The Ukrainian chapter of the global anti-corruption network Transparency International insists on the creation of the High Anti-Corruption court and calls on Ukrainians to sign the petition about it on Verkhovna Rada website.
TI Ukraine registered a petition on the establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court on Verkhovna Rada website and calls on Ukrainians to sign it at https://itd.rada.gov.ua/services/Petition/Index/2718.
An efficiently functioning independent justice system is an inherent element of any democratic country where the rule of law prevails. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian judiciary allows corrupt officials to avoid punishment, thus making Ukrainians feel helpless and distrustful. That is why, there is a critical need to set up an independent court institution that would review the cases investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The global network Transparency International has already made a public call on the Ukrainian authorities to start setting up a specialized court as part of Ukraine’s legal obligations and commitments to the EU and the IMF. As José Ugaz, the chairman of the board of TI, said, “People do not trust the judiciary to hold the powerful to account because the courts have shied away from this in the past. That is exactly why Ukraine has to launch the independent anti-corruption court.”
There is currently an ongoing discussion on how the High Anti-Corruption Court should function and how judges for it should be selected. But to maintain the independence and effectiveness of the new body, the following key elements should be adhered to: an open selection of candidates for the positions of judges has to be done with the help of international partners; the same principle should apply to the selection of judges to the independent Appeal Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court; judges have to be provided with high remuneration and security measures for themselves and their family members; the court will have exclusive jurisdiction over cases investigated by NABU and prosecuted by SAP.
We encourage the citizens to vote for the petition and call on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to set up the High Anti-Corruption Court, whose existence is provisioned in the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and Status of Judges”!
