Ukraine Will Strengthen Control over Judges: All Relatives in Power and Trips to Temporarily Occupied Territories Will Be Scrutinized
The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 13165-2. This 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 the life of a judge.
242 members of parliament voted in favor.
The project introduces amendments to the basic Laws "On the Judiciary and Status of Judges" and "On the High Council of Justice." The most pressing issues are the involvement of international experts, protection of personal data of relatives, and statute of limitations for checks.
Main innovations of the draft law
Instead of several different reports, judges will submit one integrated declaration. Reporting will be done 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 choose "confirm" or "do not confirm," as well as detailed information about relatives.
The draft law radically expands the circle of persons whose connection with 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 Presidential 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.
In addition to monitoring assets and property, new items are introduced in the declaration that will 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;
- No 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 that reasonably indicates data unreliability.
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 checks in the Regulations. Without clear legislative criteria, this creates room for subjectivity or political pressure on judges.
The draft law also addresses financial guarantees. Article 135 establishes that for calculating a judge's salary, no amount 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 within 6 months a draft regarding temporary features of individual checks of Supreme Court judges and higher specialized courts involving independent experts. This means the Supreme Court faces an even stricter audit.
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