Members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Ruslan Melnyk and Halyna Shevchuk took part in a meeting of the working group of the Council of Judges of Ukraine dedicated to the approval of the Commentary on the Code of Judicial Ethics (CJE). Members of the HQCJ had already worked as part of a working group on modernising the Code, the updated version of which was approved by a decision of the 20th regular Congress of Judges of Ukraine on September 18, 2024.
Ruslan Melnyk and Halyna Shevchuk, in cooperation with representatives of the High Council of Justice, judges of all court levels, and experts from the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), developed materials for Articles 3; 9; 16; 20 of the Code of Judicial Ethics, and actively participated in the discussion of other provisions of the Commentary, including in the context of judicial career procedures carried out by the Commission.
Thus, explanations have been prepared regarding such legal categories as “ordinary reasonable person”, “reasonable doubt”, “integrity” and “ethical standards” defined in Article 3, which form the normative basis for the procedure of qualification assessment of judges.
Particular attention was paid to the interpretation of the provisions of Article 20 regarding the duty of a judge to be informed about their own property interests, as well as to take reasonable measures to be aware of the property interests of their family members. This is considered an important prerequisite for ensuring financial integrity and preventing conflicts of interest.
The provisions of Article 16 of the Code, which defines the conditions for the permissible use of artificial intelligence technologies by judges and reflects the approach of the judicial community to responding to contemporary challenges in the administration of justice, are also analysed.
The Commentary on the Code of Judicial Ethics is a detailed explanation of the provisions of the CJE, taking into account the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. It provides examples of the application of individual articles, as well as advice on the proper conduct of judges both within the administration of justice and outside procedural activities.
Representatives of the High Council of Justice, the National School of Judges of Ukraine, judges, retired judges, representatives of judicial and public organisations, and legal scholars also participated in the preparation of the Commentary.
Please be reminded that the previous Commentary had not been changed for over 10 years, and its updated version will be presented at the 20th regular Congress of Judges of Ukraine, which will resume its work this month after a break.
Фото: Пресслужба РСУ