On February 2, 2024, the Deputy Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Ruslan Sydorovych took part in the Roundtable “Justice of the Future: Judicial Network and Access to Justice”.
In his speech, he outlined the procedures that the Commission has already initiated and the timeframe for their completion. In particular, he reminded that on September 14, 2023, the HQCJU announced two competitions: for 560 vacancies in the courts of the first instance and 550 vacant positions in the courts of appeal.
“Despite the fact that there are up to 600 people in the reserve, 434 people have expressed a willingness to become judges in the courts of the first instance. In other words, there is no queue for judicial positions,” noted Ruslan Sydorovych.
He also stressed that it would be desirable to see more competitiveness in the courts of appeal, as the Commission received documents from 2076 candidates only.
The procedure of qualification evaluation of judges for correspondence to the position held is ongoing — about 2000 judges have not yet passed it. In addition, a competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court has been announced, and the Commission will need assistance from the Public Council of International Experts to conduct it. The Commission also carries out procedures for the secondment of judges and considers complaints regarding declarations of integrity and family relations.
Based on the Commission’s forecasts, interviews with candidates for the positions of judges in courts of appeal are expected to begin in late 2024, and the first judges are expected to be appointed in the second quarter of 2025. This applies only to general jurisdiction; as for administrative and commercial jurisdictions, the results can be expected no sooner than 2026.
Ruslan Sydorovych announced the update of the test base for knowledge of the law. This work is due to be completed by the end of February. Since the law provides for the testing of cognitive abilities, he noted, the tests have to be developed.
A new selection for the position of local court judge is scheduled to begin at the end of 2024, so the competition for courts of the first instance can only begin after all stages of the selection process are completed.
“If we speak of approximately 1200-1500 vacancies in the first instance, it means that it would be good if about 5-6 thousand candidates took part in the selection procedure. In this case, we would have formed a sufficient reserve for the first instance. Otherwise, we will face a similar situation to the one we have now. There are vacancies, there is a competition, but there are no applicants,” said Ruslan Sydorovych.
Finally, the Deputy Chairman of the HQCJU explained what measures the Commission is taking to optimize its performance and efficiently use budgetary resources. In particular, for the first time in the Commission’s history, the submission of documents for the competition to the courts of appeal is carried out through an electronic system, and the electronic candidate dossier has been launched. Henceforth, this will become the basis for the introduction of an electronic judicial dossier.
The Commission also plans to set up its own analytical unit by the end of the year to verify candidates in competition procedures and complete the procedure of qualification evaluation of judges for correspondence to the position held
The Roundtable was organized by the publisher “Iurydychna Praktyka” with the support of the Supreme Court, the High Council of Justice, the Institute of Lawmaking and Scientific-legal Expertises of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. It was attended by representatives of judicial governance and self-government bodies, as well as judges, lawyers, and other representatives of the legal community.
