The judge under pressure must report it to the High Council of Justice. The HCJ, in turn, must appeal to the Prosecutor General, who is obliged to conduct an investigation and, if the fact of pressure is confirmed, open criminal proceedings. This was stated by Denys Neviadomskyi, President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Retired Judges, in an exclusive commentary to UNN .
Earlier, Danylo Hetmantsev, the head of the Rada's tax committee, published several posts on his Telegram channel in which he called on the public to put pressure on the court and openly criticized the judges' decisions. Judge Vitaliy Tsyktych of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv appealed to the High Council of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General with a statement about pressure from Hetmantsev and the MP's attempts to influence the court's decisions and interfere in its activities. After that, Hetmantsev published another post in which he criticized the decision of the panel of judges of the Dnipro District Administrative Court. They recognized that the National Bank had made an illegal decision to revoke the license and start liquidating Concord Bank. This is probably how Hetmantsev wanted to influence the judges who will consider the NBU's appeal.
The judge who is subjected to pressure must apply to the HCJ with a statement on the unlawful pressure exerted on him/her, and the HCJ makes a decision on this matter and, if the fact of pressure is established, applies to the Prosecutor General, who is obliged to conduct an inspection, based on the results of which he/she may initiate a criminal case (enter information into the URPTI) or provide a response on the absence of grounds
The Prosecutor General must also provide a response to the HCJ on the inspection and the decision based on its results within the time limit established by law.
In addition, according to Neviadomskyi, the judge has the right to personally appeal to the Prosecutor General with a statement about pressure on him.
He may also appeal to the Council of Judges of Ukraine, and the CCU may also appeal to the Prosecutor General and the HCJ.
Recall
Earlier, Nevyadomsky emphasized that Hetmantsev violates the Criminal Code of Ukraine with his calls . According to him, the MP, in particular, calls for interference in the activities of the court and violates the presumption of innocence.
Lawyer Dmytro Kasyanenko noted that Hetmantsev's post could be regarded as pressure on the judge and influence on his decision. Lawyer Serhiy Lysenko believes that Hetmantsev is trying to influence the court through social media through public opinion and is taking on the role of a judge, determining which decision of the Themis will be legal in the criminal proceedings on illegal tobacco.