The Parliament supported the law that will continue the work of the PCIE until the selection of the HACC judges is completed

The Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis (with possible amendments) the draft law No. 11426, according to which the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) will continue to exercise its powers until the procedure for selecting candidates for the positions of judges of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in the competition announced by the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges on 23 November 2023. However, PCIE must stop performing its duties no later than November 1, 2025.

The MP from the "Voice" faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak informed about this.

The draft law was supported by 230 MPs.

The adoption of such a draft law is the implementation of EU recommendations and a necessary step for Ukraine to fulfill the obligations of the Ukraine Facility to increase the number of HACC. It is also the implementation of part of the program of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The implementation of EU recommendations brings Ukraine closer to its future in the bloc, and the implementation of the obligations of the Ukraine Facility and the IMF program allows Ukraine to receive financial assistance from the European Union.

In October 2024, the six-year term of office of PCIE, which assists in conducting competitions for the positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court and the Appeals Chamber of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ends.

The memorandum with IMF envisages the extension of the mandate of the PCIE for one more year, given that its term expires in October 2024, as the completion of the process of selection of new judges of HACC, which is still ongoing, will require more time. According to the recommendations of the EU as part of the Expansion Package in 2024, Ukraine needs to increase the number of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The Committee on European Integration of the Verkhovna Rada considered and proposed the alternative draft law No. 11426-1 to extend the mandate of PCIE for two years at once, in order to finish all competitions for judges in time. However, in the end, the Verkhovna Rada decided that a year would be enough.