded the exam process», - stressed Mr. Sergii Koziakov.
In particular, the Chairman of the HQCJ mentioned the experience of work of civic activists at the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine: “In Ukraine was formed a unique body for European judicial practice, and possibly for the whole world, - the Public Integrity Council, which is intended to assist the Commission in the process of selecting judges”. Mr. Sergii Koziakov told to the European colleagues about the tasks, requirements for the participants and the process of forming the Public Integrity Council.
The representatives of the Judicial Reform Council noted that the new bodies – the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and the High Council of Justice – are as depoliticized as possible.
“The main purpose of the reform is to depoliticize the Ukrainian judicial system, to make it independent of any political influences. The joint task of the executive bodies, the judiciary bodies, and civil society is the creation of an Anti-corruption court, which will be able to cope with problems and to resist any challenges regardless of the political situation in the country” – noted the member of the HQCJ Mr. Andrii Kozlov.
At the end of the meeting, the moderator, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, Mr. Vaidotas Verba emphasized that the OSCE is interested in continuing the reforms in Ukraine. “Ukraine is a very important partner to the OSCE and we are authorized to support our cooperation, which has been going on for several years”, – he stressed.
The event was held at the Secretariat of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) at the request of the National Council for Reforms and with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. Information support was provided by the Judicial Reform Council.
To view the presentation, click on the link
