The Verkhovna Rada did not appoint judges to the Constitutional Court

On Wednesday, October 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not appoint judges to the Constitutional Court.

This was reported by the MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

The procedure for appointing judges lasts about 55 minutes: first, deputies vote for the candidate who scored 5 points — if he receives at least 226 votes, he is appointed. Then they vote for the candidate with 4 points.

If neither of them receives the required number of votes, a ranking vote is held between the two candidates who have 3 points each.

According to Zheleznyak, the candidate from the “Servant of the People” party Zakhar Tropin, who previously worked in the field of constitutional law, received 224 votes. During the rating vote, co-chair of the Council of the Reanimation Package of Reforms and member of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms Yulia Kyrychenko received 179 votes, and the project manager of the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, lawyer and public figure Taras Tsymbalisty received 84 votes.

However, during the final vote for Kyrychenkoʼs appointment, deputies from the “Servant of the People” party did not provide sufficient support — only 126 votes, so her candidacy was defeated.

Why is this important?

For the Constitutional Court to work, there must be a quorum — 12 out of 18 judges. Until June 27, there were only 11 judges — because of this, the Grand Chamber and one of the senates of the court were not working. The court could not consider, for example, appeals from MPs, the president, or other constitutional submissions.

On June 27, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Oleksandr Vodyannykov, a former coordinator of the OSCE projects in Ukraine, as a judge of the Constitutional Court, thereby unblocking the courtʼs work. However, the quorum in the Constitutional Court remains very shaky.

After the presidentʼs appointment, six vacancies still remain on the Constitutional Court: two to be filled by the president, two by the Verkhovna Rada, and two by the Congress of Judges. The Verkhovna Rada also submitted nominations in February, but the deputies have not yet made any decisions.

In July, an advisory group of experts that evaluates candidates for Constitutional Court judges accused the Council of delaying the appointment of judges.

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