How Did the Week Go at the High Council of Justice? April 7–11, 2025
Cheating on exams, thousands of dollars in bribes, shielding drunk drivers, and supporting illegal development in Protasiv Yar — this is the kind of misconduct the High Council of Justice (HCJ) reviewed this week (April 7–11), and here are the decisions it made:
Positive Decisions:
- Ilona Denysiuk, judge of the Luhyny District Court in Zhytomyr Region
Dismissed based on a recommendation from the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ).
Background: In 2018, during her judicial qualification exam, Denysiuk was caught with cheat sheets containing answers from the criminal law section. Video reviews revealed 26 instances of attempted cheating.
- Olha Opalynska, judge of the Smila City District Court in Cherkasy Region
Also dismissed following an HQCJ recommendation.
Background: Repeatedly released drunk drivers from liability and ruled on a case involving a person whose apartment she lived in for free. Her declaration also raised red flags: a luxury car purchase she couldn’t afford, and property (apartment and car) transferred to her four-year-old daughter. Interestingly, while Opalynska ruled on local government land disputes, she, her mother, and ex-husband simultaneously acquired land plots in the region.
- Viktor Hlynianyiy, judge of the Kyiv Court of Appeal
Dismissed by the final decision of the full composition of the HCJ.
Background: Caught with colleagues receiving $35,000 in bribes hidden in coffee cans, whiskey boxes, and ISP brochures. Of the four “coffee lovers,” only Yurii Slyva still holds judicial status.
- Lesia Hodik, judge of the Uman City District Court in Cherkasy Region
Received a warning from the First Disciplinary Chamber following a complaint by DEJURE Foundation and AutoMaidan.
Background: Assigned a drunk driver to the care of their workplace — a common tactic for avoiding DUI responsibility, which was already banned at the time of the ruling. Other disciplinary cases are pending against Hodik, and we hope the Chambers won’t delay further action, which could lead to a more severe penalty.
- Viktoriia Averkova, judge of the now-dissolved District Administrative Court of Kyiv (DACK)
The First Disciplinary Chamber opened a case against her.
Background: Averkova is known for facilitating illegal construction in Protasiv Yar and, like many DACK judges, for sabotaging judicial assessments and dismissing Public Integrity Council (PIC) opinions.
Negative Decision:
- Liudmyla Horiachkivska, judge of the Uman City District Court
Granted honourable retirement with lifelong benefits.
Background: Accused of helping fraudsters steal an entire house and accepting a $9,500 bribe. She also failed to appear for her qualification exam. DEJURE filed a complaint regarding this and her alleged delay of criminal cases. The complaint was assigned to Inspector Oleksii Hura, but the HCJ never even opened a disciplinary case.
The DEJURE Foundation welcomes the positive steps taken by the HCJ this week, especially the case opened against another DACK judge. However, over 30 other judges from the DACK, including those implicated in the “Vovk tapes” scandal — Ihor Pohrebnichenko, Ihor Kachur, Oleksii Ohurtsov, Bohdan Sanin, and Volodymyr Keleberda — have yet to face disciplinary proceedings. We urge the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors (SDI) not to delay in preparing recommendations for these and other DACK judges, and we call on the HCJ not to postpone the review of these critical cases any longer.
