The member of the Commission Mr. Stanislav Shchotka participated in the III South Ukrainian Forum
The III South Ukrainian Forum devoted to the discussion of novelties of procedural legislation, the most pressing business protection issues and summing up the competition to the Supreme Court was held in Odessa on 8th of September 2017 with the assistance of the Ukrainian Bar Association.
The member of the Commission Mr. Stanislav Shchotka participated in the Forum. The event has begun with a discussion of practical aspects of judicial reform conducting. The participants were discussing the results of the competition to the Supreme Court, the role and future steps of the High Council of Justice concerning the candidates to the Supreme Court, competition to the Supreme Court through the prism of the Public Integrity Council.
Mr. Stanislav Shchotka emphasized that he is proud for the work of the Commission in arranging a competition to the Supreme Court and is not ashamed with the results of such work and stressed how difficult it was for all members of the Commission and for the Secretariat of the Commission. The member of the Commission also noted the work of the Public Integrity Council and said that its critics towards the Commission were not always of a constructive nature. Mr. Stanislav Shchotka also told about assessment procedure of candidates and noticed that some aspects are going to be improved. In particular, tests and practical tasks should be in electronic format refusing hand-written tasks and more time should be granted for execution of practical tasks.
Moreover, the member of the Commission emphasized that the Public Integrity Council in its activities have to ensure the right of a judge or candidate for the position of a judge to be heard and to have the opportunity to explain its position before the publication of the relevant opinion.
Mr. Andrii Savchiuk, the member of the Public Integrity Council, has called the PIC as “a great experiment” and emphasized that this tool is necessary for the Public as a counterbalance tool to ensure the transparency of the competition.
The Head of National Judicial Administration of Lithuania, international expert of the EU Project “Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine” Ms. Reda Moliene highly appreciated the role of the Commission in the competition to the Supreme Court and time expenditures in preparation for the competition. In particular, she noticed that the work in Ukraine reminded her how difficult a work process can be. In her speech, Ms. Reda Moliene has noticed the procedure of the competition, efficiency in organization and conduction, and the participation of Public in these processes. The expert also promised to use an example from Ukraine during the improvement of competition rules in Lithuania.
Some candidates to the Supreme Court and other guests of the Forum have also participated in the discussion.
