In the practice of the High Council of Justice, there have been more than a few cases when the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has overturned HCJ decisions, and members of the Council have been forced to reconsider them. Olena Kovbiy, a member of the High Council of Justice, the first female judge in the history of Ukraine to take up arms because of Russia's large-scale invasion, told UNN in an exclusive interview.
"There were, and not just one. Of course, we have canceled decisions and reconsidered them. After the decision of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, we return to the stage of consideration of the materials, again provide an assessment," said Kovbiy, answering the question about how often the Supreme Court overturns HCJ decisions and whether there have been such cases in her practice.
At the same time, she said, the current HCJ composition does not pay attention to names when making decisions, there is a law, and the High Council of Justice is implementing it.
"At one interview, I was asked what you can say about the Knyazev case. I said honestly that I was ashamed as a judge, and as a military officer - I was still in uniform at the time - I was offended. Despite the fact that he was helping the army a lot," said Kovbiy.
Earlier, Volodymyr Vatras, chairman of the subcommittee on the organization and activities of the Bar and legal aid bodies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, said in a commentary to UNN that the Supreme Court needs to be cleared of judges who have compromised themselves. However, the reform needs to be approached in a balanced manner, and the relevant parliamentary committee is working on it.