EU Council makes the reinstatement of international experts to the selection of HQCJ members a new condition of the Ukraine Facility

The Council of the EU has approved amendments to the Ukraine Facility and the related Ukraine Plan, supplementing it with 27 new reforms. Among them is the adoption of a law that should return independent international experts to the Selection Commission for the selection of members of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ). This decision once again confirms that preserving the independent model for forming the HQCJ remains one of Ukraine’s key European integration commitments.

On 30 July, the Council of the EU approved amendments to the Ukraine Facility and the related Ukraine Plan, which sets out the list of reforms required to receive funding from the European Union. This update is linked to the European Union’s decision to provide Ukraine with an additional 8.3 billion euros in 2026 through the Ukraine Support Loan mechanism.

Together with the additional funding, the EU has also expanded the list of reforms that Ukraine has to implement. New indicators were added to the Ukraine Plan, among them the entry into force of a law that will ensure the meaningful participation of independent experts nominated by international partners in the Selection Commission for the selection of HQCJ members. Ukraine must fulfil this indicator by the fourth quarter of 2026.

The appearance of this reform in the updated Ukraine Plan is entirely logical. It is the HQCJ that is responsible for the selection, qualification assessment and career advancement of judges, and it therefore directly affects the quality of the judiciary. At the same time, the future composition of the HQCJ itself depends on the Selection Commission that carries out the selection of its members. The HQCJ’s ability to exercise its powers free from political or corporate influence depends on how independent this procedure is.

Previous experience has shown that the participation of independent international experts with a decisive vote became one of the most effective safeguards against political or corporate influence on the competition. It was precisely this model that made it possible to form the HQCJ through a more transparent procedure and to reduce the risks of appointing candidates with well-founded doubts about their integrity. It is no coincidence that the European Union insists not on creating a new mechanism, but on continuing the one that has already proven its effectiveness.

The need to adopt the relevant law is especially urgent also because of the timeframe. Less than a year remains until the powers of the current composition of the HQCJ expire. If the relevant law is not adopted by then, the competition will be held under the current model, without the participation of independent international experts.

It provides that three members of the Selection Commission are delegated by the Council of Judges of Ukraine, and one each by the Council of Prosecutors, the Bar Council of Ukraine and the National Academy of Legal Sciences. Such an approach not only weakens one of the key safeguards of the independent selection of HQCJ members, but also contradicts Ukraine’s new commitment under the Ukraine Facility.

There is no more time for delay. If the adoption of the law is once again postponed until the last moment, there may simply be no time left to form a new Selection Commission and hold a full-fledged competition. This will create a risk of an interruption in the work of the HQCJ and further deepen the staffing crisis that Ukrainian courts are already facing today.

The decision of the Council of the EU means that the question of the participation of international experts is no longer a subject of political debate. From now on, it is an official commitment of Ukraine under the updated Ukraine Facility.

Parliament must now urgently consider draft law No. 13382 or another government initiative that will fully meet the requirements of the updated Ukraine Plan. Not only does the continuation of judicial reform depend on this, but also Ukraine’s fulfilment of the European integration commitments to which further funding under the Ukraine Facility programme is tied.