Working meeting of the Commission's leadership with the US Ambassador to Ukraine was held. The support for the Commission as to preparation for the competition to the High Anticorruption Court was discussed
On July 19, 2018, a working meeting was held between Mr. Sergii Koziakov, Chairman of the HQCJU, Mr. Andrii Kozlov, member of the Qualification Chamber of the Commission, Ms. Olena Ponomarenko, Head of the Commission Secretariat and Ms. Yuliia Tkachenko, Acting Head of International Cooperation Department and H.E. Marie Yovanovitch, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Ukraine.
From the American side the meeting was attended by Ms. Stephanie Holmes, INL Director, US Embassy; Ms. Marie Kurt, Deputy Director of the Office, Law Enforcement, US Embassy; Ms. Ann Hopper, Deputy Director, Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID/ODG; Ms. Tetiana Tymoshenko-Yakunina, Project Management Specialist, Countering Trafficking in Persons, Human Rights, Democracy and Governance, USAID / ODG.
The main topics of the discussion were the following: second competition to the Supreme Court, the establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court and the process of selecting judges to that court as well as changes in legislation adopted in this regard.
During the meeting the Chairman of the Commission briefed
Ms. Ambassador on general schedule of procedures to be carried out by the Commission in the coming eight months. In particular, the Commission is to complete the procedure for selecting candidates for a position of judge and to hold a competition to local courts, a competition to the High Court on Intellectual Property, qualification evaluation of compliance to the position of a judge, second competition to the Supreme Court, a competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court, secondment of judges, transfer of judges without competition as well as conducting competitions to the Chambers of Appeal of the High Anti-Corruption Court and the High Court on Intellectual Property after signing by the President of Ukraine Draft Law on Amending the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court” dated 22 December 2017.
The parties specifically focused the attention on the Commission’s preparation for the competition for positions of judges to the High Anti-Corruption Court. In particular, Mr. Sergii Koziakov stated that the Commission has already started setting up the Public Council of International Experts, which, under laws and regulations, shall act as a subsidiary body and shall assist the Commission in drafting decisions on the appointment to the positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
It should be recalled that on July 17, 2018, the Commission, pursuant to the list of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, sent invitations to international organizations cooperating with Ukraine in the field of preventing and countering corruption under treaties to which Ukraine is a Party. However, the final list of the international organizations meeting the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anticorruption Court” is to be specified.
The Chairman of the Commission also emphasized the importance of providing the PCIE with the resources required. “To enable the immediate and effective work of the Public Council of International Experts with candidates it is crucial to develop appropriate working arrangements and to provide them with support staff. Assistance of international partners would be useful in this regard,” said Sergii Koziakov.
As to the possible date of announcing the competition, the Commission representatives said that it depended on the date of the publication of the abovementioned amendments to the Ukrainian legislation on the judicial system in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court.” The Commission will be in a position to announce the beginning of the competition only after these matters have been compiled with.
At the end of the meeting the Commission representatives gave comprehensive answers to follow-up questions by the US side on the Commission's procedures and discussed areas for future cooperation in the implementation of judicial reform in Ukraine with respect to the powers of the Commission, in particular the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court.
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