Despite rulings in cases against Maidan participants, the High Council of Justice is considering the lifetime appointment of Judge Maryna Shakhovnina

Judge of the Podil District Court of Kyiv Maryna Shakhovnina, who issued rulings concerning participants in the Revolution of Dignity, is today a candidate for a lifetime appointment. Her candidacy is being reviewed by the High Council of Justice following the corresponding recommendation of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ).

This was reported by the High Council of Justice. The meeting on the HQCJ’s recommendation to appoint Shakhovnina to the position of judge of the Podil District Court is scheduled for 6 October 2026.

Shakhovnina was appointed judge of the Podil District Court in 2012 for a term of 5 years. She continues to work at that court.

During the Revolution of Dignity, in the winter of 2014, Shakhovnina, in at least three cases, deprived protest participants of the right to drive a vehicle for 3 months.

One of the most high-profile cases concerned Serhiy Sesyk. On 24 January 2014 he was held liable for allegedly failing to comply with a police order to stop. The case materials contained different license plates for the vehicle, and there was no evidence that Sesyk himself was driving. The hearing took place without his participation.

It was later established that the report on which the decision was based had been falsified.

During the qualification assessment, Shakhovnina explained that she treated these materials as ordinary cases of administrative traffic violations. According to her, the cases did not contain information about the drivers’ participation in the protests.

Separate questions also arose regarding her integrity declaration for 2016. In that document the judge did not indicate that she had issued decisions in cases related to Maidan. In 2018 the HQCJ found the submitted information to be unreliable. At the same time, the High Council of Justice did not bring Shakhovnina to disciplinary responsibility then, viewing the situation as a mistake.

A new conclusion on the judge’s integrity was approved by the Public Integrity Council on 20 October 2025. In it the Council concluded that Shakhovnina did not meet the criteria of integrity and professional ethics.

In addition to the Maidan cases and the declarations, the Public Integrity Council raised issues about late declaration of real estate, undergoing lustration checks, the circumstances of Shakhovnina’s election as chair of the Podil District Court, and academic integrity. In particular, it cited similarities between certain fragments of her dissertation from 2020 and the work of another author.

Despite the Public Integrity Council’s conclusion, the HQCJ, based on the qualification assessment results, recognized Shakhovnina as meeting the requirements of her position. 11 members of the Commission voted for that decision, 4 were against. In July 2025 the HQCJ’s panel determined that the question of the judge’s compliance should be considered by the plenary composition of the Commission.

Now the final decision on the recommendation to appoint her to the position of judge of the Podil District Court of Kyiv is being considered by the High Council of Justice.