The High Qualification Commission of Judges confirmed Tetiana Bobko's ability to administer justice in the appellate court despite remarks from the Public Integrity Council
The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine in plenary session considered the issue of confirming the ability of the candidate for the position of judge of the appellate general court Tetiana Bobko to administer justice. The Commission unanimously recognized that the candidate confirmed her ability to administer justice in the appellate general court.
Professional path of the candidate
Tetiana Bobko graduated from the National Law Academy of Ukraine in 2000, and in 2010 defended her dissertation to obtain the degree of Candidate of Legal Sciences in the specialty of civil law and civil procedure. The dissertation topic concerned issues of the content of forms of civil law.
She began her judicial career in 2004 after being appointed by the Decree of the President of Ukraine as a judge of the Kharkiv District Court of Kharkiv region. Subsequently, she repeatedly held the position of the head of this court — both by appointment and by election of the judges' assembly. The candidate successfully passed the qualification exam (365.5 points) and passed the interview with a result of 728.5 points, which is a high score.
Position of the Public Integrity Council
The Public Integrity Council drew attention to two key aspects:
- Long tenure in the administrative position of head of the court. The candidate held this position for five consecutive terms (from 2012 to 2022). According to the Public Integrity Council, this creates risks of administrative dependence of judges and potential influence on personnel processes.
- A trip through the territory of the Russian Federation in 2016. This concerns a transit trip to Belgorod airport due to the cancellation of a charter flight from Kyiv. The tour operator did not refund the money, and the candidate decided to use an alternative. The time spent on the territory of Russia was less than an hour one way (taxi ride from the border to the airport — about 35 km).
Candidate's explanation
Tetiana Bobko emphasized that holding the position of head of the court fully complied with the legislation at the time of each appointment/election. Changes in the law each time created a new period. She received clarifications from the Council of Judges of Ukraine confirming the legality of her election, including in 2020. In her opinion, multiple elections indicate the trust of the judges' panel, not violations.
Regarding the 2016 trip, the candidate explained:
- It was a forced transit trip due to force majeure circumstances on the part of the tour operator.
- Communication with Russian border guards and services was limited to passport control.
- At that time, there were no current threats that would make such a trip impossible.
- The stay on the territory of the Russian Federation was minimal.
Decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges
After hearing the reporter (member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges Oleksii Omelyan), the candidate's explanations, the position of the Public Integrity Council, and answers to questions from Commission members, the High Qualification Commission of Judges proceeded to a closed discussion. As a result of the review, the ability of Tetiana Bobko to administer justice in the appellate general court within the competition announced by the Commission's decision dated September 14, 2023, No. 94/zp-23 (with amendments) was unanimously confirmed.
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