Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court overturns the dismissal of the “coffee-loving judges” from the court of appeal

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court (GC SC) has overturned the decision of the High Council of Justice (HCJ) in the case of Kyiv Court of Appeal judges Ihor Palenyk, Yurii Slyva and Viktor Hlynianyi. These are the same judges from the story about a USD 35,000 bribe, where the money was found in an empty coffee bag.

According to the information announced by the Supreme Court, the reason was a procedural violation. According to the information provided, prior to the hearing of 11 March, the High Council of Justice had not once heard the judges on the merits of their complaints. The Grand Chamber found that, under such conditions, they had no real opportunity to set out their arguments and submit evidence.

So what do covert investigative and search actions (CISA) have to do with it?

The judges’ attorneys today pushed along two lines at once. The first — the HCJ had allegedly violated procedure and failed to ensure the judges’ proper participation in the hearing. The second — the HCJ should not have used CISA materials that have not yet been assessed by a court. The HCJ’s representative answered directly: the Supreme Court has already upheld the position that CISA may be used in disciplinary cases.

Back in June of this year, in the case of Pavlo Vovk, the Supreme Court allowed the use of criminal proceedings materials and covert search and investigative actions (CISA) in a disciplinary case. But the Grand Chamber did not decide this question today. It expressly stated that it had assessed neither the existence of a disciplinary offence nor the admissibility of covert investigative action materials.

The disciplinary case must now be reconsidered by the High Council of Justice. That is precisely where the questions of both the judges’ misconduct and the use of covert materials will arise again.