MP: The system of vetting judges should be made stricter to prevent potential bribe-takers from getting positions

Ukraine needs to change the system of vetting judicial candidates. The vetting process should be so rigorous that potential bribe-takers cannot get into the judiciary, let alone the Supreme Court. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by Ukrainian MP Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk.

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"It is important that corruption cases are brought to a conclusion. Today, anyone, including judges, can be accused. That's why we have law enforcement officers to bring it all to a logical conclusion. There must be a system that is so rigorous that such people are subjected to rigorous vetting and do not get into the judiciary, especially at the highest levels. That's the biggest problem - we need to change the system. Because so far, they are replacing people with people, and unfortunately, not always the worst with the best," Tsymbalyuk said, commenting on the need to clean up the Supreme Court because its judges are compromised by the cases of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Vladyslav Knyazev, who was caught on bribes, and former MP accused of a series of contract killings and high treason Oleksandr Shepelev, who, according to media, could have paid for the court decision he needed.

He reminded that since the Supreme Court is the highest court, the entire judicial branch, lawyers and attorneys are guided by the decisions of the Supreme Court. 

"In addition, today there is a problem in the courts from the bottom up, a third of vacancies at the level of local and appellate courts are empty, people's cases have not been considered for years, pre-trial detention centers are overcrowded, it reaches 5 years when people are not convicted, but are under investigation and are in pre-trial detention centers. Therefore, it is very important that the authorities complete the reform, one of the missions of which is to cleanse the courts of dishonest judges and to cleanse the Supreme Court," said Tsymbalyuk.

The MP noted that all law enforcement agencies that have or see information about possible crimes of judges should analyze and investigate it within their competence, depending on the jurisdiction of the crime.

"Every law enforcement agency must respond in compliance with the current legislation on the specifics of proceedings against judges who enjoy immunity. This is almost the only system that uses such powers today. Therefore, first of all, it is the SBI and, of course, the NABU. The SBU has operational capabilities. If a crime is documented by representatives of the National Police and as a result they find out that a judge is involved, they send it to the investigative jurisdiction," explained Tsymbalyuk.

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Kateryna Butko, head of the public council at the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), believes that the Supreme Court needs to be reformed and cleared of dishonest judges, so that cases like Shepelev's will be considered transparently and efficiently. 

Lawyer and executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Oleksandr Pavlichenko told UNN that the High Council of Justice is tasked with forming an independent judicial system in Ukraine without political influence.

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, also stated that the Supreme Court should be cleared of judges who have compromised themselves. 

Recall 

A panel of the Supreme Court changed Shepelev's sentence in the escape from custody case and tried to release him. Judges Vyacheslav Marynych, Volodymyr Korol and Alla Makarovets decided to close one of the episodes of the case, which concerned bribery, due to what they considered insufficient evidence. As a result, the property of the former MP will not be confiscated under this episode . Although, according to experts interviewed by UNN, the Supreme Court judges did not have the right to directly examine any evidence.

In addition, the judges counted the period of Shepelev's stay in the Russian pre-trial detention center as part of the sentence. He was detained in Russia following an extradition request from Ukraine. A year later, Russia refused to extradite the fugitive ex-MP to Ukraine, citing threats to its own national security. It turned outthat Shepelev was valuable to Russia because he was an FSB agent and a game player.  

The Supreme Court panel also used the Savchenko law and counted Shepeleva's stay in the pre-trial detention center on charges in other cases as part of his sentence. 

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 judge-member of the HCJ who fought at the front against Russia, Olena Kovbiy.