The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has once again found itself at the center of a scandal: the Supreme Court overturned one of its key decisions regarding the candidate's non-compliance with the requirements for the position of a judge of the appellate administrative court. This is the second such decision in a week, reports lawyer and head of the Legal Association "Dobrosud" Tetiana Ohnev'yuk, writes UNN.
This refers to case No. 990/352/25, in which the Cassation Administrative Court recognized as illegal the HQCJ's conclusion about the "insufficient determination and responsibility" of Judge Oksana Andrusenko, an experienced judge with many years of experience in administrative justice, an active member of European professional communities, and a judge-speaker.
According to Ohnev'yuk, the root of the problem lies in the HQCJ's changed approaches to assessing the moral and psychological qualities of candidates. The Commission refused to involve professional psychologists, effectively taking on their role. HQCJ members independently determine the level of responsibility, determination, and "continuous development" of candidates - without special knowledge and based on subjective impressions.
In the case of Judge Andrusenko, the Commission made conclusions that "may indicate insufficient determination," based on its own "internal conviction." All this despite a positive psychological report and high assessments of professional competence.
Ohnev'yuk emphasizes that the situation is reaching absurdity. It turns out that a judge can be responsible enough to administer justice in the first instance, but suddenly "not responsible enough" for the appellate instance.
Such an approach, according to her, not only violates the rights of contestants but also causes direct reputational damage to current judges, publicly questioning their professional and personal qualities without proper grounds.
The Cassation Administrative Court, having analyzed all the evidence and arguments, unanimously granted Judge Andrusenko's claim. The Supreme Court judges recognized that the HQCJ's decision was unmotivated and not supported by any objective data.
Recall
At least 70 lawsuits have been filed with the Supreme Court due to alleged manipulations by the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) during the competition. The reason was the procedure by which the HQCJ selected judges. Participants claim that the competition was not transparent, that judges close to the HQCJ and the HCJ won, and that the work was checked outside the electronic system. In particular, Ruslan Raimov, an assistant to the head of the HQCJ, a member of the examination commission, who lived and worked in Russia until 2019, and was deemed dishonest when he tried to get a job at the Prosecutor General's Office, won the competition.
The head of the HQCJ, Andriy Pasichnyk, confirmed during questioning by the parliamentary temporary investigative commission that he checked the candidates' work at home, having previously printed them out. After checking, according to him, he burned all the work. A criminal proceeding has been opened based on these facts.