Anti-corruption court could start this year, Poroshenko says

The president’s
legislation to set the technical groundwork for launching the independent High
Anti-Corruption Court and implement its decisions is on today’s agenda of the
Higher Justice Council, Petro Poroshenko said in a June 16 interview with
Ukrainian television networks. The legislation can be registered in parliament
as early as June 19, he said. “I will mark it as undelayable,” he said. “I will
request that it’s voted upon in the first reading and in its entirety so that
this component of creating the court is done as quickly as possible.”
Poroshenko said he has already asked the Finance Minister to earmark funds for
the court’s launch and he will make “all efforts” to ensure the court is
launched by the year end.

Artem Sytnyk, the
head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, said on June 16 that he believes
the independent anti-corruption court can be created by the year end, as
reported by the Ukrinform news agency.

All existing
corruption-related court cases, whether in the first instance or on appeal,
should be transferred to the High Anti-Corruption Court, as stated in the
legislation that he endorsed, Poroshenko said during the interview. Parliament
is responsible for drafting legislation that reflects this position, he said.
Recall, President Poroshenko signed the legislation creating the
anti-corruption court on June 11. Since then, Transparency International has
called for amendments that calls for transferring appeals cases to the
independent court.

In calls with
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on June 15 and French
President Emmanuel Macron on June 16, President Poroshenko asked that they
accelerate the process of appointing nominees of Western judges to the Higher
Qualifications Judges Commission, which will determine the Ukrainian
independent court’s judges.

Zenon Zawada: The
president’s rhetoric on the independent anti-corruption court is inspiring,
though he has demonstrated a consistent pattern of uttering flowery words that
lack substance behind them. But this time, he seems to be using the court’s
upcoming creation as part of his re-election campaign, which is a wise approach
considering his failures on other fronts. He needs to give the public more tangible reasons to vote
for him. This leads us to believe that the court will be launched in time for
the March 2019 presidential elections. And it won’t be just a coincidence.