Activists call on Parliament to appoint competition for 10% of judges

The activists have called on the Ukrainian Parliament to reject resolutions on the election of 762 judges for an indefinite term.

They claim that in September the Verkhovna Rada has a unique opportunity to contribute to the judicial reform by dismissing judges, appointed for five-year term, and appointing a new competition for them.

“When we checked the list of the judges, we had questions to a hundred of them, namely those who delivered judgments in cases of Euromaidan and Automaidan activists, who were reportedly involved in corruption schemes, who submitted not transparent tax returns declarations, etc.,” the Human Rights Information Centre correspondent quotes head of the “Public Lustration Committee” Oleksandra Dryk as saying.

“We are not a law enforcement agency. We cannot reliably check out everything. Our task is to verify the available information and convey it to the authorities, who will make the decision. We conveyed the information on these judges to the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, which has taken no action,” she said.

According to Tetiana Semyletko, the coordinator of campaign “FAIR. Filter Court!”, the new competition of the judges will be more effective since the public council of integrity will operate.

As a reminder, the High Qualification Commission of Judges recommended that the Parliament of Ukraine should appoint 762 judges, whose 5-year term of office expired. However, the MPs have made no decision on these judges for two years.