The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed the draft law No. 11426, according to which the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) will continue to exercise its powers until the selection of 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 November 23, 2023 is completed.
PCIE must stop performing its duties no later than November 1, 2025, and after that it will lose its powers and cease to exist as an institution.
Also, the draft law proposes that the next competitions for the positions of judges of the Supreme Administrative Court will take place with the participation of the Public Integrity Council (PIC).
The adoption of such a draft law is a fulfillment of the EU recommendations and a necessary step for Ukraine to fulfill the requirements 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 Ukraine Facility obligations 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 in October 2024.
The memorandum with the IMF envisages the extension of the mandate of PCIE for one more year, taking into account the fact that its term expires in October 2024, since the completion of the selection process of the new HACC judges, which is still ongoing, will require more time.
Earlier, the Verkhovna Radaʼs Committee on European Integration considered the alternative draft law No. 11426-1, which proposed 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.
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