HQCJU approved composition of the Public Council of International Experts
On November 6, 2018, six members of the Public Council of International Experts were elected at the session of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine. Thus, the PCIE, which will assist the Commission in conducting competitions for vacant judicial positions of the High Anti-Corruption Court and the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court, has been formed. The Council consists of experts in the field of anti-corruption law, namely specialists with the experience of judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors and mixed experience in these areas in such countries as Denmark, Lithuania, England, Scotland, Canada, the Republic of Macedonia.
In particular, the Public Council of International Experts includes: Mr. Aurelijus Gutauskas, Mr. Flemming Christian Denker, Mr. Ted Zarzeczny, Ms. Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Ms. Lorna Harris, Sir Anthony Hooper.
On November 5, 2018, members of the HQCJU completed a series of acquaintance sessions with the last of 12 PCIE candidates, who were proposed in September by five international organizations: the Council of Europe, the European Union, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
During the acquaintance sessions, the members of the HQCJU had an opportunity to communicate with each of the candidates personally to get to know the peculiarities of their experience in combating corruption. “This approach allowed us to form the optimal composition of the public council, which should carry out a significant amount of work in assisting to select the best candidates to the High Anti-Corruption Court, based on the requirements of the law”, said Mr. Sergii Koziakov, the Chairman of the HQCJU.
When selecting PCIE members during the consideration of each candidate, the members of the Commission were guided by Article 9, paragraph 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court”, namely the following criteria:
- impeccable business standing;
- high professional and moral qualities;
- respect in the society;
- at least five years of experience in other countries with procedural management, support of public prosecution in court or administration of justice in corruption-related cases.
“As we promised, the election of the PCIE members took place within the promptiest timeframe - the very next day after the completion of acquaintance with them. All information about each member of the Council is available at our web-site. Already on November 12 and 14, an examination to the High Anti-Corruption Court will be held, and we are expecting representatives of non-governmental organizations, including the PCIE members to join it”, added the Chairman of the HQCJU.
The Public Council of International Experts will assist the Commission to determine whether candidates for judicial positions of the High Anti-Corruption Court meet the following criteria:
- legal origins of the candidate’s property;
- correspondence of the standard of life of the candidate or his or her family members with the declared income;
- correspondence of the candidate’s lifestyle to his or her status;
- knowledge and practical skills that the candidate possesses for consideration of cases under the jurisdiction of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
The term of office of the Public Council of International Experts will be two years.
Please find below brief biographies of members of the Public Council of International Experts:
GUTAUSKAS, Aurelijus – Judge at the Supreme Court. Experience as judge, specialisation in criminal law, organised crime and judicial ethics and discipline. Chairman of the criminal cases division and the Judicial Ethics and Discipline Commission. Expert member of MONEYVAL and GRECO, previously member of the candidates' examination commission under the Prosecutor General. Fluent in Russian.
DENKER, Flemming C. – Retired Deputy State Prosecutor in the Office for Serious Economic Crime. Experience as prosecutor / lawyer, specialisation in corruption and economic crimes. Past member of GRECO, the Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption at the Council of Europe and the Implementation Review Group monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
ZARZECZNY, Ted – Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan, Canada. Experience as judge / prosecutor / lawyer, specialisation in criminal and civil corruption, fraud and criminal conspiracy cases. Previously criminal Crown prosecutor. Participated in a judicial education project in Ukraine. Served as co-chair of the Law Society Discipline Committee responsible for enforcing lawyer compliance with the Code of Professional Conduct and ethical standards.
LAZAROVA TRAJKOVSKA, Mirjana – Former President of the First Section of the European Court of Human Rights. Experience as judge, specialisation in human rights, constitutional issues and corruption-related cases. Former Constitutional Court judge and member of the Venice Commission. At the ECHR, for three years acted as a single judge for Ukraine. Previously President of the State Election Commission.
HARRIS, Lorna – Retired U.K. Prosecutor. Specialisation in combating corruption, money laundering and fraud, including at international level. Former Head of the International Co-operation Unit and the Civil Recovery Unit within the Crown Office. Previously worked at the Serious Fraud Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and chaired the committee of experts that drafted the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism.
HOOPER, Sir Anthony – Retired appeal court judge. Experience as judge, specialisation in civil and criminal asset recovery, including related to proceeds of corruption. Sat in the Court of Appeal Criminal and Civil Divisions of England and Wales. Worked as appointee of the Ethics Commission of the International Association of Athletic Federations. Trained judges on preservation and confiscation of proceeds of crime and corruption.
