Supreme Council of Justice needs overhaul, Council of Europe says

Ukraine’s Supreme Council of Justice – which conducts
the nomination and oversight of judges – requires a complete overhaul,
according to a report published on Oct. 9 by the European Commission for Democracy
Through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the
Council of Europe. The assessments were part of an analysis of Bill No. 3711,
“On the judiciary and the status of judges,” which was submitted by the
president in June. The report criticized the bill for not proposing plans to
overhaul the council, despite campaign promises by the president and his party
to do so.

“The issue of the virtue of members of the Supreme
Council of Justice is urgent and must be resolved without delay,” the report
said. In the view of the pravda.com.ua news site, “Such direct and undiplomatic
phrasing isn’t typical for the restrained language of the conclusions of the
Venice Commission. It’s as though the Council of Europe experts are highly conscious
of the current membership of the Supreme Council of Justice being the main
defender of corruption in Ukrainian courts.” To renew the council, the report
proposed forming an independent commission that includes international experts.

The report, approved during the commission’s online
conference on Oct. 8-9 in Paris, also recommends that plans to reduce the
number of Supreme Court judges not affect current judges. It approved the
proposal to renew the Higher Qualifications Commission of Judges to improve the
selection of first- and second-tier judges. The report’s recommendations were
in line with Ukraine’s current requirements before the IMF and the E.U., the
pravda.com.news site said. At the same time, the Supreme Council of Justice has
insisted that it needs no reforms, particularly with the involvement of
international experts.

Zenon Zawada: While the
country’s leadership has abandoned its promises for widescale and structural
reforms, Western institutions won’t allow that to happen under their watch. We
expect the Zelensky administration will amend the text of its legislation to
meet the requirements set by not only the Venice Commission, but also the IMF
and the EU.