Pravo-justice | Public Council of International Experts: Who and How will be electing Anti-Corruption Judges

Public Council of International Experts: Who and How will be electing Anti-Corruption Judges

Oct 01, 2018 | Judiciary

LILIA DROZDIK

*Original in Ukrainian: https://www.pravda.com.ua/columns/2018/09/13/7191902/

CHESNO. Filter the court!* The competition for 39 positions of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) judges has started. The deadline to submit the documents is September 14. At present, about two candidates are competing for every position of a judge of the HACC. For the next six months, the country will watch the formation of the authority, which the Ukrainians have long been waiting for, the international experts have been demanding, and the politicians have been promising. Finally, in February 2019, the HQCJ (High Qualification Commission of Judges) is planning to finalize the competition and submit the list of elected candidates to the High Council for Justice, which eventually shall recommend the final list of judges-to-be to the President to sign. The procedure and stages of the competition do not differ fundamentally from the competition for the positions of the Supreme Court judges, which took almost a year starting in the end of 2016. The novelty in the formation of the High Anti-Corruption Court is the emergence of the Public Council of International Experts.

What is PCIE?

The Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) is a special collateral body of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ). It is being formed for six years. Its aim is to help the HQCJ with the preparation of decisions related to the appointment of anti-corruption judges. The members of the Council are elected for a term of two years and have no opportunity for re-election. Unlike the Public Integrity Council that acts on a volunteer basis, the law stipulates that the PCIE members-to-be will be provided with the remuneration in the amount of salary of the Supreme Court judge (which currently is 132 thousand 150 UAH prior to taxation). The High Qualification Commission will be get assistance with determining the compliance with the criteria of integrity of the candidates for the Anti-Corruption Court by six persons recommended by the international organizations which Ukraine cooperates with in the area of prevention and counteraction to corruption in accordance with international treaties. In July, the HQCJ announced a list of 14 such organizations; however, the Commission noted that this list might be enlarged. Every international organization may recommend at least two candidates for the position of a PCIE member. The HQCJ urged internationals to submit the applicants by mid-September so that they could form the Council promptly. The HQCJ will be electing six out of the recommended candidates, but at least twelve candidates must be nominated. The decision on the appointment of the PCIE members shall be taken at an open HQCJ meeting (yet, it is not known whether this meeting will be broadcast online).

Who are PCIE?

It is possible to become the PCIE member if a candidate is a Ukrainian citizen or a foreigner with an impeccable business reputation, high professional and moral qualities, public credibility, has at least five years of work experience in foreign countries on the implementation of procedural guidance, support of state prosecution in court or the administration of justice in cases related to corruption. The law also provides that any persons to whom the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" applies (judges, officials and officers of the Prosecution Office, the Security Service of Ukraine, members of the NAPC (National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption)) may not be appointed to become the PCIE members. Besides, a person who does not meet the special requirements established for the High Anti-Corruption Court judges may not be a PCIE member.

Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) Who can become a PCIE member? Ukrainian citizens or foreigners With impeccable reputation, credibility and high moral qualities. With at least five years of work experience in foreign countries on the implementation of procedural guidance, support of state prosecution in court or the administration of justice in cases related to corruption.

PCIE Powers

Collect, check and analyze the information about the candidates to the positions of the High Anti-Corruption court judges.

Provide the High Qualification Commission of Judges with the information about the candidates to the positions of High Anti-Corruption Court judges.

Participate in the special joint meeting of the HQCJ and PCIE, initiated by at least three PCIE members, aimed to consider if a candidate meets the criteria, stated by law. Remuneration of PCIE members

The remuneration of the PCIE members for the period of the competition is the amount of salary of a Supreme Court judge (in 2018 – 132.150 thousand UAH).

3+9 Formula 3 PCIE members can initiate the issue of considering if a candidate meets the criteria

3 PCIE members and 9 HQCJ members can vote for a candidate’s continuation to participate in the competition

If this decision was not approved, the candidate stops the competition.

What is PCIE for?

The Public Council of International Experts will assist the HQCJ in determining the eligibility of candidates for the position of the High Anti-Corruption Court judge with the criteria of:

legality of the sources of origin of the property of a candidate or their family members;
conformity of lifestyle of a candidate or their family members with the declared income;
conformity of a candidate’s lifestyle with their status;
availability of knowledge and practical skills to manage the cases related to the jurisdiction of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

3 + 9 Formula

Upon the results of considering the applicants, minimal three members of the Public Council of International Experts may initiate the issue of non-compliance of a particular candidate with the above criteria at a special joint meeting of the HQCJ and PCIE. At the same meeting, the majority of the members of the HQCJ and PCIE jointly (but herewith at least three members of the Public Council of International Experts) shall vote for the candidate’s compliance with the criteria. If this decision has not been approved, the candidate shall stop participating in the competition. Thus, there is a working formula by which three members of the PCIE may stop a candidate’s participation in the competition, and the other three may continue. In accordance with the provisions of the Law "On the High Anti-Corruption Court", the decision is approved by the majority vote of the Public Council of International Experts and the High Qualification Commission of Judges members jointly. Thus, with the total membership of 22 persons, the majority shall be 12 persons, which makes it three votes from the PCIE and nine from HQCJ. Very little time is appointed to analyzing the candidates or expressing mistrust to the members of PCIE. The law stipulates that a joint meeting of the HQCJ and PCIE shall take place no later than 30 days after the exam results have been announced to the candidates. Additionally, at least three members of the Public Council of International Experts may initiate a preliminary interview with the candidates prior to conducting the special joint meeting with the HQCJ. The presence of at least six members of the HQCJ is required at this interview.

In lieu of conclusions

Chairman of the HQCJ Sergii Koziakov has repeatedly emphasized that he requested international organizations to submit their candidacies for the PCIE members by mid-September. Thus, it is obvious that in the near future will be announced the names of persons who will have powers to prevent dishonest candidates from working in the High Anti-Corruption Court. Will this happen the way we hope it should? This process has a lot of “buts” and questions, the answers to which are not available yet. Among the key questions is the format of submitting the information about candidates by the members of the PCIE and of the procedures for interaction of the PCIE and the HQCJ. Unfortunately, the above stated provisions are not defined by law and will be stipulated by the Commission in its regulatory documents. Simultaneously, a lot will depend on the composition of the PCIE and its approach to evaluate the candidates. As per se the "3 + 9" formula allows to ignore half of the Council. So, how exactly the Public Council of International Experts practically works and if it really can save YOU from judges with dubious reputation, will become clear only after the selection procedure is directly in place. In lieu, CHESNO. Filter the court! will be analyzing the candidates and monitor the course of the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court, as well as the Contest to the Supreme Court, which will be held simultaneously. Lilia Drozdyk, Head of the Department of Communications and Advocacy of the Center for Democracy and Rule of Law. Lyudmila Slyva, lawyer of the company CHESNO. Filter the court! Special for UP.