On March 24, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Bill No. 12368-1 on the establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court. Such a court is one of the requirements of the International Monetary Fund, upon the fulfillment of which Ukraine receives funding.
The draft law provides for the creation of two courts at once — a Specialized District Administrative Court and a Specialized Appeal Administrative Court to Higher Specialized Courts. The latter will act as a court of appeal and will review the decisions of the Specialized District Administrative Court.
Judges will be selected on a competitive basis. The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ) will be required to announce a competition for positions within a month after the law enters into force.
The competition should involve an Expert Council, which will consist of three members from the Council of Judges of Ukraine and three from foreign organizations.
The administrative court will be able to challenge the appointment of heads of ministries, heads of all anti-corruption agencies, prosecutors of the State Bureau of Investigation, as well as any decrees of the central government, except for presidential decrees. Appeals against presidential decrees are considered only by the Supreme Court.
- In April 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted to the Rada as an urgent bill to liquidate the Kyiv District Administrative Court. Zelensky stressed that the Kyiv District Administrative Court had never been able to regain trust in itself, and called the proposal itself a signal to any court that “betrayed respect for the law”.
- In December 2022, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill on the liquidation of the Kyiv District Administrative Court and the establishment of the Kyiv City District Administrative Court. On the same day, Volodymyr Zelensky signed this law.
- On February 25, the Verkhovna Rada voted in favor of the bill on the establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court in the second reading. The decision was supported by 234 MPs.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.