HACC Monitoring

Goal:

The purpose of this project is to analyze the judicial practices and operations of the HACC in terms of compliance with the standards of criminal procedural legislation, identify the problems in the HACC’s interaction with other participants in the criminal process, and outline promising areas for the institution’s growth.

Monitoring and assessment of the procedural and judicial aspects of the Court’s work

Lawyers at Transparency International Ukraine assess the performance of the High Anti-Corruption Court using a tailored methodology. This includes court monitoring visits, the completion of specially developed questionnaires, the analysis of trial proceedings in both instances, and a review of case-related information from open sources (briefings, conferences, reports, guidelines, manuals, etc.).

Questionnaires are used to monitor procedural issues, documenting the progress of the meeting, the actions of the parties, and other procedurally significant events. TI Ukraine experts have developed questionnaires for pre-trial and court proceedings, as well as for the legal mechanism of civil confiscation, which is evaluated according to civil procedure rules.

A specialized methodology was developed for analyzing court decisions, enabling the evaluation of these decisions against the principles of criminal proceedings. To obtain information that is not publicly accessible, experts submitted formal requests to the HACC and other relevant state bodies.

The subject of monitoring comprises selected cases from the NABU and the SAPO that were considered by the HACC and the HACC Appeals Chamber. Several factors were considered in the selection of corruption-related criminal proceedings for monitoring.

1. Resonance of the case, assessed based on the subject of the alleged criminal offense, the extent of the damage caused, or the value of illegal benefits received or provided.
2. The usefulness of monitoring for other areas of TI Ukraine’s work, such as alleged abuses or acts of corruption in public procurement, the restoration process, or cases involving the potential return of assets acquired through criminal means to Ukraine.

The monitoring of the HACC’s activity is based on the following principles: non-interference in the process of justice, impartiality, objectivity and comprehensiveness, transparency, and professionalism.

At the end of each monitoring stage, the TI Ukraine expert team prepares a report analyzing trends in the adjudication of corruption and corruption-related offenses, and assessing the extent to which previous recommendations have been implemented.

The most recent report covered the fifth stage of the HACC monitoring — from 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2024. Before that, the first stage of the HACC operations monitoring covered the period from July 6 to December 6, 20202; the second stage covered the period from April 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021, the third stage covered April 1, 2021 to February 23, 2022, the fourth stage covered the period from January 1 to September 30, 2023, and the fifth stage covered from 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2024.

Key findings from the HACC monitoring report for July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025:

The sixth report on monitoring the work of the HACC covers the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 — a time of unprecedented challenges for the independence of anti-corruption justice. On July 22, 2025, Parliament adopted a law that effectively dismantled the independence of the NABU and the SAPO, although its provisions were later repealed.

Amid systematic information attacks and direct pressure on judges, the HACC continued to demonstrate high professional standards, while also encountering systemic problems.

Key achievements

Growing number of cases adjudicated. The HACC shows a stable upward trajectory: the number of cases resolved increased from 55–60 in 2019–2020 to 84–88 in 2023–2024. Notably, the number of convicted individuals rose from 49 in 2022 to 112 in 2024, reflecting the conclusion of proceedings involving a larger number of defendants.

Improvement of the plea bargain mechanism. Since November 2024, new rules on plea agreements have shown a positive effect: 66% of convictions were based on such agreements, UAH 87 million in damages was reimbursed, an additional UAH 97 million and six vehicles were transferred to defense needs. In total, more than UAH 250 million was returned to the state.

Resolving the issue of mobilized corruption defendants. The adoption of Law No. 4496-IX addressed the problem of delays caused by the mobilization of defendants in corruption cases by establishing clear criteria for suspending trials.

Critical challenges

Ineffective regulation of statutes of limitations remains the biggest systemic problem. During the reporting period, 13 individuals were released from criminal liability due to the expiration of limitation periods (five by the HACC and eight by the HACC Appeals Chamber). Our estimates indicate that at least 26 cases could be closed on this basis over the next three years.

Abuse of procedural rights is taking new forms and expanding. In one case, during September 2024 alone, a defense attorney filed 1,426 complaints against alleged inaction by the NABU and the SAPO to the investigating judge, and later, within four days of October, submitted 2,852 appeals against the investigating judge’s ruling in a consolidated proceeding. Overall, during the reporting period the HACC issued 24 rulings on disciplinary liability of attorneys, yet the Qualifications and Disciplinary Bar Commissions (QDBCs) responded insufficiently effectively.

The problem of corruption suspects absconding has intensified — in 13.7% of cases, special proceedings are conducted in absentia. A critical challenge is the shortage of electronic bracelets (only 145 for the whole of Ukraine), along with probable misconduct by public officials facilitating unlawful border crossings.

Recommendations

To Parliament:

• Comprehensively improve legislation on statutes of limitations: establish additional grounds for suspension, extend their duration, and change the endpoint of calculation.
• Introduce mechanisms to counter abuses of procedural rights, including financial penalties.
• Abolish automatic closure of cases due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation period.
• Determine that the consent of parties is not required to continue proceedings when a judge is replaced.
• Review the provisions on single-judge trials and extend them to civil confiscation cases.
• Provide for mandatory special confiscation when approving plea agreements.

To HACC:

• Ensure thorough and well-grounded verification of damage compensation amounts in plea agreements, and avoid approving them without due assessment of public interest.
• Consistently and systematically exercise presiding judges’ powers to manage proceedings and stop abuses of procedural rights.

To the Government: ensure a sufficient supply of electronic bracelets and take measures to prevent corruption defendants from absconding.

Implementation of these recommendations would strengthen the institutional capacity of the court and increase the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts.

HACC Decided Platform

HACC Decided is a unique, comprehensive resource on high-level corruption cases handled by the HACC, featuring all court decisions, case details, infographics tracking key case events, and expert analysis.

Its key feature is a sophisticated and user-friendly search system. Users can find all necessary information by entering keywords or the name of a case participant. If someone wants to learn the details of a case involving a specific high-ranking official, they simply enter the surname in the search field, and the system finds the relevant case.

The platform also offers advanced search by judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, verdict type, decision date, and more — useful for legal professionals, journalists, and anyone interested.

In addition, TI Ukraine experts prepare case summaries, so users receive not only documents from the system but also curated information on each case, the stages of its adjudication, and the positions of the defense and prosecution. Each summary includes an interactive infographic showing key events, which can also be downloaded.