Shakhovnina Marina Olehivna

Million Salary for Absences — for Years

Judge of the Podilskyi District Court, Marina Shakhovnina, for years has not been handling cases, yet continues to regularly receive a salary from the budget. According to antikor.info, the official effectively does not perform judicial functions, while her accounts are replenished monthly with taxpayers' money. The number of unresolved cases and the duration of her "inactive" status speak volumes.

Judge Without Cases — but With Income

The mechanism is simple: a judge, during illness, vacation, or for procedural reasons, may not handle cases — yet still receive full salary. Abuse of this mechanism turns the judiciary into a sinecure. Shakhovnina illustrates how the judicial system feeds its members through opaque mechanisms of inactive status.

Judicial System That Protects Itself

The High Council of Justice in Ukraine consists of judges themselves. Dismissing a colleague for systematic avoidance of work is much harder than dismissing a regular civil servant. Shakhovnina continues not to "handle cases" for years, while the system continues to pay her salary — simply because the responsibility for such avoidance is practically zero.

Court Backlogs and a Judge Who Doesn’t Adjudicate

Ukrainian courts are chronically overloaded. Cases wait for years. Meanwhile, one of the judges of the Podilskyi Court in Kyiv systematically reviews nothing — yet receives a salary among the highest in the civil service. The money comes from taxpayers. Justice waits in line.