The results of the High Anti-Corruption Court’s formation were summarized in Warsaw

On 27 September, with the support of EUACI, a panel “Formation of the High Anticorruption Court in Ukraine: Lessons Learned and Way Forward” took place in Warsaw. The discussion was a part of the Europe’s largest annual human rights and democracy conference Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2019.

The experts discussed the following issues during the panel:

• What is the difference between the HACC’s selection process and the other court competitions in Ukraine?
• Has the presence of international experts ensured the integrity of the HACC’s judiciary?

The event was attended by Clemens Mueller, Senior Anti-Corruption Adviser of the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative, Olena Tanasevych, the Head of the High Anti-Corruption Court, Andriy Kozlov, Former member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and Andrii Khymchuk, the lawyer of the NGO ‘DEJURE Foundation’.

The discussion focused on the differences of the new selection model, as well as on its effectiveness.

 “The process of nominating the experts to the Public Council of International Experts was coordinated by international organisations. We assisted in drafting the assessment criteria. ‘Reasonable doubt’ standard was applied for the first time. The PCIE was not the sole decision maker. It questioned only one third of candidates,” Clemens Mueller commented on the experts’ selection procedure.

The participants assessed the role of international experts in the process of appointing judges with high level of integrity, and the possibility of applying the new methodology to the future reforms in Ukraine and abroad.

“Thecompetition for the position in the HACC was the most complicated for me. Fortunately, the Public Council of International Experts did not have questions concerning my property, assets or family. The procedure was very transparent,” Olena Tanasevych talked about her own experience.

In 2018, the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE), was formed to help the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ). This advisory body assisted the HQCJ in making decisions on the appointment of judges to the High Anti-Corruption Court. PCIE evaluated the candidates’ compliance with the integrity criteria: reasonable doubts as to the candidate’s moral character or the assets could lead to his or her disqualification from the competition. The procedure has ensured an independent and impartial selection of HACC’s judges. In April 2019, 38 out of the 343 candidates were appointed to the HACC and took an oath.

This new to Ukraine methodology allowed to form a judiciary of high integrity for the effective fight against high-level corruption.