On October 6, the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will consider the case on the constitutional motion of 49 Ukrainian MPs concerning the constitutionality of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
This information is available on the Constitutional Court’s website.
TI Ukraine’s lawyers have prepared their opinion on this motion. In particular, the experts are convinced that:
While the High Anti-Corruption Court has its peculiarities, it has a single constitutional function, namely administration of justice in a clearly defined category of cases. The court is built into the judicial system of Ukraine and has a higher instance.
The status of a special and extraordinary court would stipulate the absence of institutions that would control such a court, the absence of a mechanism for reconsideration of its decisions and the lack of accountability to the highest judicial body, the Supreme Court.
The HACC is not a special court, because it does not have powers, functions and tasks that are different from other Ukrainian courts. Its creation is consistent with the Constitution of Ukraine and with the Law of Ukraine “On Judiciary and the Status of Judges.”
Special requirements to judges are stipulated by the nature of cases considered by the HACC, which requires engagement of highly qualified judges. In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, Article 127, part 3, judges of specialized courts can be required to meet other requirements in education and experience than other judges.
If the Constitutional Court of Ukraine rules on the unconstitutionality of the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court,” the latter shall cease to be valid from the date of the Constitutional Court’s decision, unless otherwise established by the decision itself, but not earlier than the day of its approval.
