How Did the Week Go at the High Council of Justice? March 31 – April 4, 2025

This week (March 31 – April 4), a traitor, a Romanian citizen, and a judge caught drunk driving were all removed from their judicial positions. Three judges were dismissed following complaints submitted by lawyers from the DEJURE Foundation.

The High Council of Justice (HCJ) formally stripped the following judges of their status, privileges, and salaries:

• Dmytro Demochko – a judge who has been residing in the temporarily occupied Mariupol district since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. His career took a rapid turn under occupation: he became the head of the so-called “DPR court” in Mariupol and expressed his willingness to personally “try” Ukrainian volunteers, activists, and military personnel. According to Russian sources, Demochko tried to obtain a position in the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol but failed to pass the Russian Federation’s judicial qualification exam. Apparently, even the occupiers didn’t find his ambitions impressive. He was dismissed following a complaint from DEJURE’s legal team.

• Serhii Savytskyi, a judge of the Khust District Court, was dismissed after being caught drunk behind the wheel in March 2024. His blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.73‰ — more than three times the legal limit. The Tyachiv District Court of Zakarpattia Region held him administratively liable. His dismissal was also based on a DEJURE complaint.

• Ivan Tulyk, a judge of the Rakhiv District Court, declared Romanian citizenship in his 2023 asset declaration, violating the constitutional principle of single citizenship. He had previously been sentenced to five years in prison by the High Anti-Corruption Court for bribery, but the Supreme Court later overturned the verdict, and Tulyk was reinstated.

• Based on a recommendation from the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ), Iryna Yedamenko, judge of the Pokrovsky District Court in Dnipropetrovsk Region, was dismissed. In her declarations, she repeatedly undervalued the worth of her assets and failed to report ownership of a land plot registered in her name. During her last qualification assessment, she claimed she had only just discovered the plot, as well as similar plots registered to her mother and father. This dismissal recommendation had been pending at the HCJ for nearly a year and a half — we urge the HCJ not to delay further on HQCJ recommendations.

• The Second Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ issued a dismissal decision against Serhii Burkhan, which he may still appeal. This became possible only after the term of HCJ member Vitalii Salikhov ended — Salikhov and Serhii Burlakov had been blocking the decision for months. Burkhan is suspected of accepting a $2,500 bribe to lift an asset seizure in a criminal case. He is also under scrutiny for holding the position of court president since 2007, allegedly evading the legal restriction of no more than two consecutive terms. The DEJURE Foundation’s legal team filed the complaint against Burkhan.

While judicial cleansing is progressing, the pace remains slow. The HCJ continues to avoid prioritising high-profile cases and long-standing dismissal recommendations from the HQCJ. We call for faster, more decisive action to restore trust in the judiciary.