You're reading: Supreme Court judges could oust Onopenko via vote

Chief judge last person in power not allied with president.

Judges on Ukraine’s Supreme Court could vote to sack their chief justice, Vasyl Onopenko, on March 11.

Onopenko is widely regarded as the last top official not subservient to President Viktor Yanukovych and his administration. His ouster would give pro-presidential officials almost complete control over the nation’s judiciary.

Some 19 of the 49 judges sitting on the court asked for a vote, which would need a simple majority, or 25 votes, to pass.

“Instead of resolving issues in the sphere of jurisprudence, the activities of the Supreme Court head have mostly been of a political nature, which has politicized the Supreme Court in the eyes of top government officials and, in our view, has induced lawmakers to amend the Law on Judiciary and Judge Status,” the initiators of Onopenko’s dismissal said in a letter released on March 9.

Chief judge last person in power not allied with president

“We believe that Onopenko as head of the Supreme Court must bear responsibility for the systemic problems in the judicial branch.He is the official who has represented the Supreme Court and country’s judicial system as a whole,” the statement said.

Onopenko told the Kyiv Post on March 10 that he expects less than half of the Supreme Court’s judges will support his ouster.

“I can’t predict the outcome of the vote with complete certainty, but I’m confident it won’t pass,” Onopenko said. “The vote isn’t about me, per se. It’s about the independence of the Supreme Court.”

Serhiy Taran, a political analyst who heads the Kyiv-based International Democracy Institute, on March 10 told the Kyiv Post that Onopenko’s removal would give President Yanukovych and his supporters control of the country’s last independent judicial institution.

“The Supreme Court is widely seen as the last bastion of judicial independence in Ukraine,” Taran said, adding that Onopenko is one of the few remaining top officialsl associated with the political camp of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.”

During the last Supreme Court session on Feb. 28, Onopenko told journalists that he was unaware of the intentions of some judges on the court to hold a a no-confidence vote.

Article 43 of the Law on the Judiciary and Judge Status elaborates the procedure for removing the Supreme Court head, who can be dismissed if more than 10 judges vote to convene a special court session to consider the measure.

According to Ukraine’s Constitution, the Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction.

Kyiv Post staff writer Peter Byrne can be reached at [email protected]