How the HCJ member Burlakov (didn’t) move the case against Vsevolod Knyazev forward

On Tuesday, August 6, the High Council of Justice (HCJ) finally dismissed the former President of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, from his position as a judge. However, this decision was made based on the  “apartment for 1000 UAH” case and not the much-publicised $3 million bribe.

Back in June 2023, we filed a complaint with the HCJ concerning Knyazev’s acceptance of improper benefits and his extrajudicial relationships with a party involved in a case. In November of that year, the complaint was assigned to Serhiy Burlakov, and on December 20, a disciplinary case was opened. Despite the law mandating a 90-day review period from the date of initiation and the availability of all necessary materials from the NABU-SAPO criminal investigation, HCJ member Burlakov seemed in no hurry to proceed.

Due to this delay, we submitted a motion to the HCJ to remove Serhiy Burlakov as the rapporteur, citing his obstruction of the case. Unfortunately, the disciplinary chamber did not approve the recusal: 1 vote “for” the recusal and 3 votes “against”. The rejection of the recusal was the last action taken in this case. In other words, since then, the rapporteur has done nothing, apparently waiting for an outcome of the disciplinary action regarding the apartment, which was initiated much later—in April 2024.

As a result, since Knyazev was dismissed based on the other complaint, thanks to Serhiy Burlakov’s inaction, the disciplinary proceedings regarding the improper benefits will be closed, and the HCJ will fail to deliver justice in this matter.