The Verkhovna Rada has failed to appoint judges of the Constitutional Court again: why the Parliament cannot fill the vacancies
8 October 18:25
On Wednesday, October 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine failed to appoint a single judge of the Constitutional Court. This was reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, [ komersant] reports.
The voting procedure included several stages, but no candidate received the required 226 votes. The closest to success was the candidate from the Servant of the People party, Zakhar Tropin, who received 224 votes.
In the ranking vote, public figure and constitutional law expert Yulia Kyrychenko was ahead of Taras Tsymbalistyi, but in the final vote, only 126 MPs from the mono-majority supported her candidacy.
Why this is important
The Constitutional Court is a key body for monitoring the compliance of laws with the Constitution of Ukraine. Its work requires a quorum of at least 12 out of 18 judges.
By June 2025, only 11 judges remained in the court, which paralyzed the work of the Grand Chamber and one of the Senates. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Vodiannikov under his quota, which restored the court’s activity, but the quorum remains fragile.
As of October, six seats were vacant: two to be filled by the president, two by the Verkhovna Rada, and two by a congress of judges.
How we got here
- In February 2025, candidates for the vacant seats were submitted to the parliament, but MPs have not yet made a decision.
- In July, the advisory group of experts that evaluates the candidates directly accused the Verkhovna Rada of delaying the process.
- Previous attempts to appoint judges have also failed due to political differences between factions.
What experts say
Analysts emphasize that the absence of a full-fledged composition of the Constitutional Court poses risks to the stability of the legal system. Without a quorum, the Constitutional Court may be blocked again, which means that MPs, the president, or citizens will not have an effective mechanism for challenging laws and government decisions.
