HCJ should form an independent judicial system in Ukraine without political influence - Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

The High Council of Justice faces the task of forming an independent judicial system in Ukraine without political influence. This was stated by Oleksandr Pavlichenko, lawyer and executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

 The powers of the HCJ were and are quite strong. In fact, at the legislative and rulemaking level, they were properly defined. This is a matter of political will. This is the same as with the entire justice system. Both the Supreme Court and the CCU could be exactly the kind of body that would be of high quality and professionalism, the only thing is if it were independent. That is, the issue of independence is key here. And it does not depend on how long the powers of the HCJ are prescribed or not, it is a matter of independence and qualitative independence of the members of this body

He reminded that there is another tool for detecting and prosecuting dishonest judges - electronic declaration.

"That is, there are many mechanisms to bring a judge to justice. But this is a matter of forming an independent court, a judicial environment, which is really lacking in our judicial system," - Pavlichenko said.

At the same time, he said, there is a conflict of interest in the fact that the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court can review and overturn disciplinary decisions of the High Council of Justice regarding Supreme Court judges.

"We need to look at this even more broadly - there is a conflict of interest issue here. If a judge in the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court receives a decision on which he or she has already made a decision as a member of the HCJ, this is a conflict of interest, because he or she is already charged, so to speak, with a certain decision. And this is really a problem," - Pavlichenko said.

According to him, in the West, the High Council of Justice performs a very important function, and the reputation of this body is very important there, especially for people who hold high positions, including in the Supreme Court and other judicial instances.

"In Ukraine, the HCJ partially fulfills this function. It is a body that tries to evaluate more on the basis of professional qualities and other characteristics - belonging and not belonging. But in fact, in my opinion, it should be the case that the HCJ should form an independent judicial system without political influence," - Pavlichenko said.

According to media reports, Hryhoriy Mamka, an MP from the Opposition Platform - For Life party, helps to obtain necessary decisions in courts, including the Supreme Court of Ukraine, for money. For his mediation services in resolving issues in the Supreme Court, he charges amounts starting at $200,000.

Addendum

Volodymyr Vatras, chairman of the subcommittee on the organization and activities of the Bar, legal aid bodies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, in a commentary to UNN said that the Supreme Court should be cleared of judges who have compromised themselves.

Olena Shcherban, Deputy Executive Director, Head of Legal Department at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), said that a compromised Supreme Court could turn the entire judicial reform being implemented in Ukraine into ashes, so it must be reformed and cleared as soon as possible. 

Recall

The High Anti-Corruption Court has extended the pre-trial restraint for former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniazev for another two months. He was detained on May 15 for bribes totaling $2.7 million.

This unlawful remuneration was supposed to facilitate the resolution of the issue in the case considered by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. This is a case concerning the ownership of 40.19% of shares in Ferrexpo's Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (PMP). In its ruling, the court retained the shares in question to companies related to Zhevago, canceling the invalidation of the sale and purchase agreements concluded 20 years ago.

In addition, we told you that Supreme Court judges Vyacheslav Marynych, Volodymyr Korol and Alla Makarovets considered the defense's cassation appeal against the verdict in the case of ex-MP Oleksandr Shepelev, accused of contract killings, high treason and other crimes, changed his sentence and tried to release him in the case of bribery and escape from the pre-trial detention center. The prosecutor appealed the actions of the Supreme Court judges to the HCJ. According to the automatic distribution , the complaint in Shepelev's case will be considered by the first ever HCJ member judge who fights on the frontline against Russia, Olena Kovbiy.

Shepelev actively justified Russian aggression and the annexation of Crimea, which he expressed during his communication with FSB representatives, and actively cooperated with the terrorist "dnr".