The Public Council of International Experts has set brand new standards in vetting Ukrainian judges

On January 21-24 the Public Council of International Experts held four more hearings jointly with the High Qualification Commission of Judges to interview and ban questionable candidates for the High Anticorruption Court.

With the first one on January 18, five joint hearings were held so far in total, where 47 candidates were considered.

Two more candidates will be interviewed next Monday, January 28.

The questionable candidates were invited to attend joint meetings to refute doubts about themselves by answering questions.

In total, 40 candidates whose integrity and professionalism raised concerns of foreign experts and the civil society either were banned or voluntarily stepped out of the competition. Among them are the judges or attorneys who cannot explain the origins of their assets; the judges who persecuted activists of the Revolution of Dignity and the judges who made unlawful decisions.

Out of seven who were greenlighted for further competition, only three had been considered by the civil society as questionable and at least in one of these cases we can agree that the candidate refuted doubts against him.

The PCIE members have shown outstanding professionalism, persistence, and resistance to external pressure in order to make a historic contribution to cleansing Ukrainian judiciary and building effective rule of law!