Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Oleksandr Vodyannikov, the former coordinator of the OSCE projects in Ukraine, as a judge of the Constitutional Court — the president signed the relevant decree No. 438 on the evening of June 27.
Back in February, an advisory group of experts submitted a list of candidates for this position to the president, but there was no decision by June 27. With the appointment, Zelensky effectively unblocked the work of the Constitutional Court, because since January 27, the court has not had a quorum — the minimum number of judges required for the court to make decisions.
For the work of the Constitutional Court, a quorum is 12 out of 18 judges. Before Vodyannikov was appointed on June 27, there were only 11. Because of this, the Grand Chamber and one of the senates of the court did not work.
The court could not consider, for example, appeals from peopleʼs deputies, the president, or other constitutional submissions. Because of this, the Grand Chamber and one of the senates of the court did not work.
After the presidentʼs appointment, there are still 6 vacant seats in the Constitutional Court: 2 to be filled by the president, 2 by the Verkhovna Rada, and 2 by the Congress of Judges. The Rada also submitted nominations in February, but the deputies have not yet made any decisions.
During the presidentʼs speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, he was asked about the Constitutional Court, and he said: "Yes, there is a problem with the Constitutional Court, but we will cope."
What is known about the new judge of the Constitutional Court, Vodyannikov?
Конституційний суд України
Oleksandr Vodyannikov is a lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the field of the rule of law, constitutional and judicial reform, etc. He participates as an expert in parliamentary working groups during the preparation of draft laws. For example, he participated in the development of new editions of the Civil Procedure Code, the Commercial Procedure Code, and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine. He was involved in the development of the model of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC), in particular, in the development of the Concept of the draft Law on the High Anti-Corruption Court (2017).
In 2021, Vodyannikov already participated in the competitive selection for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine under the presidential quota. Then the competition commission recommended him for appointment, and he was included in the final list of candidates, receiving the highest rating among the candidates. However, he was not appointed then.
Oleksandr Vodyannikov worked in the OSCE structure in Ukraine from 2004 to 2023. Initially, he was a scientific advisor in the field of rule of law (2004-2008), and from 2008 to 2022 he held the positions of program manager and legal advisor in the OSCE Coordinator Project in Ukraine. In 2022-2023, he worked in the OSCE Support Programme to Ukraine as a senior specialist in project activities in the field of rule of law and human rights.
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