Venice Commission: Ukraine has to establish anticorruption court, judges to be selected with international involvement

Venice Commission invites the President of Ukraine to submit a revised draft law on anticorruption courts to Parliament, based on its recommendations. It states that the only way forward in the fight against high-level corruption in Ukraine is the prompt establishment of a high specialised anticorruption court, as foreseen in the Law “On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges”, whose judges are selected in a transparent procedure with international involvement. Full text.

In the meantime, a day before the Venice Commission issued its opinion, the President of Ukraine abandoned the support of anticorruption chambers and announced the necessity to establish a separate anticorruption court. He addressed the Parliament with the request to establish a task force to prepare a subject law.

We welcome the change of President’s stance, but are convinced that in order to avoid indefinite postponement, the President should initiate his draft law as soon as possible without delaying the process through creation of working group in the Parliament.  More details.