On July 5, 2023, the Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Roman Ihnatov held an online meeting with representatives of international rule of law assistance projects, organized with the support of the USAID Justice for All Program.
The event is dedicated to discussing the Commission’s plans and priorities for the near future.
In his speech, the Chairman of the Commission emphasized the important role of the USAID Justice for All Program in organizing such events and informed the participants about a number of decisions taken by the Commission on the establishment of the Public Integrity Council, the continuation of the qualification evaluation of about 2,000 judges, and the completion of other competitive procedures.
“Today, on July 5, 2023, in accordance with part ten of Article 87 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, the announcement of convening a meeting of representatives of Public Associations was published on the website of the Commission. To participate in the meeting, Public Associations shall submit the documents provided for in part thirteen of Article 87 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” within fifteen days from the date of publication of the announcement, that is, by July 20, 2023, inclusive”, – said Roman Ihnatov.
Regarding the future cooperation with the PIC, the Chairman of the Commission emphasized that the establishment of the Public Integrity Council is crucial for ensuring openness and transparency of future procedures and that the Commission is interested in establishing effective communication that will have a positive impact on the level of trust of civil society in the processes that will take place in the Commission.
“In the current circumstances, this is a crucial and very difficult task, but we are ready to overcome possible obstacles and call on representatives of civil society – future members of the Public Integrity Council – to cooperate and engage in constructive dialogue to achieve a common goal”, – emphasized the Chairman of the Commission.
Participants also discussed issues related to ensuring information security and the proper functioning of the Commission’s local area network infrastructure, computer, and server equipment. As of today, – noted the Chairman of the Commission, – 75% of the Commission’s information technology equipment is operating beyond the manufacturer’s recommended service life and needs to be replaced. This situation significantly increases the risk of disruption to the operation of information services and threatens information security in terms of availability. However, despite the difficult financial situation in the country, the Commission is ultimately counting on the support of international institutions to replace the Commission’s technical equipment.
The participants of the meeting congratulated the newly elected members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and noted that this is a significant step for Ukraine as a candidate for accession to the European Union, which will help accelerate the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
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The USAID Justice for All Program was launched in Ukraine on October 1, 2021, and is being implemented to promote the idea of justice for all by strengthening the justice system, justice services, and community engagement to ensure an adequate response to the legal problems and needs of the Ukrainian people in the Justice System.
The USAID Justice for All Program is built on the achievements of the USAID New Justice Program and the USAID Fair Justice and Ukraine: Rule of Law Projects and leverages their achievements to coordinate close cooperation with domestic partners, USAID and U.S. Government projects, and other international donor organizations in Ukraine.