SBI Raids the High Qualification Commission of Judges

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has conducted searches at the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ), as reported by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

The likely reason is the alleged interference of HQCJ members in the information system. The search is ongoing, and the SBI may seize either the servers for examination or specific materials from judicial dossiers. In particular, these dossiers contain information on the qualification assessment of judges from the now-liquidated District Administrative Court of Kyiv (DACK) — the most scandalous judicial institution in the country. DEJURE Foundation has previously detailed the “achievements” of this court’s staff.

Journalists assume that the searches may be a response to the dismissal of DACK judges and an obstacle to the upcoming qualification assessment of seven DACK judges scheduled for March 17. Additionally, the interview with the notorious Oksana Tsarevych from the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv is likely to be postponed. Notably, it was her court that authorized the searches. Furthermore, the head of the Pechersk District Court, Ruslan Kozlov, was also supposed to undergo evaluation on March 17 alongside DACK judges.

The searches are being conducted as part of a criminal investigation into the disruption of an HQCJ exam on July 9, 2024, when DACK head Pavlo Vovk unexpectedly arrived to take the test. Vovk had previously avoided HQCJ assessment for years but suddenly appeared for this one. The exam was disrupted due to repeated identical questions. The SBI is investigating whether there was unauthorized interference in the “Exam” subsystem of the Commission’s Automated Workflow System.

The potential seizure of judicial dossiers or even HQCJ servers by the SBI primarily threatens the qualification assessment process for judges, including Pavlo Vovk, his allies from the DACK, and judges from the Pechersk District Court.