Candidate for the CC Oleksandr Petryshyn may lobby for the appointment to the High Council of Justice of a member of the Selection Commission Dmytro Lukyanov, who recommended him for the CC

The candidate for the Constitutional Court, Oleksandr Petryshyn, who heads the organizing committee of the Congress of representatives of legal higher education institutions, can influence the appointment of Dmytro Lukyanov as a candidate for the HCJ. In turn, Lukyanov was a member of the Commission, which selected candidates for the Constitutional Court and voted in favour of recommending Oleksandr Petryshyn for the post of judge.

At the end of October, the Selection Commission recommended candidates to the Constitutional Court. The ranking list includes seven candidates: Oleksandr Vodyannikov, Oleksandr Petryshyn, Oleksandr Sybiha, Oksana Shcherbanyuk, Mykhailo Savchyn, Oksana Hryshchuk and Oleksandra Karmaza.

Dmytro Lukyanov, Doctor of Laws, Associate Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, was among the members of the Selection Commission who recommended seven candidates. Despite the fact that Lukyanov stated a conflict of interest during the interview, it follows from the minutes of the meeting of the Selection Commission that Lukyanov took part in a separate vote for Petryshyn’s candidacy.

A Congress of representatives of legal higher education institutions, at which one member of the High Council of Justice will be elected, is scheduled for December 10. The organizing committee of the Congress is headed by the candidate for the Constitutional Court Oleksandr Petryshyn. Dmytro Lukyanov is among the candidates for the HCJ.

“Of course, it can be assumed that such a “competitive reshuffle” of Petryshyn and Lukyanov is just a coincidence. But this fact alone calls into question both the future appointments of the Congress of scholars and the results of the competition for the Constitutional Court. This once again confirms our position that without a new competitive procedure for judges of the Constitutional Court, any confidence in this process is impossible.”

– said Stepan Berko, Advocacy Manager of DEJURE Foundation.

Oleksandr Petryshyn, President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences and a candidate for the Constitutional Court recommended by the Competition Commission of Ukraine, “sanctified” Leonid Kuchma’s right to run for a third term with an opinion of the Department of Theory of Law of the Yaroslav the Wise National Law Academy. According to the opinion, President Kuchma’s second term should be considered the first presidential term, so he has the right to run in the next presidential election again.