In its work, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine demonstrates maximum information openness, transparency, and accountability to the public and all stakeholders. The HQCJ has been operating for over 100 days now. During this time, the new composition of the Commission without institutional memory has made a number of important decisions. The general report is available on the HQCJ’s official website at the following link.
The Commission held 42 meetings and considered 175 issues, in particular, the review of 1,028 practical assignments performed by 368 candidates for the position of a local court judge was accomplished, and the candidate ratings were approved as well.
The Commission also convened a meeting of representatives of public associations to establish the Public Integrity Council. Thus, on August 14, 2023, the PIC was formed, and on August 31, 2023, a joint meeting of HQCJ members and the PIC was held, where, in particular, the issues of interaction during the qualification evaluation of judges were discussed. Additionally, the qualification evaluation procedure will be resumed in October this year.
Moreover, the HQCJ conducted procedures for the temporary transfer (secondment) of judges, verification of judges’ declarations of integrity, and family relations.
In the frameworks of international cooperation, the HQCJ signed a Protocol of Cooperation with the USAID “Justice for All” Program, a Memorandum of Cooperation with the EU “Pravo-Justice” Project, and a Joint Action Plan with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO); held meetings with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions of the G7 countries, as well as meetings with representatives of the Council of Europe Project “Support to the functioning of justice in the war and post-war context in Ukraine”, etc.
One of the most important results of the work in 100 days is the adoption by the Commission of the decision to announce the largest competition in the entire history of Ukraine for the filling of vacant positions of judges – 1,092 (532 vacant positions of judges in appeal courts and 560 vacant positions of judges in local courts).
Such a number of vacancies give an unprecedented chance to the best lawyers of Ukraine to occupy one of the most important positions in the state – the position of a judge. This is a great opportunity for professional lawyers who meet the criteria of integrity to restore public confidence in the judiciary.
First-instance judges who have been waiting for many years to be transferred by the competition to fill the positions of judges in appellate courts now will have the opportunity not only to change their territorial location, but also to raise one step higher in the judicial system.
It is also a chance for the entire judicial system to reduce its workload, which will lead to shorter case review periods, and to recruit new personnel that will contribute to the development of legal opinion in the judicial corps.
We hope that Ukraine’s expert community (not only the legal one) will appreciate the Commission’s bold decision to hold an unprecedented competition as one of the most necessary elements of judicial reform and thus Ukraine’s approach to EU membership in the process of European integration.
For Ukrainian society, the conduction of such a competition is the evidence of understanding by the newly established Commission the importance of filling the judicial corps with new professional and honest personnel who will be called upon to ensure the restoration of justice in Ukrainian courts, since the demand for justice now is higher than ever.
We hope that our international partners will appreciate the results of the Commission’s work in such a short period of time, particularly in terms of holding competitions. Although the HQCJ is a judicial governance body, not a political one, international obligations regarding the road map of European integration are impossible without effective judicial reform, in which Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian political class, as well as our international partners, are interested.
On September 14, 2023, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine decided to announce competitions for filling 532 vacant positions of judges in appellate courts and 560 vacant positions of judges in local courts for candidates included in the reserves.
In Ukraine, the competition to local courts will be held for the tenth time, and the competition to the appellate instance will be held for the first time, as the competition announced in 2019 did not take place due to the termination of the powers of the previous composition of the HQCJ.
“The Commission will make all efforts to ensure that the competitions are held at the highest level, as we have a big responsibility. We will select the best lawyers with high moral and professional qualities in the competitions for local and appellate courts,” pointed out the Chairman of the HQCJ Roman Ihnatov.
We draw attention to the fact that the number of people who will take part in the competition to local courts is already known – 585 persons, as this is the number of candidates in the three reserves for filling vacant judicial positions, namely: 434 persons for administrative court judges; 380 persons for commercial court judges; and 523 persons for general court judges.
“Solving the personnel shortage in the judiciary is one of our most important functions. We have launched competitions that have not been held for a long time. Now, a great responsibility lies also on those who want to wear the mantle, because a judge is constantly under the close attention of society and must be a moral authority”, – stressed the Deputy Chairman of the HQCJ Ruslan Sydorovych.
The candidates have come a long way before being enrolled in the reserves. They passed the qualification exam and performed practical assignments. The average age of the candidates is 42 years, 333 of them are women and 252 are men. There are also different categories of candidates among the reservists: 53 who have at least 3 years of experience as a judge’s assistant; 177 who participated in the selection without passing the qualification exam and undergoing special training; who do not have at least 3 years of experience as a judge’s assistant – 355.
Candidates for the position of a judge who are in the reserves will choose vacant positions among 30 administrative, 30 commercial, and 500 general courts. Documents for participation in the competition can be submitted until October 16, 2023, an extract from the Register of State certificates on the level of proficiency in the state language – until November 24, 2023.
“The procedure of the competition: the best in the rating chooses the first of all positions, the second chooses the second, and so on until the end of the ranking list, until the positions run out. According to the members of the Commission, this procedure will be the most transparent and fair,” mentioned the Secretary of the Second Chamber of the HQCJ Serhii Chumak.
The number of lawyers willing to participate in the competition to the appellate courts is not yet known. The deadline for submitting documents is December 15 to 31, 2023. Not only judges but also lawyers and legal scholars with relevant experience in the field of law will be able to participate.
“The competition has been announced for 410 positions of judges in the courts of appeal for civil and criminal cases, as well as cases of administrative offenses, 56 positions of judges in the courts of appeal for commercial cases, and 66 positions of judges in the courts of appeal for administrative cases,” said the Secretary of the First Chamber of the HQCJ Ruslan Melnyk.
First of all, the Commission will hold competitions for local courts, namely: administrative courts on December 1, 2023, commercial courts on December 8, 2023, and general courts on December 15–17, 2023. Information on the date, time and place of the competition to the appellate courts will be determined later and published on the Commission’s official website.
