What to expect from the HACC competition

On March 1, the HQCJ announced the commencement of the document submission procedure for the selection of 25 judges for the High Anti-Corruption Court. Why is this competition significant for Ukraine? What is the importance of every potential judge participating, and what challenges might arise during the process? Let’s try to figure it out.

How have the operations of the HACC changed during the full-scale war? 

The High Anti-Corruption Court commenced its operations in the fall of 2019. Prior to that, 39 judges were meticulously selected through a high-profile and comprehensive competition, reflective of the standards at that time.

Since then, the composition of the High Anti-Corruption Court’s judges remained unchanged even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, although Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine impacted the operations of numerous state institutions. Since its launch, the HACC has had 27 judges in the first instance and 12 judges in the Appeals Chamber.

Throughout its operation, the HACC has demonstrated high efficiency, largely meeting public expectations for transparency and evidently maintaining the integrity of its judges. In general, there are considerably fewer questions about the organization of the High Anti-Corruption Court’s operations compared to other judicial institutions. The latest research by TI Ukraine, as part of monitoring the work of the HACC indicates that since February 24, 2022, the percentage of process and procedure violations in both HACC and its Appeals Chamber is only 5%. Hence, the Anti-Corruption Court is rightfully referred to as an exemplar within the Ukrainian judicial system, which is still undergoing reform.

Since 2019, the HACC has passed 169 sentences, considered 308 criminal proceedings and more than 41 thousand complaints and petitions. And when Russia commenced its full-scale offensive, the HACC’s work still continued.

If the staff of judges remains constant, the number of cases over the years continues to grow. In particular, following the onset of the invasion, cases involving the confiscation of assets of Russian and Ukrainian collaborators were brought under the jurisdiction of the HACC. Even after a change in leadership, NABU-SAPO continues to refer an increasing number of cases. However, the HACC judges consider cases in “threes” only.

These factors pose a threat that individuals accused of corruption will increasingly evade punishment, as the statute of limitations may expire during their prosecution. In its four years of operation, the HACC has already dismissed 21% of the accused due to the expiration of legal timelines. Without the implementation of necessary changes, this trend may be exacerbated.

Ukrainian society expects fair and timely sentences from the Anti-Corruption Court, and holding this competition is seen as one of the decisions that will strengthen the HACC. Therefore, for the first time, there will be additional recruitment to the HACC to reduce the burden on the existing “Horsemen of Justice.”

How the competition will be held

During a press conference on March 1, the Commission announced that it will accept documents from candidates until March 15. Candidates will undergo evaluation by the HQCJ, and an integrity check will be conducted by the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE), which consists of 6 members. The HQCJ hopes to approve its composition by the end of March.

As part of the competition, applicants for the positions of judges will first be tested, complete a practical task, and pass a special check. After that, the HQCJ will examine the candidates’ dossiers, conduct interviews together with the PCIE, and final interviews with the winners. In the end, the HCJ will submit the selected candidates to the President, who must then officially appoint the chosen candidate for the position.

Applicants are required to submit their documents online through the official HQCJ website. For participants in judge position competitions, a special video tutorial has been created to guide everyone through the correct submission process.

All requirements for judges are detailed in the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court,” which also specifies individuals ineligible for such positions. In particular, individuals with previous convictions for intentional criminal offenses, those included in the Register of Corrupt Officials, employees of law enforcement agencies, and other bodies listed in the law who have worked there in the past 10 years, as well as members of the HQCJ or the High Council of Justice who were in service until April 2014, are ineligible to become judges of the HACC.

What challenges can the competition face?

After the selection process, the HACC is expected to welcome 25 new personnel: 15 for the first instance and 10 for the appellate division. Therefore, the main challenge is to select high-quality candidates within a reasonable time frame.

During the press conference on March 1, Oleh Koliush, a member of the HQCJ, mentioned that the commission aims to conclude the competition by the end of 2024. This is a feasible, albeit challenging task, as it requires the selection of 25 specialists with an impeccable reputation and sufficient competencies in various branches of law. Success here will depend, in part, on the workload of members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, who are currently simultaneously conducting selections for various courts across the country.

Here, we can recall not very optimistic example from the last competition for the selection of 8 prosecutors in the SAPO, which lasted for more than 4 months. It wasn’t immediately possible to fully equip the prosecutor’s office. The commission selected only half of the truly best candidates, not merely formally filling vacancies. Whether this implies that the HACC competition will face a similar problem is possible, but having a sufficient number of qualified candidates could help avoid it.

And here it is necessary to take into account the probability that the current judges of the Anti-Corruption Court will express a desire to apply, for example, to the HACC Appeals Chamber. If such internal migration of personnel occurs as a result of the competition, the first instance of HACC will be replenished with fewer individuals, and vacancies will reappear. The question of additional recruitment for positions in other courts, from where candidates can go to the HACC, also remains open. This should also be foreseen, but we hope that the HQCJ is aware of such probabilities.

There is no doubt that the new selection process for HACC has a better chance of success compared to the initial search for judges. Both quantitatively, as the commission needs to select one and a half times fewer judges than in 2018, and qualitatively, as the Anti-Corruption Court has already established itself as a fairly effective institution.

When the HACC was created, many potential judges often did not really understand why such a separate court was needed at all. At Transparency International Ukraine, we even conducted a special educational campaign on this issue.

Over the years of the HACC’s operation, we observe that the court has maintained its reputation, avoided any high-profile scandals, and continues to develop. Therefore, now we already have real successes recorded in numbers, and not just promises, as it was 6 years ago. This could well serve as an additional motivating factor for candidates aspiring to become judges at HACC.

Therefore, we encourage everyone to apply for the competition! After all, the pursuit of effective justice is indispensable for a successful fight against corruption.