No ties to the occupiers and with a public report: Parliament has reformed the system for judges’ financial disclosures
9 June 21:35
The Verkhovna Rada has passed Bill No. 13165-2, which amends the procedure for judges to declare their integrity and family ties, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The decision was supported by 242 members of parliament.
The document is part of Ukraine’s commitments to strengthen the rule of law and purge the judicial system of unethical officials.
The law amends the laws “On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges” and “On the High Council of Justice.”
One of the key innovations will be the introduction of a single integrated declaration instead of several separate reports.
Consequently, judges will submit it annually by May 1 in electronic form via the website of the High Qualification Commission of Judges.
The declaration will require judges to confirm or refute a series of statements, as well as provide detailed information about their relatives.
The law significantly expands the list of individuals with whom judges are required to declare ties if they have held government or judicial positions within the last five years. Specifically, this includes members of the High Council of Justice and the HQCJ, judges, court staff, the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Office of the President and his deputies, members of parliament, members of the government, the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP), as well as members of the Public Integrity Council and the Ethics Council.
The draft law radically expands the circle of individuals whose relationship with a judge is subject to mandatory disclosure if they have held high-level positions over the past five years.
New Integrity Screening Criteria
The declaration will also include new integrity verification criteria.
Judges will be required to officially confirm that they have not visited the territory of the aggressor state or the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, have not cooperated with the Russian Federation’s occupation administrations since February 20, 2014, use the Ukrainian language when administering justice, and adhere to the Code of Judicial Ethics.
The High Qualification Commission of Judges will also receive new powers.
The HQCJ will be able to initiate investigations based on information from any individual if it indicates possible inaccuracies in the declaration. Such investigations may be conducted within three years of the document’s submission.
If violations are confirmed, the materials will be forwarded to the disciplinary body—the High Council of Justice.
Separately, the law addresses the issue of judicial compensation. The document stipulates that a judge’s base salary must be calculated using the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of January 1 of the relevant year.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers must, within six months, prepare legislative amendments regarding the conduct of individual reviews of judges of the Supreme Court and higher specialized courts with the involvement of independent experts.
What will change for judges
A single declaration of integrity and family ties is being introduced. The list of relatives and officials with whom ties must be declared is also being expanded.
Additional verification criteria are being introduced regarding contacts with the Russian Federation and compliance with professional ethics. The High Council of Justice will be granted the right to verify declarations based on requests from citizens, and the verification period for declarations will be up to three years after their submission.
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Judges of the Supreme Court and higher specialized courts will undergo a separate audit involving independent experts.
What the DEJURE Foundation Says About the New Bill
Anton Zelinsky , Advocacy Manager at the DEJURE Foundation,believes that Bill No. 13165-2 could weaken mechanisms for verifying the integrity of judges.
In his view, the bill limits the ability to detect violations and hold judges accountable, even though it claims to improve the oversight system.
At the same time, the law changes the approach to calculating judges’ compensation, which could potentially increase payments by approximately 50%.
Currently, judges submit annual integrity declarations to the High Qualification Commission of Judges, confirming that their lifestyle is consistent with their income, the absence of conflicts of interest, and the absence of other violations.
However, according to the expert, this mechanism is ineffective: the HQCJ cannot verify the declarations on its own initiative, and liability arises only for the intentional submission of false information, which is difficult to prove.
As an example, Zelinsky cited the case of Olga Stupak, a judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court. Despite inconsistencies identified by the High Council of Justice in her integrity declaration regarding real estate use, the High Council of Justice did not hold her accountable, as it did not find intent in the submission of inaccurate information.
DEJURE believes that the new law does not resolve this issue.
As before, liability is provided only for intentional falsehoods, not for gross negligence. In addition, the law limits the period for verifying many circumstances to one year, which may complicate the detection of facts regarding trips to Russia, visits to occupied territories, or other actions relevant to assessing a judge’s integrity.
Experts also criticize the provision regarding the six-month deadline for reviewing declarations. If the High Council of Justice does not complete the review within this timeframe, information regarding potential violations will automatically be deemed unconfirmed. According to Anton Zelinsky, this creates a risk of delays in the review process.
Some comments concern the exclusion from reviews of issues regarding the alignment of lifestyle with income. The foundation believes that such changes could complicate the identification of unethical judges and conflicts of interest.
DEJURE emphasizes that Ukraine has committed to strengthening mechanisms for verifying the integrity of judges in accordance with the recommendations of international partners and the Venice Commission.
According to experts, the law in its current form could not only weaken judicial reform but also jeopardize the receipt of approximately 700 million euros under the Ukraine Facility program and undermine the trust of citizens and partners in Ukrainian reforms.
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