Judge Andriy Polishchuk artificially removed specific judges from case consideration through recusal decisions – High Council of Justice
The High Council of Justice (HCJ) made a decision to dismiss Andriy Polishchuk from the position of judge of the Myronivka District Court of Kyiv region. The basis was the submission of the Third Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ regarding the application of disciplinary sanction in the form of dismissal from office (paragraph 3 of part 6 of Article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine).
Case circumstances
The complaint was received from the head of the Myronivka District Court of Kyiv region. Case analysis showed systematic abuse of the right to recusal of judges. In many cases, recusals were filed not due to a real threat of bias, but with the aim of artificially removing specific judges from case consideration.
In particular, Judge Andriy Polishchuk repeatedly made decisions on the recusal of other judges in cases where the suspect/accused was his classmate, with whom he maintains long-standing friendly relations. At the same time, Andriy Polishchuk himself participated in the substantive consideration of these cases without disclosing to the participants the existence of a conflict of interest.
The Disciplinary Chamber established that the judge provided his classmate with legal consultations regarding procedural behavior in an administrative case, which later escalated into a criminal proceeding under part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal handling of weapons). Such communication lasted from 2022 to 2024, i.e., during the time the case was under Polishchuk's consideration.
Conclusions of the Disciplinary Chamber
The Third Disciplinary Chamber concluded that the judge:
- intentionally interfered with the administration of justice by other judges;
- engaged in extraprocedural communication with a participant in the process;
- ignored requirements to resolve conflicts of interest;
- violated the principles of legality and the presumption of innocence;
- demeaned the honor and dignity of another judge in a court decision.
Such behavior, according to the Chamber, tarnishes the title of judge, undermines the authority of justice, and indicates a significant disciplinary offense.
On October 15, 2025, the Disciplinary Chamber decided to hold Andriy Polishchuk disciplinarily liable and submitted a proposal for his dismissal from office. On June 25, 2026, the High Council of Justice supported this submission.
HCJ Decision
The HCJ decided to dismiss Andriy Polishchuk from the position of judge of the Myronivka District Court of Kyiv region.
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