Priority of resignation and sick leave: The High Council of Justice paused judges' dismissals despite the conclusions of the HQCJ

The High Council of Justice reviewed materials on the dismissal of judges based on submissions from the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine under subparagraph 4 of paragraph 16-1 of section XV "Transitional Provisions" of the Constitution of Ukraine. All three cases were postponed.

Regarding the consideration of materials on the dismissal of Andriy Boychuk, judge of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa

By the decree of the President of Ukraine dated January 17, 2014, Andriy Boychuk was appointed judge of the Kirovohrad District Court of Kirovohrad city for a term of five years. In 2015, he was transferred to the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa within the same term of office.

In February 2018, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine appointed a qualification evaluation of the judge. Based on the evaluation results, by the decision of the HQCJ dated February 24, 2025, Andriy Boychuk was recognized as unfit for his position. The Commission pointed out violations of the principles of equality of parties, adversarial nature, publicity, and openness of the judicial process. The HQCJ also noted that during the interview, the judge, in the Commission's opinion, did not sufficiently acknowledge the violations and tried to deny them. Additionally, a negative conclusion from the Public Integrity Council was taken into account.

Ultimately, the Commission concluded that such behavior could raise doubts about the judge's ability to be independent and impartial and negatively affects the authority of the judiciary.

During the session, the High Council of Justice granted the motion to postpone the consideration of the judge's dismissal. The reasons for the postponement were not detailed separately during the session.

Regarding the consideration of materials on the dismissal of Nataliya Dobrivska, judge of the Kyiv District Administrative Court

By the decree of the President of Ukraine dated July 13, 2010, Nataliya Dobrivska was appointed judge of the Kyiv District Administrative Court for a term of five years. In August of the same year, she took the judicial oath, and in 2017 she was appointed to this position indefinitely.

In June 2018, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine appointed a qualification evaluation of the judge. Based on the evaluation results, by the decision of the HQCJ dated April 20, 2026, Nataliya Dobrivska was recognized as unfit for her position. The Commission noted that the totality of established circumstances cast doubt on the judge's integrity, after which a submission for her dismissal was submitted to the HCJ.

After that, Nataliya Dobrivska submitted a resignation application to the HCJ. During the session, she insisted that her resignation application should be considered first, not the HQCJ's submission for dismissal.

The judge referred to the legal position of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, according to which the procedure for considering a resignation application has a priority nature and should not be blocked by the qualification evaluation procedure.

As a result, the HCJ granted the motion to postpone consideration of the HQCJ's submission. The consideration of the resignation application is scheduled for May 28, 2026. Nine members of the Council voted for the postponement.

Regarding the consideration of materials on the dismissal of Olena Halatina, judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court

By the decree of the President of Ukraine dated June 2, 2007, Olena Halatina was appointed judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court for a term of five years. In 2012, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine elected her to this position indefinitely.

In 2018, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine appointed a qualification evaluation of the judge's compliance with the position. Based on the evaluation results, on November 14, 2023, the HQCJ recognized Olena Halatina as unfit for her position and submitted the relevant submission to the HCJ.

The Commission noted that the grounds for this decision were violations of anti-corruption legislation, regular trips of the judge to occupied Donetsk, from where she continued to make judicial decisions, as well as a negative conclusion from the Public Integrity Council. The HQCJ also pointed out insufficient explanations from the judge regarding these circumstances during the interview.

During the HCJ session, the judge's lawyer requested to postpone the case due to incomplete provision of materials. This concerns over 4,500 pages of documents, including the judge's dossier, audio, and video recordings. Olena Halatina herself also filed a motion to postpone the consideration due to being on sick leave.

The HCJ granted both motions and rescheduled the case consideration to June 11, 2026.

Procedural issues

It is worth noting that during the session, HCJ member Roman Maselko once again declared a recusal. The reason was his previous participation in the work of the Public Integrity Council, whose conclusions were partially used in the case materials. The HCJ granted the recusal request.

As a result, during the session on May 26, the High Council of Justice did not make any substantive decisions regarding the dismissal of judges. The consideration of all the materials was postponed to later dates.

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