On February 03, 2025, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine considered in plenary session the issue of suitability of judges of local and appeal courts for their positions.
Based on the results of the meeting, the Commission made the following decisions:
In accordance with part one of Article 55 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, by a decision of the High Council of Justice adopted on the basis of a submission from the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, a judge may, with his/her consent, be seconded to another court of the same level and specialisation to administer justice.
In accordance with part one of Article 55 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, by a decision of the High Council of Justice adopted on the basis of a submission from the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, a judge may, with his/her consent, be seconded to another court of the same level and specialisation to administer justice.
On January 2025, a meeting of the Steering Committee of the European Union Project “Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine” (Pravo-Justice III) took place in Kyiv. The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine was represented by its Chairman, Andrii Pasichnyk.
During the event, the Project representatives presented a report on the results of their work with the Ukrainian judiciary and justice sector and key achievements in the second half of 2024.
The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has decided to admit candidates who have successfully passed the cognitive abilities test to the third stage of the qualification exam within the framework of the competition for vacant positions of judges in appeal courts announced by the Commission’s decision №. 94/zp-23 of September 14, 2023, (as amended) - completion of a practical assignment on the specialisation of the relevant court, and has determined the schedules for its conduct.
On January 30, 2025, as part of the qualification evaluation of judges of local and appeal courts for their suitability for the positions held, the Panel of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine postponed the interview with a judge of the Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv City Makarenko Volodymyr to February 13, 2025.
By Decision of the Commission dated January 22, 2025, a new Regulation on the procedure and methodology for qualification evaluation, indicators of compliance with qualification criteria, and methods for their establishment was approved.
This Regulation will apply to judicial selection competitions for positions of judges in appeals courts, the High Anti-Corruption Court, as well as other new competitions and qualification evaluation procedures related to the imposition of disciplinary sanctions.
By the decision № 359/zp-24 of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, dated December 02, 2024, the draft amendments to the Regulation on access to the judicial dossier (candidate dossier) by members of the Public Integrity Council were approved (in the version adopted by the Commission’s Decision № 137/zp-24 of May 22, 2024). The revised version of the Procedure was submitted for consultation and recommendations to the High Council of Justice and the Council of Judges of Ukraine.
On January 30, 2025, during a meeting of the Panel of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the issue of the inaccuracy (including incompleteness) of statements made by a judge of the Semenivskyi Raion Court of Poltava Oblast Viktor Kharchenko in his judicial integrity declarations for the years 2015–2022 was considered.
For the purpose of conducting the qualification exam for candidates for the position of a local court judge and judges, intending to be transferred to another local court, on January 29, 2025, the Commission approved the exam stage programs and the taxonomic characteristics of anonymous tests on the history of Ukrainian statehood, general legal knowledge, and each court specialization (administrative, commercial, and general jurisdiction).
