More than half of Ukrainians believe that independent international experts should have the casting vote in the selection of judges of the CCU
In the opinion of more than half of Ukrainians, independent international experts should have a casting vote in the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court. These are the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from February 6 to March 1, 2023, at the request of DEJURE Foundation. At the same time, a little more than a third of the respondents believe that representatives of the Ukrainian government should have a casting vote in the selection of judges in the CCU, namely the President, the Verkhovna Rada, and the Congress of Judges.
Around 2000 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed by computer-assisted telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. The statistical error of the sample does not exceed 2.4%.
On December 13, the Parliament adopted the law on changing the procedure for selecting judges of the Constitutional Court. It contradicted the opinion of the Venice Commission since it maintained the practice of political influence on the procedure. Namely, it provided for the creation of the Advisory Group of six experts (the AGE), which is to vet the candidates. It will include three independent experts delegated by international partners and three representatives of Ukrainian authorities. The problem is that the representatives of authorities, as the latest competitions show, will act in the best traditions of Ukrainian political culture, and internationals will not have a casting vote to block their political decisions.
In response to the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the Venice Commission decided not to delegate members to the Advisory Group of Experts until the law is amended. The Venice Commission emphasised that the composition of the AGE should include the 7th member, who should be appointed under the international quota. In addition, representatives of the European Commission and the European Council have repeatedly drawn attention to the observance of this condition, in particular, reiterated it in the joint statement following the results of the 24th Ukraine-EU summit.
In the meantime, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities are in no hurry to introduce amendments to the adopted law on the selection of judges of the CCU, although Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced them. This issue has already become a significant obstacle on Ukraine’s path to the EU. At the same time, 87% of Ukrainians support joining the European Union.
