Which European Commission requirements were not included in the law on new rules for judges' declarations

Recently, Law 4905-IX on improving judges' integrity declarations and declarations of judges' family ties came into force. The document was one of the steps within the framework of fulfilling Ukraine’s obligations under the Ukraine Facility program.

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy reported that during the preparation of the draft law, lengthy consultations were held with experts from the European Commission. The European side provided a number of recommendations, some of which Ukrainian legislators took into account, while additional discussions were held regarding certain proposals.

One of the European Commission’s recommendations was to introduce the possibility of submitting anonymous complaints against judges.

The Committee explained that this issue required finding a balance between strengthening control over the judiciary and the capabilities of the bodies that conduct judges' checks.

"The High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) is responsible for checking such appeals — the body directly responsible for selecting judges. Today, the Commission faces an extremely difficult task — to select almost 2,500 judges. With approximately 4,500 active judges, about 2,500 more need to be appointed," the parliamentary committee noted.

Therefore, the Committee pointed out that it was important to maintain a balance: on the one hand, not to reduce the level of accountability of the judiciary and to keep effective control tools, and on the other hand, not to jeopardize the HQCJ’s ability to perform its main task — filling judicial vacancies.

The Verkhovna Rada emphasized that the potential threat lies in the large number of complaints, which are far from always justified.

As an example, the Committee cited the work of the High Council of Justice. About 10,000 complaints are received annually by the HCJ, but over 90% of them are not accepted for consideration due to non-compliance with requirements or lack of grounds. At the same time, each appeal requires processing and use of the body’s apparatus resources.

After consultations with European experts, a compromise solution was found.

The Ukrainian model of judicial control is unique

The Committee also noted that during the preparation of the law, the experience of other countries was studied.

According to Committee representatives, various countries have separate mechanisms for judicial accountability, but the Ukrainian model has its own specifics.

"Different elements of judicial branch accountability exist in many countries. They are implemented differently. However, there is no mechanism like the one in Ukraine in other European countries," the Verkhovna Rada stated.

The new law provides for the optimization of judges' declarations: instead of two separate documents — the integrity declaration and the declaration of family ties — a combined format with updated content is introduced.

In particular, the law includes new statements regarding the recognition of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the extension of Ukraine’s state sovereignty over its entire territory, as well as the inadmissibility of cooperation with the aggressor state.

As noted by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", reporting will be completed 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 one must choose "confirm" or "do not confirm," and detailed information about relatives.

The HQCJ receives the authority to conduct checks based on information from any person that reasonably indicates the unreliability of the data.

The check may be initiated no later than three years from the date of declaration submission.

If the information about unreliability is confirmed, the materials are forwarded to the disciplinary proceedings body (HCJ).

Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp, Facebook page and Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.