How Did the Week Go at the High Council of Justice? March 3-7, 2025

The High Council of Justice (HCJ) had an active week, issuing eight positive decisions and two questionable ones.

The HCJ upheld the Disciplinary Chambers’ decisions to dismiss the following judges:

• Pavlo Vovk – Former head of the District Administrative Court of Kyiv (DACK). Vovk and his court became notorious for corruption, issuing knowingly unlawful and politically motivated rulings and illegally interfering in the judiciary and judicial governance bodies.
• Alyona Mazur – A subordinate of Vovk at the DACK. In 2019, she, along with colleagues, sabotaged the qualification assessment by feigning illness on Vovk’s orders. Additionally, she failed to report the interference of her court’s head in her judicial activities to the HCJ.
• Daria Sakun – Judge of the Zvenyhorod District Court in Cherkasy Oblast. She was reportedly involved in a drunk-driving incident and fled the scene—during working hours and in the company of fellow judge Borodiychuk.
• Serhiy Savytskyi – Judge of the Khust District Court in Zakarpattia Oblast. The HCJ dismissed him following a complaint by the DEJURE Foundation. In March 2024, he was caught driving under the influence, with a blood alcohol level of 0.73‰—three times the legal limit.
• Oksana Miroshnychenko – Judge of the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv, dismissed upon the recommendation of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ). Miroshnychenko revoked the driver’s licenses of five AutoMaidan activists for six months after their visit to Yanukovych’s residence.

The First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ also submitted a dismissal request for Kostyantyn Pashchenko, a judge of the DACK. In addition to his absolute subservience to Pavlo Vovk, Pashchenko prohibited the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) from managing seized assets in the so-called “Klymenko case,” causing the state to lose over 25 million UAH. However, he still has the right to appeal the HCJ’s decision.

The HCJ suspended Ihor Kondrashov, a judge at the Babushkin District Court in Dnipro, for illegally seizing an apartment from a local resident. Kondrashov submitted documents claiming he had purchased the apartment for 412,000 UAH. To legitimize the forged contract, he filed a civil lawsuit, supplementing it with a fake receipt allegedly signed by the owner confirming the payment.

This week, the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors (SDI) demonstrated their independence in defending their positions. Inspector Olena Teglyayeva disagreed with the First Disciplinary Chamber’s refusal to open a disciplinary case against judge Yurii Bobrov, who had been involved in a drunk-driving incident, threatened police officers, and fired shots into the air. Teglyayeva appealed this decision to the full HCJ, which agreed with her request and opened a case. Disciplinary inspectors are not meant to be obedient assistants to HCJ members but should maintain their own stance and be ready to defend it. The independence of the SDI is crucial for the proper functioning of the HCJ.

Questionable Decisions of the HCJ:

The HCJ did not dismiss judge Volodymyr Bordenyuk of the Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv, despite the HQCJ recommendation and a negative opinion of the Public Integrity Council. In 2014, Bordenyuk ordered the detention of activist Ivan Kholod, who at the time was a second-degree disability holder and had suffered two strokes. Two days after the judge’s ruling, Kholod was suspected of having a third stroke. Bordenyuk concealed this ruling for a year and a half.

The HCJ issued only a minor punishment to judge Ivan Olenchuk of the Novoselytsia District Court in Chernivtsi Oblast. Olenchuk was caught allegedly driving under the influence four times. Additionally, a criminal case was opened against him for shooting a pneumatic weapon at a car driven by his former partner, who was inside with her child.

DEJURE Foundation welcomes the dismissal of judges whose actions are unworthy of their status. However, inconsistencies in decision-making raise concerns. The HCJ dismissed Judges Sakun and Savytskyi for drunk driving but let Olenchuk off lightly, despite him committing the same offense four times.

The HCJ and its Disciplinary Chambers must adhere strictly to established practice — dismissing judges who drive under the influence. Lenient punishments for such misconduct only reinforce a sense of impunity among judges.