The High Council of Justice and President Petro Poroshenko will decide in September whether to appoint 120 judges nominated by the High Qualification Commission to the new Supreme Court. Thirty candidates, or 25 percent of the nominees, were vetoed by the Public Integrity Council, a civil-society watchdog, due to what they see as evidence of corruption, dishonesty and political cases.
However, the High Qualification Commission has overridden these vetoes – and this decision has severely eroded, if not destroyed, any trust left in judicial reform. The most likely reason for the commission’s support for the vetoed candidates is their political connections and the corrupt judiciary’s unwillingness to cleanse itself. If the High Council of Justice and Poroshenko appoint the “thirty dishonest ones,” it will be the ultimate proof that the president’s touted judicial reform is a fake – just like the police and prosecution reforms before it.
There are other grounds for doubting the integrity of the Supreme Court competition. Half of the new Supreme Court will be the same old faces – 46 percent of the 120 nominees are incumbent judges of the Supreme Court and higher specialized courts, which are being merged into the new Supreme Court.
The High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission made the commission’s recommendations on appointing the 120 judges secret, making the process look extremely shady.
The High Qualification Commission has also refused to explain its methodology for giving scores, and took the controversial decision to allow 299 candidates with insufficient scores take part in the competition – a move that appears to promote judges favored by the authorities.
September will show whether this opaque and dubious procedure will result in another kangaroo court, but the omens already look very bad.
