The HCJ appointed Oleksandra Shulika as a judge despite her visits to Crimea and Russia

On January 14, the High Council of Justice (HCJ) appointed Oleksandra Shulika as a judge, despite her previous visits to Crimea with her family in 2014. Additionally, she had travelled multiple times over the years to visit her grandfather in Russia, who refused to relocate to Ukraine. Only HCJ members Maselko and Kvasha voted against her appointment.

According to the Unified Criteria, judges should not travel to Crimea or Russia unless under critical or urgent life-threatening circumstances. Shulika justified her 2014 visit to the temporarily occupied territory by citing a doctor’s recommendation. This raises the question: was this truly a critical circumstance? Should each HCJ member individually determine what qualifies as an urgent necessity? The Criteria fail to provide clear guidance on such cases.

One thing is clear — this decision demonstrates that HCJ members have broad discretion in such matters. Judges can travel to occupied territories without facing career consequences as long as they provide a “reasonable” explanation. Therefore, the HCJ should clarify and tighten the Criteria to ensure that “Crimean tourism” does not continue unpunished.