Zelensky submits latest justice reform legislation to parliament

Ukrainian President Zelensky submitted to parliament
on June 22 his latest attempt to reform the nation’s judiciary and status of judges.
The bill proposes nominating judges to the Supreme Court based on the
jurisdiction where they practiced justice, and undergo an evaluation with a
year of their appointment. This evaluation process is performed by the High
Council of Justice, based on submissions by the High Qualifications Commission
of Judges. The bill also sets a new procedure for forming the High
Qualifications Commission of Judges, which is performed by the High Council of
Justice in an open competition evaluated by a selection commission consisting
of Ukrainian judges and international experts, at least three of which are
required. If the council is unable to form the commission in a given period,
nominations are made the human rights ombudsperson. The bill eliminates current
limits on the number of Supreme Court judges (shifting that function to the
High Council of Justice), the proposed creation of an integrity and ethics
commission and changes disciplinary and disciplinary procedures.

Recall, President Zelensky signed on Nov. 4 a bill on
the activity of courts that cut in half to 100 the maximum number of Supreme
Court judges. It also introduced a new procedure for forming the High
Qualifications Commission of Judges and created an Integrity and Ethics
Commission at the Higher Justice Council. The bill reduced the salaries of
Supreme Court Judges by nearly a third, cut the members of the High
Qualifications Commission of Judges to 12 from 16, and barred judges from the
High Council of Justice, which is the body responsible for the selection and
dismissal of judges. The Constitutional Court rejected many of the bill’s
provisions in a March 2020 ruling.

Zelensky’s second attempt at judicial reform fully
contradicts the requirements for such legislation set by the IMF in the most
recent loan deal signed by Ukraine and puts the next loan under risk, the
Western-sponsored Anti-Corruption Centre said in its analysis published the
same day. While the IMF required the creation of an independent commission,
including international experts, to review the nominations and performance of
High Council of Justice judges, Zelensky’s legislation leaves those decisions
up to the council itself, with decisions requiring at least 14 votes. “Zelensky
is shooting himself in the foot yet again and isn’t learning from even his own
mistakes. That is, the first attempt to reform the courts fell apart in January
owing to the very High Council of Justice. Now the president is giving the
unreformed body all the authority for reforming the judicial system, which even
sounds absurd,” said the analysis.

In addition, the bill expands types of international
experts that can be selected to the selection commission to beyond those who
were involved in the process for choosing the judges of the High
Anti-Corruption Court. This means that “convenient” foreign experts will be
selected. The bill keeps the High Qualifications Commission of Judges dependent
on the High Council of Justice for almost all its major decisions, the analysis
said. Moreover, a likely candidate to head the qualifications commission’s
selection commission is the scandalous Kyiv judge Pavlo Vovk, who was recorded
by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to have boasted of having influence on
the human rights ombudsperson, who could find herself having to select judges
to the High Council of Justice.

Zenon Zawada: Zelensky’s proposals to reform the judiciary are not entirely negative.
At the same time, it’s apparent that negative elements are influencing his decisions
on justice reform and law enforcement in general. Among these people are
certainly Andriy Portnov, a lawyer for former President Yanukovych and his
entourage (many exiled in Russia), and Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov,
who has a political alliance with the reckless, self-interested magnate Ihor
Kolomoisky. So investors can expect Ukraine’s unreliable justice system won’t
be improved much any time soon, as this legislation will either be stalled or
only partially amended to barely meet IMF requirements.