Vovk’s return is not going to happen? The Supreme Court has ruled in a similar case

The Supreme Court has upheld the High Council of Justice’s decision to dismiss judge Serhiy Burkhan. This case is directly linked to the case of former head of the District Administrative Court of Kyiv, Pavlo Vovk — in both instances, the grounds for the judges’ dismissal were materials from criminal proceedings, including records of covert investigative actions.

• The HCJ dismissed Serhiy Burkhan, who is suspected of receiving a $2,500 bribe in exchange for a ruling to lift a property seizure. Burkhan challenged this decision before the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. Today, the Grand Chamber confirmed the lawfulness of his dismissal on the basis of criminal proceedings materials.
• The Supreme Court confirmed the practice, established since 2019, regarding the admissibility of using covert investigative action materials in disciplinary proceedings. The ruling also confirms the correctness of the HCJ’s approach — the body has already dismissed more than 50 judges on the basis of investigative data. It is precisely their admissibility — including the so-called “DACK tapes” — that Pavlo Vovk is currently challenging before the Grand Chamber.

Since the Burkhan and Vovk cases are similar, this ruling is a positive signal for the expected outcome in the Vovk case. But it is too early to relax: the text of the ruling and the dissenting opinions of the judges who disagreed with the majority have not yet been published. Without them, we do not know the court’s full reasoning — and it is precisely that reasoning which will determine how far the ruling in the Burkhan case serves as a benchmark for the case of the former head of the DACK.

Furthermore, the vote distribution in the Supreme Court may yet shift, and the HCJ’s decisions to dismiss Vovk could be overturned on procedural grounds — without touching the question of the admissibility of covert investigative action materials. So we continue to watch. The next hearing in the Vovk case is on 18 June. Public attention and scrutiny make it harder to reach convenient decisions “in silence” — and that is precisely what compels judges to act responsibly.