The High Council of Justice postponed the decision on the dismissal of judge Olena Halatina with trips to the temporarily occupied territories
The High Council of Justice considered the submission of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine regarding the dismissal of judge Olena Halatina of the Donetsk District Administrative Court based on subparagraph 4 of paragraph 16¹ of section XV "Transitional Provisions" of the Constitution of Ukraine.
Judge Olena Halatina participated in the meeting via videoconference. She filed a motion to postpone the consideration of the dismissal issue until the resolution of her resignation application, which she submitted back on April 1, 2026.
After discussion, the members of the High Council of Justice rejected the judge's motion (only two voted "for"). At the same time, the High Council of Justice decided to announce a break in the case consideration and postpone it until June 25, 2026.
Circumstances of the case
As previously reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", 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 initiated the procedure of qualification assessment of the judge's compliance with the position. Based on the assessment results, on November 14, 2023, the HQCJ recognized Olena Halatina as not meeting the position requirements and submitted a proposal to the High Council of Justice for her dismissal.
Grounds for the HQCJ decision
Among the key allegations against the judge are systematic violations of the requirements of legislation regarding integrity and professional ethics:
- regular trips to temporarily occupied territories while simultaneously making and signing court decisions with an electronic digital signature;
- failure to declare property and income (including a land plot, the right to use property, and receiving funds from parents to purchase a 2020 BMW X6 vehicle);
- making court decisions on days when, according to registries, the judge was absent from the workplace or was outside the controlled territory;
- other circumstances which, according to the Commission, negatively affect public trust in the judiciary.
Judge Olena Halatina actively defended her position during the High Council of Justice meeting, providing explanations regarding trips, declarations, and signing decisions, notably citing technical problems, power outages, the specifics of working in a frontline territory, and previous checks by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
Decision of the High Council of Justice
After hearing the reporter, the judge's position, and additional discussion, the High Council of Justice decided to postpone further consideration of the issue of dismissing Olena Halatina until June 25, 2026.
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