Ten months of the qualification assessment: 43 judges of low integrity retained their positions, and 27 were recommended for dismissal

Almost ten months have passed since the start of the qualification assessment. During this time, the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) reviewed 172 judges.

• 138 of these judges already have final decisions from the Commission. In particular, 100 judges (72.5%) have successfully passed the qualification assessment and will retain their positions, while 27 judges (19.6%) were recommended for dismissal by the High Council of Justice (HCJ).

For instance, the fourth panel of the HQCJ has finally recommended for the dismissal Hanna Andrienko, a judge of the Oktiabrskyi District Court of Poltava. The judge assisted drunk drivers in avoiding responsibility in almost fifty cases. In two of these cases, the HCJ highlighted evidence of falsification. Moreover, Andriyenko repeatedly skipped interviews with HQCJ for almost a year, allegedly due to illness.

• Regarding 11 judges (8%), the HQCJ made alternative decisions, such as termination of the qualification assessment as a result of voluntary dismissal, mobilisation, refusal to undergo the assessment, etc).
• Overall, the HQCJ and the PIC remain at odds on integrity issues. Out of 70 PIC’s negative opinions that the Commission has considered, judges were recommended for dismissal in only 27 cases (38.6%). In contrast, in 43 cases (61.4%), the HQCJ retained judges of low integrity in their positions, overturning the PIC’s negative opinions.

The qualification assessment has stalled due to a decision by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court in judge Usatyi’s case. The court ruled that certain judges with questionable integrity may avoid interviews with the full composition of the Commission, unlike other judges. We call on the HQCJ to continue the assessment of these judges!