The representatives of the Commission took part in the round table “Managing judicial conflicts of interest in Ukraine”
On May 26, 2017, the round table on conflicts of interest in the judiciary was held at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with the support of the USAID New Justice Program.
The Commission was represented by Mr. Sergii Koziakov, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Stanislav Shchotka, the Secretary of the Qualification Chamber of the Commission, Mr. Oleksandr Bystrushkin, the Deputy Head of the Secretariat, and Mr.Oleh Rybchuk, the Deputy Director of the Department – Head of the Division of Statistical and Analytical Work of the Department of Judicial Carrier.
During the meeting, Dr. Tilman Hoppe, the European expert on prevention and combating corruption of the USAID New Justice Program, presented his interim draft report “Managing judicial conflicts of interest in Ukraine”, on the basis of in-depth analysis of the relevant Ukrainian legislation.
Mr. Thomas H. Speedy Rice, Professor of Practice at the Transnational Law Institute of the Washington and Lee University, also made a presentation “Previous examples from the experience of resolving the conflict of interests in the US Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals and the European Court of Human Rights”.
Mr. José Manuel Duro Mateus Cardoso, Judge of the Court of Appeals of Lisbon Judicial District, former Head of the Vice-President Cabinet of the High Council of Judges of Portugal and member of the High Council of Judges of Portugal, shared Portugal's experience in resolving conflicts of interest in the judiciary.
Mr. J. Reiko Callner, Executive Director of Washington's State Commission on Judicial Conduct, presented the US experience in resolving conflicts of interest in the judiciary. Mr. Richard Hyde, member and Chief investigator of the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission told about the tactics and methods of investigating the facts of improper conduct of the judges and corruption.
The participants discussed the gaps identified by the experts and the problematic aspects of Ukrainian legislation on the resolving conflict of interest in the Ukrainian judiciary, identified further joint steps for improving the relevant legal framework, as well as strengthening the ability of authorized bodies to monitor conflicts of interest, and got acquainted with the international experience of resolving conflicts of interest within the judicial system and between the institutions of the judicial and other branches of government.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine, Public Integrity Council, the National School of Judges of Ukraine, by judges and the international donor community.
Reference:
The USAID New Justice Program started its work in October 2016.
The Program is implemented to support the judiciary, Government, Parliament, Civil Society and the people of Ukraine in the implementation of judicial reform taking into account the Constitutional amendments 2016 in Strategy for reforming the judiciary structure, the judiciary proceedings and related legal institutions and the Action Plan for its implementation for 2015-2020.
The USAID New Justice Program builds on the achievements of the USAID Ukraine Rule of Law Project and USAID FAIR Justice Project and will use its progress for coordination of close cooperation with Ukrainian partners, USAID and US Government Projects and other projects of International donor organizations in Ukraine.
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