New Declaration Rules Introduced for Judges: Not Only Property but Also Family Ties Will Be Checked
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law aimed at improving the integrity declarations of judges and their family ties.
Law 4905-IX establishes the procedure for submitting a single combined declaration concerning the integrity and family ties of judges, strengthening the accountability of the judiciary in accordance with the European Commission's recommendations — through the mandatory indication in declarations of the legality of property origin.
The relevant bill 13165-2 was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on June 9. The document is part of Ukraine's commitments to strengthen the rule of law and cleanse the judiciary of dishonest elements. The main goal is to make the process of declaring family ties and integrity not just a formality but a mechanism for monitoring a judge's life.
The document introduces amendments to the basic Laws "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" and "On the High Council of Justice." The most pressing issues include the involvement of international experts, protection of relatives' personal data, and statute of limitations for inspections.
Main Innovations
As noted by "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", instead of several different reports, judges will submit one integrated declaration. Reporting will be completed electronically on the official website of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) annually by May 1.
It will consist of a clear list of statements where judges must select "confirm" or "do not confirm," along with detailed information about relatives.
The law radically expands the circle of persons whose connection to a judge must be mandatorily declared if they held high positions within the last 5 years. Concealing relatives in the power vertical will entail liability. The updated list includes:
- members of the High Council of Justice (HCJ), HQCJ, judges, and court staff;
- the President of Ukraine, Head of the President's Office, and their deputies;
- members of parliament, Cabinet of Ministers members, heads of NABU and NACP;
- members of the Public Integrity Council (PIC) and the Ethics Council.
Besides monitoring assets and property, new points are introduced in the declaration to verify the judge's civic and professional stance. In particular, every servant of Themis will be obliged to officially confirm:
- Non-visitation of the aggressor state's territory and temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine;
- Non-cooperation with the Russian occupation administrations since February 20, 2014;
- Use of the Ukrainian language as the sole state language during the administration of justice and court sessions;
- Unconditional adherence to the Code of Judicial Ethics.
Verification Mechanism
The HQCJ receives the authority to conduct checks based on information from any person reasonably indicating the unreliability of data.
The check may be initiated no later than three years from the date of declaration submission.
If the information about unreliability is confirmed, materials are forwarded to the disciplinary proceedings body (HCJ).
The law allows the HQCJ to determine the order of inspections in the Regulations. Without clear legislative criteria, this creates space for subjectivity or political pressure on judges.
The document also addresses financial guarantees. Article 135 establishes that for calculating a judge's salary, no figure other than the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of January 1 of the respective year may be applied. This puts an end to government attempts to manipulate judges' salaries through subordinate acts.
The Cabinet of Ministers is instructed to develop a draft regarding temporary features of individual verification of judges of the Supreme Court and higher specialized courts with the involvement of independent experts within 6 months.
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