You're reading: Ukrainian parliament passes bill of judges’ lustration

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a bill on lustration of judges at an evening meeting on Tuesday.

A total of 234 deputies out of 247 voted for the draft law on restoring trust in the justice system.

The bill stipulates legal and organizational basis of holding a special check of judges of general jurisdiction courts.

According to the explanatory note, the document stipulates checking
judges within a year from a special temporary committee is formed and
the order of its formation.

The bill includes nine cases when a judge is subject to lustration,
including making political decisions, such as restricting citizens’
rights for holding gatherings, rallies, marches and demonstrations in
Ukraine from November 21, 2013 until this bill comes into effect.

Rulings of judges in cases related to elections to the Verkhovna Rada
of seventh calling, cancelling the results or stripping of the people’s
deputy status parliamentarians elected to the parliament of the seventh
calling could also be grounds for a check.

A judge is subject to a check in case of making a ruling, which was
later found by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as one
violating the convention on human rights and basic freedoms, including
articles 14 and 18 of the convention.

Transitional provisions stipulate that since the draft comes into
effect, authority of the supreme justice council and supreme
qualification committee of Ukrainian judges is terminated. Then these
bodies will be formed in accordance with the current law.