Commission of Judges receives complaint about head of Cherkasy region Court of Appeal

Lawyer Roman Maselko filed the complaint about Volodymyr Babenko, Head of the Court of Appeal of Cherkasy region, with the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine. Maselko noted that behavior of the Head of the Court is the signal to all the other judges who will dare to announce they have experienced pressure.

The lawyer posted this information on his Facebook page.

Roman Maselko is convinced that Volodymyr Babenko undermines the authority and credibility of the court by his statements made at the press briefing on March 30.

“Volodymyr Babenko tried to link the accusation of pressure exerted by him with the approach of elections of the head of the court. He provided false information, particularly when saying that judge Serhiy Bondarenko made his statement just before the election. However, this is not true. Serhiy Bondarenko submitted the application to the Council of Judges of General Courts in October 2014, and the application to the prosecutor’s office in November 2014. Furthermore, Serhiy Bondarenko has never participated in the election and said he did not have such intention,” the lawyer notes in the complaint.

As a reminder, speaking at the briefing, Head of the Court Babenko questioned the mental health of “inconvenient judge” Serhiy Bondarenko, adding that he would raise the issue on the mandatory periodic determination of mental health of judges.

“Making such a statement, Volodymyr Babenko has not just insulted the particular judge, but, in fact, concluded that mentally ill people worked in the judiciary thereby casting doubt on the authority of the court and accuracy of delivered judgments,” Roman Maselko said.

The lawyer drew attention to the statement of Volodymyr Babenko that the High Specialized Court allegedly repealed 83% of the judgments delivered by judge Serhiy Bondarenko, although the Court of Appeal makes decisions on collegiate basis.

“Such his statement became the revelation for me. Earlier, I was convinced that the Court of Appeal delivers its judgments on collegiate basis by voting. There is privacy of consultation room. Therefore, it is impossible to establish how a specific judge votes to deliver specific judgment. However, if we listen to the Head of the Court of Appeal of Cherkasy region, we may make the conclusion that it is possible to find out whose decision it was,” the lawyer noted.

Roman Maselko is convinced that Volodymyr Babenko used his position for his own benefit and showed that his interests are higher than those of the Court.

Maselko stresses that behavior of the Head of the Court is the signal to all the other judges who may dare to announce about the pressure being exerted on them.

“Now all the judges understand that in this case they will be presented as insane, mentally ill, scandalmongers, and their allegations of pressure will have no effect. All this testifies to the unwillingness of the court to be reformed and undermines already low credibility of our judiciary,” the lawyer said.

Roman Maselko believes that it would be good idea if the not indifferent citizens sent complaints to the High Qualification Commission of Judges.

As a reminder, judge of the Court of Appeal of Cherkasy region Serhiy Bondarenko stated that Head of the Court Volodymyr Babenko asked him to deliver unfair judgment in the case on the lawsuit filed by the company of Ukrainian tycoon Dmitry Firtash against teacher Oksana Yashan to evict her from the office premises. After Bondarenko had refused, he was subjected to systematic pressure.

Judge Bondarenko was deprived of his aide and was not appointed a new one, his memoranda and statements were not registered. He was made to violate the law for the trial participants to complain about him to the High Qualification Commission of Judges. Bondarenko’s car was set on fire and the unknown persons followed him near his apartment.

In addition, it was established that the premises of the Court of Appeal were alienated for construction of residential building during the chairmanship of Head of the Court Volodymyr Babenko, which actually resulted in the losses of taxpayers.

April 7, the judges of the Court of Appeal of Cherkasy region again elected Volodymyr Babenko as Head of the Court. To do that, they needed to hold three meetings.