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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
⚡️The Venice Commission published an urgent opinion on the selection of members of the HCJ and the HCCJ
The Venice Commission, together with the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, published an Urgent Opinion on the government bill concerning the selection of members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges and the High Council of Justice.
Key points:
✅ The Venice Commission supports the idea of continued involvement of international experts in the selection of HCJ and HCCJ members, and such involvement should be prolonged until the reform delivers proper cleansing of the entire judicial system.
❌ A mandatory quota for a Ukrainian citizen among the international members weakens the safeguard. It is recommended to make it an option rather than a requirement.
❌ They recommend a single rule for all decisions on candidates’ integrity and professionalism: there should be at least two votes from international members.
❌ They recommend removing the reserve nomination of candidates by the Council of Prosecutors, the Bar Council, and the National Academy of Legal Sciences.
❌ The period of 3 months for announcing the selection is deemed clearly insufficient. They recommend 6 months, and also retaining the powers of current HCCJ members until successors are appointed.
❌ They separately noted that the bill did not undergo adequate public consultations.
📌 Conclusion: government bill No.16018-1 requires either re-submission or substantial revision to comply with the Venice Commission’s recommendations and Ukraine’s commitments within the framework of European integration.
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