The High Council of Justice did not dismiss judge Andriy Boychuk, whose father bought an apartment at a price near the NBU financial monitoring threshold

The High Council of Justice refused to satisfy the submission of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated February 24, 2025, regarding the dismissal of judge Andriy Boychuk of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa. The decision was made based on paragraph 4 of part 1 of article 16-1 of section XV "Transitional Provisions" of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Andriy Boychuk was appointed judge of the Kirovsky District Court of Kirovohrad by the decree of the President of Ukraine on January 17, 2014, for a term of five years. By the decree dated December 16, 2015, he was transferred to the position of judge of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa within this term.

Key claims against the judge

The HQCJ and the HRC referred to the decision of the Third Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ dated March 27, 2019, No. 966/3dp/15-19, which held judge Boychuk disciplinarily liable. The chamber established gross procedural violations that contradicted the principles of fairness, adversarial proceedings, and the parties' right to access justice, and applied a sanction in the form of a severe reprimand with deprivation of the right to salary supplements for three months.

The HQCJ paid special attention to the purchase by the judge’s father on February 24, 2015, of an apartment in Ivano-Frankivsk with an area of 36.1 sq. m for 149,877 UAH (about 5,200 USD at the then exchange rate). The contract indicated full payment immediately. The HQCJ noted that during 2013–2017 the National Bank of Ukraine limited cash transactions of individuals to 150,000 UAH; transactions exceeding this limit were subject to mandatory financial monitoring. The commission expressed doubts about the financial capability of the judge’s parents and the authenticity of the contract price, noting that the market price of similar apartments could have been three times higher (about 480,000 UAH).

The HQCJ also drew attention to the receipt by the judge of monetary compensation from the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support in 2019–2020 simultaneously with salary from the main place of work, paid by the Defense Procurement Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The dossier materials contain information about the judge’s mobilization in 2014. The HQCJ noted that although positive information is usually not emphasized, in this case it is relevant for the qualification assessment.

The commission also questioned the characterization dated November 17, 2014, provided by the acting head of the Kirovsky District Court of Kirovohrad within the transfer procedure. At the time of its preparation, the judge had not considered any cases in this court, so it was objectively impossible to assess his professional qualities.

During the interview, according to the HQCJ, the judge not only did not admit the violations committed but also tried to deny them, despite the validity of the decision of the Third Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ dated November 11, 2020, No. 3083/3dp/15-20. The commission believes this position calls into question his ability to continue to administer justice fairly and impartially.

Based on the evaluation results, the HQCJ recognized judge Boychuk as not meeting the requirements of the position held.

Position of the High Council of Justice

The HCJ considers that the HQCJ did not provide sufficient information about the systemic nature of the judge’s procedural law violations and decided to refuse the submission of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated February 24, 2025, regarding the dismissal of Andriy Boychuk from the position of judge of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa based on paragraph 4 of article 16-1 of section 15 "Transitional Provisions" of the Constitution of Ukraine. It was determined that the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine in plenary session needs to continue the evaluation of judge Andriy Boychuk of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa at the relevant position from the second stage of the dossier review and interview.

Thus, the issue of judge Boychuk’s compliance with the position held remains open and is subject to further consideration by the HQCJ of Ukraine.

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