The European Commission (EC) expects that Ukraine will fully take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission (VC) to the law on competitions for the positions of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU).
The spokeswoman for the commission Ana Pizonero told "Suspilne" about this.
The EC expects that Ukraine will increase the number of members of the Advisory Group of Experts, which checks the integrity of candidates to the CCU, to seven. As Pizonero explained, the additional member should be based on the international quota to "avoid deadlocks in decision-making." She added that the EU will closely monitor this process.
"Progress on judicial reform remains vital to strengthening Ukraineʼs resilience," Pizonero noted.
- The reform of the CCU is one of the seven requirements for the European integration of Ukraine. On June 23, 2022, Ukraine officially became a candidate for membership of the European Union. The European Commission has approved certain conditions that Ukraine must fulfill in order to start official accession negotiations.
- On December 13, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the second reading and as a wholeLaw No. 7662 on competitions for the post of judges of the CCU. It was criticized.
- On December 19, the Venice Commission published an updated opinion on the draft law in No. 7662. The experts of the commission recommended updating the draft law and including one more member in the Advisory Group of Experts. The DEJURE foundation notes that the seventh independent expert will allow to level the political influence on the commission.
- On December 20, President Zelensky signed the law, despite the conclusion of the Venice Commission and criticism.