Fair Judges as a Christmas Gift

6 December, St. Nicholas Day, marks the beginning of the holiday season in most European countries. Ukraine, staying true to the Julian calendar, starts celebrating 13 days later. Despite the holiday mood, this time may also become one of the most important stages for establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

On 2 August 2018, following several years of struggle for creation of a specialized anti-corruption judicial agency, a call was announced for the 39 vacant positions in the future High Anti-Corruption Court (27 first instance judges and 12 judges of the Appeal Chamber).

Currently, one of the most important stages for establishment of the HACC is underway – the actual selection of judges. It is they who will become the face and hands of this institution, it is they that the success of the anti-corruption judiciary project in Ukraine will depend on.

Despite the initial skepticism, 343 lawyers applied (240 to the first instance and 103 to the Appeal Chamber), with 55% comprised of scholars and lawyers, that is, people from outside the judicial system, who believed in the chance to become part of truly independent and fair justice in Ukraine.

The procedure of qualification assessment of the candidates consists of the following stages:

1. Part one of the assessment – anonymous written test (12 November 2018, results have been announced).
2. Part two – a practical assignment (14 November 2018).
3. Testing of personal moral and psychological traits and general skills via computer testing and an interview with a psychologist (11 to 15 December 2018).
4. Collection, verification and analysis of information on the candidates by the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE).
5. A special joint meeting of the PCIE and the HQCJ on the candidates’ compliance with the criteria of integrity and competence (held within 30 days from the moment of announcement of the practical assignment results).
6. Review of profiles and personal interviews with the candidates.
7. Decision on recommending appointment of candidates for the positions to the High Council of Justice.

There were a lot of debates around the crucial role of international experts in the selection of judges. Both the Ukrainian public and the Western partners insisted on it. There is no other institution in the world with the same authority as the PCIE.

The PCIE collects, verifies and analyzes information on the candidates for the positions of the HACC judges, provides the HQCJ with information on the candidates, may initiate a special joint meeting with the HQCJ to establish the candidates’ compliance with the criteria of integrity and competence.

This joint meeting must be held within 30 days from the moment when full test results are announced. If the majority of the PCIE members vote against the candidate’s compliance with the criteria, this candidate drops out of the competition. This is the very factor blocking dishonest and incompetent candidates from being appointed as judges.

The PCIE consists of 6 members with impeccable reputation and remarkable experience: 4 as judges and 2 as prosecutors.

The PCIE members have already arrived in Ukraine and held their first meetings with the HQCJ and specialized civil society organizations with the aim to coordinate their activity. Yet, they still need to approve the procedure of their own work, criteria for candidates’ assessment and procedural rules for joint meetings with the HQCJ.

International experts will step into the selection procedure right after the full test results are announced. The first part of the assessment – an anonymous written test – was completed on 12 November. 156 candidates proceeded to the second part, the practical assignment.

The HQCJ expects that verification of the practical assignment will take until 20-odd December. It means that the most important 30 days of the qualification assessment of the candidates to the High Anti-Corruption Court – the so-called Integrity Month – will start around Christmas and continue during the entire holiday season in Ukraine. The time when people will spend every day with family and friends will also be the time when all eyes must be on the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The PCIE and the HQCJ can give us all the best Christmas gift if they ensure that honest, qualified and competent judges end up selected to the High Anti-Corruption Court. Our task is to oversee their work and help them to analyze the candidates.

Professional, independent and honest judges on the High Anti-Corruption Court are a guarantee that the agency will work effectively and Ukraine will finally have the kind of judiciary that it needs urgently.

Transparency International Ukraine and its partners have finished monitoring of the candidates and will soon publish information on unscrupulous contenders.

Happy holidays, and make sure to follow the competition to the HACC. We all need fair judiciary.

Maksym Kostetskyi, project manager and legal advisor of TI Ukraine