HQCJ member Luhanskyi received bonuses for a fake academic degree

Volodymyr Luhanskyi, a member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ), received salary bonuses for a “Doctor of Philosophy” degree during his tenure at the Sievierodonetsk City Court. The Ministry of Education and Science had previously confirmed that this degree was fraudulent, as reported by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre.

Background of the issue

In 2011, Luhanskyi purportedly earned a Doctor of Philosophy diploma from MAUP. However, at that time, this institution was not authorized to issue such degrees.

Moreover, during an interview, Luhanskyi failed to recall the name of the specialization for which he allegedly wrote his dissertation. The Anti-Corruption Action Centre found no publicly available references to his dissertation or any related academic articles, casting doubt on whether the work existed at all.

According to a ruling from the Luhansk District Administrative Court, Luhanskyi’s bonus for his academic degree amounted to 15% of his judicial base salary. Analysts from the Anti-Corruption Action Centre estimated that between April 21, 2015, and September 30, 2020, he unjustifiably received at least 160,074 UAH.

Additional Concerns

Luhanskyi faced other issues during his judicial career:

•He dismissed at least 54 cases under Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (drunk driving) due to the statute of limitations.

•In some instances, he failed to find grounds for holding drivers accountable for not complying with stop requests.

A disciplinary proceeding was initiated against him for delaying one such case under Article 130, but it was never resolved because he quickly retired. During an interview, Luhanskyi claimed he submitted his resignation due to family reasons, even before the proceeding began. DEJURE Foundation investigated and discovered that the disciplinary case was opened on June 5, 2020 — the same day Luhanskyi submitted his resignation.