Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers notes positive steps in Ukraine's judicial reform

The highest collegial political body of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers, has noted the positive decisions of the Ukrainian authorities on the way to reforming the judicial system.

Source: the decision of the Committee, which assessed the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling of the Volkov v. Ukraine case, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In particular, the conclusions note that in 2014-2018, Ukraine took significant steps to restructure the system of disciplinary responsibility and the career of judges, including amending the Constitution and implementing legislation.

The Committee welcomed the fact that Ukraine now has a fully operational High Council of Justice and High Qualifications Commission of Judges.

In addition, the Committee "noted with interest" the repeal of Article 375 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which stipulated a prison sentence for a judge for making an unlawful decision.

"Any criminal investigation against a judge is to be compliant with the Council of Europe standards and recommendations, so that it is not misused to exert undue influence and pressure," the conclusions say.

The Committee is satisfied with the adoption and implementation of the new law on transferring judges of the "old composition of the Supreme Court of Ukraine" to the Supreme Court established in accordance with the 2016 constitutional amendments.

The Committee concluded that it was no longer necessary to closely monitor the developments relating to the status of the 29 judges dismissed by the Ukrainian Parliament on 29 September 2016.

The case of Volkov v. Ukraine concerns 18 judges who were dismissed on the grounds of "breaching their oath of office".

In particular, Supreme Court judge Oleksandr Volkov was dismissed from his post in June 2010, with the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, which made the decision, acting beyond its powers. In the Volkov v. Ukraine case, the European Court of Human Rights found that the dismissal procedure was not independent and impartial, with various violations noted during the vote in parliament. The court also noted the committee’s shortcomings in forming a special chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court, which dealt with the case of Oleksandr Volkov.

Volkov was reinstated on 2 February 2015, and Ukraine implemented constitutional and legislative reforms to improve the impartiality of judges.

The Ukrainian authorities pledged to pay Volkov approximately €41,000 in compensation for pecuniary damage, as well as any taxes payable. Volkov has agreed to drop any further claims against Ukraine in this case.

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