The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted Law No. 9322 on the provisions for the competitive selection of candidates for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court. This was reported by the MPs. The Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition welcomes this decision: we have repeatedly emphasised the importance of fulfilling this requirement for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. 

Co-chair of the Coalition Council and member of the Board of the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform Yulia Kyrychenko explains: “First of all, the draft law is very important as a European integration law, because it is the first recommendation of the European Commission’s opinion on our candidacy for the EU membership. We consider this not even as a recommendation but as an obligation. The first recommendation is to regulate and ensure a competitive procedure for selecting candidates for the position of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.”

This is the second attempt to pass this law. Earlier, the MPs had already adopted a procedure for selecting judges, and Ukraine even managed to announce a competition. However, the Venice Commission then said that it did not meet its recommendations, so the parliament returned to this issue. “Knowing the position of European experts today, this version of the law should be assessed positively,” says Yulia.

At the same time, it is important not only to adopt the law but now it is also time to implement it in practice. “It is extremely important for us not just to formally implement the recommendations of the European Commission, but to actually hold a real, fair competition for judges to the Constitutional Court,” adds the expert, “and most importantly, to finally ensure that these new judges meet two evaluation criteria: high moral qualities and professionalism.