Judicial Council Blocks Judicial Reform, Zelensky Vows Not to Allow It and Convenes Meeting of G7 Ambassadors and Judges

Earlier, Anti-Corruption Center head Vitaliy Shabunin had warned that judges could block the reform.

The Council of Judges failed to elect three members of the Ethics Council, which is to oversee the integrity of members of the High Council of Justice, thereby blocking the implementation of the judicial reform that many had expected in Ukraine.

How this happened, how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted, and how Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), had warned about the halt of the reform.

Voting Failure

On September 13, the Council of Judges of Ukraine considered and held a secret ballot on applications from six candidates for membership in the Ethics Council under the quota of the Council of Judges:

• Mykola Hlotov, judge of the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court;
• Vasyl Kliuba, judge of the Lviv Court of Appeal for Administrative Cases;
• Anna Vronska, judge of the Supreme Court;
• Olena Balzhyk, judge of the Izmail City District Court of Odesa Region;
• Olha Chaikina, judge of the Dzerzhynskyi District Court of the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Region;
• Mykola Kypcharskyi, judge of the Pustomyty District Court of Lviv Region.

Meanwhile, judges Balzhyk and Chaikina sent letters to the Council of Judges of Ukraine on September 13 asking that their applications be left without consideration.

As a result, the Council of Judges failed the secret ballot — none of the candidates received the required number of votes. Only four of the 26 members of the Council of Judges voted in favor of the candidates.

Members of the Council of Judges were to appoint three of the six members to the Ethics Council from their quota. The other three were to be appointed by international organizations following a positive vote by the Council of Judges.

As Vitaliy Shabunin, head of AntAC, reported following the vote, this vote allowed the Council of Judges to block the main part of the judicial reform — the cleansing of the High Council of Justice (HCJ).

Vitaliy Shabunin
head of the NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center

The judicial mafia is very afraid of the cleansing of the HCJ, because it knows exactly that this is the beginning of the end of the corrupt system — their end. Personal responsibility for blocking the country's main reform lies with the members of the Council of Judges and its chairman Bohdan Monych.

Shabunin had also warned about a possible disruption of the vote as early as September 10. At that time, he said that "corrupt judicial clans are incapable of grasping the seriousness of the situation and are planning to block the entire reform."

Vitaliy Shabunin
head of AntAC

To this end, already on Monday the Council of Judges of Ukraine WILL NOT DELEGATE a single representative to the Ethics Council, which means the latter will not be able to begin its work. 

He also reported that highly qualified experts have been put forward by international organizations, including the chief justice/judge of the Supreme Courts of the largest US states, the attorneys general of Estonia and the largest German federal state, as well as the ministers of justice and interior of Slovenia.

Zelensky's Reaction

In connection with the above events, a working meeting will be held at the Office of the President on September 16 with the participation of heads of judicial governance bodies, in particular the chairman of the Council of Judges and the Supreme Court, representatives of parliament, and ambassadors of the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

The Office of the President stated that the failed vote raises concerns about the progress of the judicial reform due to the halt of its most important part — the cleansing of the judicial system.

Volodymyr Zelensky 
President of Ukraine

I will not allow the blocking of the country's main reform, which I promised Ukrainians and which I initiated. Every illegal action aimed at blocking the judicial reform will receive an immediate assessment and a rebuff. I will not allow judges who obstruct the reform and the cleansing of the judicial system to deprive Ukrainians of the right to justice. And judges who want to work in a transparent system must have full support.

Among other things, Zelensky expressed gratitude to international organizations providing Ukraine with assistance in judicial reform and anti-corruption efforts, which last week delegated experts to the selection commission that will choose members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges and the Ethics Council.