The High Council of Justice refused to hold judge Nadiya Poberezhna accountable, who sentenced a suspended term in a case of a child's death in a traffic accident
The High Council of Justice, following the review of the complaint, upheld the decision of the Second Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice dated April 8, 2026, regarding the refusal to bring to disciplinary responsibility judge Nadiya Petrivna Poberezhna of the Shpola District Court of Cherkasy region.
The decision was made unanimously by the members of the High Council of Justice.
Circumstances of the case
The complainant learned from local media about the consideration of a criminal case in the city of Shpola, which, in her opinion, caused significant public resonance. Referring to electronic sources on the Internet, she indicated that as a result of the defendant's violation of traffic rules, irreparable consequences occurred — the death of a young child.
According to the complainant, judge Nadiya Poberezhna, who presided over the case, sided with the defendant, which, in her words, is evidence of dishonest and unethical behavior that undermines the authority of justice and may serve as grounds for bringing the judge to disciplinary responsibility.
According to the case materials, by the verdict of the Shpola District Court of Cherkasy region dated August 6, 2024, the defendant was found guilty of committing a criminal offense under part two of article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for 3 years.
However, the court released the defendant from serving the main punishment with probation under articles 75 and 104 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, establishing a probation period of 2 years. During this period, the defendant is obliged to fulfill the duties assigned to him according to article 76 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Subsequently, the sentence regarding the punishment was overturned by the Cherkasy Court of Appeal. In this part, a new sentence was issued, imposing a punishment of 3 years imprisonment with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for 3 years.
Grounds for disciplinary proceedings
The disciplinary case was opened due to signs of a disciplinary offense in the judge's actions, as provided by subparagraph "b" of paragraph 1 of part one of article 106 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges", namely — failure to specify in the court decision the reasons for accepting or rejecting the parties' arguments regarding the essence of the dispute.
At the same time, the Second Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice concluded to refuse to bring the judge to disciplinary responsibility. The chamber stated that the materials of the disciplinary case do not indicate intentional actions by the judge or negligent attitude towards the performance of duties.
Instead, the judge's actions were qualified as a good-faith judicial error in law enforcement during sentencing, which was later corrected by a higher court.
Thus, the High Council of Justice supported the position of the Disciplinary Chamber and finally closed the issue of bringing judge Nadiya Poberezhna to disciplinary responsibility.
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