BRUSSELS - Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has assured that the judges who were appointed by the former authorities will not be able to keep their office due to judicial reform.
“The final wording of the law on the judiciary, which was passed by parliament and which, as I expect, will be signed by the president foresees that the judges who were appointed in keeping with the previous version of the Constitution for five years should end their tenure without incorporation into the new system of courts. Free vacancies should be filled on a competitive basis only,” he told Ukrainian journalists at the European Parliament on June 14.
Petrenko said that the point at issue are 1,800 judges who were mainly appointed during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency.
According to him, the tenure of 800 judges has already expired.
“Tenders should be called to hire 800 new judges. Another 1,000 judges are nearing the expiration of their five-year tenure. Reports that the judges appointed during Yanukovych’s presidency will work for seven years is a fake,” he said.
