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The Council adopted the draft law on judicial career. This was recommended by the European Commission

Author:
Liza Brovko
Date:

In the second reading, the Verkhovna Rada voted for draft law No. 10140-d on amendments to the Law "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" and improvement of judicial career procedures.

Peopleʼs deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote about it.

244 deputies voted for it. This draft law was a recommendation of the European Commission and one of the conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and the EU regarding Kyiv receiving €18 billion in macro-financial assistance.

In general, the draft law should simplify and speed up the selection to courts of first instance, canceling some stages of selection and re-examination of candidates. It also shortens the training process for future judges (not all candidates will have to go through it). This will make it possible to promptly fill vacant positions and save on the training of those who will not work as judges.

The Higher Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine will have to publish the results of the roll-call vote, the level of importance of the interview in the selection procedure will increase, and judges from the liquidated and reorganized judges will not be able to transfer to another court without completing the qualification assessment.

At the same time, the DEJURE foundation notes some norms that will remain in the draft law, despite the recommendation of international partners to remove them. Including:

The Higher Qualification Commission of Judges is a body responsible for the formation of the judicial corps. The Supreme Court of Ukraine conducts a competition for judges in all courts of Ukraine: checks candidates and conducts exams. The commission consists of 16 members — they are elected or appointed by the congress of judges, representatives of law schools, lawyers, the ombudsman for human rights, and the head of the State Judicial Administration. The creation of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges is one of the requirements for starting negotiations on Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.