HQCJ and PIC reach agreement: joint statement

The High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) and the Public Integrity Council (PIC) have issued a joint statement regarding qualification assessment.

Key points of the agreement include:

• The PIC will withdraw its negative opinions for judges Haiovyi, Hukova, Burda, Shcherbak, Khardina, Kvasha, Rybka, and Smorodina.
• The PIC will swiftly develop and implement a comprehensive set of regulatory and organizational measures to enhance personal data protection.
• The HQCJ will amend its internal regulations to improve full access for PIC and Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) members to judges’ dossiers.

This agreement follows challenges regarding full access to judges’ dossiers, which the PIC had flagged as critical for conducting a thorough qualification assessment.

Currently, more than 1,500 judges are awaiting qualification assessment. The previous HQCJ failed to establish a robust and transparent process in collaboration with the PIC, leading to the commission’s restructuring.

DEJURE Foundation welcomes the agreement between the new HQCJ and PIC and hopes that it will positively impact the pace and quality of judicial qualification assessments.