Supreme Court must be cleared of judges who have compromised themselves - MP

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. This was stated by 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, in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

"My personal opinion is that the Supreme Court, which has been created today, was created in accordance with the law on the judiciary and the status of judges, and the fact that some judges of the Supreme Court have compromised themselves in criminal offenses does not mean that the entire court is corrupt, and that there are no fair, intelligent and decent people there. But, of course, we have to respond to such outrageous facts that have taken place regarding the situation with Knyazev and other judges, and, perhaps, we need to involve foreign experts and the public in order to reboot this body," Vatras said.

In his opinion, the reform of the Supreme Court may take more than a year or two, as Ukraine needs to develop a mechanism together with international partners.

"The issue of reform is very complicated, especially in wartime, but we have to deal with it... Yes, (the reform - ed.) is necessary and, of course, balanced. We need to keep professionals," Vatras added.

Commenting on the decision of the Supreme Court panel of judges who changed the sentence of former MP and FSB agent Oleksandr Shepelev, accused of a series of contract killings and high treason, and tried to release him, Vatras said: "It is necessary for law enforcement officers to expose such persons and bring them to justice. The judicial system must have professionals - people with extensive experience, with an impeccable reputation, whom we trust to decide the fate of a person or a legal entity. Therefore, it is clear that we have to be meticulous in our selection process, and, of course, the law enforcement system must work to punish (people like Shepelev - ed.)."

At the same time, the MP noted that he was not involved in Shepelev's case, so he could not comment on this case.

"I am not involved in the case (of Shepelev - ed.) to comment on a specific case, but we are talking about removing those judges who have compromised themselves. It is necessary to reform. And believe me, we are working on these issues at the Committee, and almost every meeting of the Subcommittee on Justice - we talk about it, we talk about it in working groups, we will do everything possible to change the situation for the better," emphasized Vatras.

Recall

A panel of the Supreme Court changed Shepelev's sentence in the escape from custody case and tried to release him. Judges Viacheslav 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. Therefore, the former MP's property will not be confiscated. 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.

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 who fought at the front against Russia, Olena Kovbiy.