New candidates for the HCJ under the President’s quota: who are they?

Last week marked the start of a new selection process for candidates for the High Council of Justice under the President’s quota. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky has not appointed a member to the High Council of Justice for over a year.

On May 29 and 31, interviews were conducted by the Ethics Council with judges Hurin, Zhuk, and Tkachenko. Here’s a detailed summary of these proceedings:

Dmytro Hurin – judge of the District Administrative Court of Zhytomyr

During his interview, judge Hurin admitted failing to declare the right to use a vessel, for which his father had granted him power of attorney. He explained that the power of attorney was intended only for selling the vessel, not for personal use.

In 2018, Hurin’s mother sold her land in Crimea for 3 million rubles under Russian law. According to judge Hurin, this was the only way to sell the property, as his mother had acquired it while working in Crimea and had formalised the documents back in 2008.

In his 2022-2023 declarations, Judge Hurin did not disclose the value of his wife’s car, which he used. He claimed he did not know the car’s value and could not contact the registration authority as it had been dissolved. During the interview, Hurin admitted that he should have requested the car’s value. Similarly, the value of his wife’s agricultural equipment was not declared, and his responses were along the same lines.

Andriy Zhuk – judge of the Administrative Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court

Judge Zhuk is known for covering up for “Maidan judges”. More details can be found here.

During his interview, judge Zhuk was questioned about a ruling involving a State Migration Service employee found with a Russian passport. He had ordered a retrial because the lower courts had not gathered enough evidence. One contentious issue was the request for evidence of the plaintiff’s Russian citizenship from Russian authorities. A new cassation complaint regarding this case is now before a different panel of judges at the Administrative Court of Cassation. Due to this ongoing process, judge Zhuk declined to provide further details.

Oleksandr Tkachenko – Deputy Head of the Commercial Court of Mykolaiv Region

Previously, in 2022, judge Tkachenko was interviewed by the Ethics Council regarding the “garage saga”.

Tkachenko also sought a position in the Constitutional Court, where he shared new insights about his involvement in the garage case during his interview with the Advisory Group of Experts.

In his recent interview for the High Council of Justice, judge Tkachenko reiterated his previous arguments, stating that the court’s decision regarding the garage should be enforced by the State Enforcement Service, not by him.

Additionally, Tkachenko confirmed there were inaccuracies in his declarations but considered them minor. He expressed hope that the President would make the appointment to the High Council of Justice regardless of the Ethics Council’s findings.

We will continue to monitor the interviews of candidates for the High Council of Justice under the President’s quota. Tomorrow, on June 4, Natalia Panchenko, Olena Zaichko, and Vladyslav Ivashchenko will be interviewed by the Ethics Council. We hope the Ethics Council will screen out unworthy candidates and select only the most qualified individuals for the High Council of Justice.